This August marks 10 years since I started my freshman year of college, and while it doesn’t seem as though I should be that far removed from today’s college freshmen, consider this list:
- I did not own a cell phone and would not get one for two years.
- I did not have a laptop, nor did many of my classmates. My new desktop cost around $1,100.
- The most cutting-edge portable music player of the day involved CDs.
- Digital cameras were an expensive novelty that few of my classmates owned.
- Text messaging was not widely available on all mobile phones.
- “Google” was not a regular part of our vocabulary.
- Facebook would not even be dreamed up until well after I had graduated.
Today’s students are arriving at college with all manner of gadgetry and Web savvy. Most have had Facebook profile for a few years, are all but addicted to text messaging, regularly snap and share digital photos of their friends (often on their phones) and can’t think of a question that Google hasn’t been able to answer.
For students studying PR and communication, the key foundations of the curriculum haven’t changed (communicating an organization’s story in an engaging way) but the tactics are vastly different. Students are now focused on telling stories across platforms and using video, audio, photography and graphics to do so. Writing is still the paramount skill, but it’s not the only tool in the kit anymore.
Whereas I was taught “traditional” media relations in terms of developing pitches and news releases to send to editors and reporters, today’s PR students are learning about blogger relations, Twitter pitches, direct-to-stakeholder Web campaigns and word-of-mouth marketing. Designing Web pages is now a more coveted skill than designing newsletters, and knowing how to write a compelling blog post is as important as understanding the fundamentals of AP style and writing media advisories.
Even today’s students, though, who grew up on technology, must continue to adapt. The PR industry is constantly evolving and now more than ever it’s becoming more integrated with marketing, advertising, sales and even customer service. Ten years from now any one of today’s freshmen will probably be able to write a very similar post to this one.
Check out Beloit College’s annual Mindset List to see just how differently this year’s college freshmen view the world. What’s changed since you were in college? How have you managed to keep your skills sharp with the onslaught of new technologies and tactics that are constantly challenging the way you were taught to do things?
Image via Flickr user jeremy.wilburn
Actually, Amy, I think the most significant change, which we’re only beginning to grasp, is what all these tech tools mean in terms of how our organizations interact with their key stakeholders. We were taught in college in the ’90s that PR is suppose to be a balanced two-way process, but the fact is that it was a lot easier for the orgs to communicate to and influence the publics than for organizations to hear or have to respond to those audiences. Not anymore. What would have happened 10 years ago if United broke your guitar? I suspect not much.
Aaron – you’re absolutely correct in that social media and new technologies have made it much easier for an organization’s “publics” to have a voice. And organizations need to realize that real two-way conversation (which we all learned is the crux of public relations, right?) requires monitoring, listening and responding. Hopefully many PR courses are or will be including lessons on online reputation management, crisis communication, diffusing customer issues and quickly responding to complaints and issues before things go viral. In my PR classes, Tylenol was always used as the gold standard case study for PR crisis communication. I’m not sure how it would hold up today, however. By the time they decided to pull product there likely would have been an online outcry brewing for days via Twitter, blog posts, videos, and more.
It is amazing what the incoming college students have at their fingertips. One would think this would make it easier and more enjoyable to learn, share and communicate. However, one fear I have is that with the advancement in technology, will this affect the quality of education they receive? There’s something about writing notes and actually interacting with other students face-to-face. Additionally, will professors – in an attempt to remain relevant and hip, beging to slowly shift away from the foundation of PR. I fear that there will be too much focus on social media and emerging technologies and not enough focus on researc, ethics and the “how-to” of PR.
Thanks for the post Amy.
Kasey, thanks for reading. You bring up an important point about staying true to the foundations of PR. While there are tons of shiny and new tools available now to asssist PR professionals, hopefully the educational focus will remain on the PR fundamentals and not the tools themselves. I think one of my former professors, Karen Russell, has done a good job merging the core PR curriculum of research, writing and strategic planning with tools like blogging, Twitter, video and writing for the Web. I know many other programs are creating an effective blend, as well. The alternative to programs going too far in the direction of social media, however, are the programs that aren’t doing enough, and thus not preparing students with the skills they really need to succeed in a PR 2.0 world.
First of all, great post. In fact, I had a conversation with a new PR professor the other day on this topic. The new professor wants to incorporate the use of social media platforms into his PR related classes, however, the B-school where he teaches does not think it is applicable. Their main reason being that there are not any time tested books to be referenced and used to teach the class. With most topics, it is important to learn the past to develop a foundation to build upon. Youth today are very technology savvy and quick to jump on the next big thing. Therefore it is important to get them to understand the fundamentals of PR rather than just focusing on the current trends.
@MiguelALlano
Miguel – that’s disheartening that the faculty felt that because there were no textbooks that social media shouldn’t be taught. Argh! I can think of several books (many of them not textbooks, but still published, dead-tree versions if that’s what they’re going for) that would make for excellent classroom references. It’s certainly important to make sure today’s students are grounded in fundamentals, but students are definitely going to be at a disadvantage if they’re not learning about new advances and innovative tools that will help them succeed. I hope the professor you spoke with was able to change the mind of the department!
Hey Amy… Love your post. We were in school around the same time (though I was at the Orange & Blue SEC ivory tower!!), so your post really hit home for me. It’s simply amazing how far the PR profession has come in such a short time. Students today are learning during one of the most intense communications landscapes, and the tools they’ve got at their fingertips are proving to be incredibly powerful. It certainly makes me want to go back to school. Hence, the flip side of this coin. It is super important for folks like us — and those PR pioneers before us — to keep skill sets and toolboxes current. I’ve participated in a handful of PR/social media conferences lately, and I’m amazed at how hard it is for so many “old school” practitioners to adapt to new media channels. I think communicators from our generation have a window of opportunity to become incredibly influential communicators. We are tenured professionals who are well versed in traditional media relations tactics (and, to Kasey’s point, we had the truest of PR fundamentals pounded into us), yet we’re able to embrace new media channels to the fullest because we learned on what would become the cusp of the digital media hockey stick. I think that gives us a great leg up to help shape what is to become of the increasingly critical communications function in the workplace. How amazing is that?! It sure is keeping me on my toes each and every day, and I love that feeling!
Keep the great posts coming, and enjoy football season! I’m all about SEC love, sans that one usually-beautiful weekend down in JAX when I hope we kick some Georgia Dawg tail:-)
Uh-oh, Gator sighting on my blog! Thanks for sharing your perspective, Jen. It is so important for experienced PR professionals, who’ve been out of school for a bit now, to make sure we continue to hone our skills. The ability to draw on the fundamentals that were so ingrained in our curriculum and then integrate the newer tenets of effective communication (those we continue to witness with the growth of social media) is what will mark the current generation of PR superstars.
Go Dawgs!
My coworkers and I frequently marvel at how much has changed since we graduated from college. I’m not near the 10 year mark, but I can tell you that while my university more than adequately prepped me for a career in PR, I didn’t learn a thing about how social media has impacted the PR industry until I became ingrained in my career. You’re absolutely right – the key foundations of the PR curriculum haven’t changed, but the social media implementation tactics provide a whole new set of options. It’s encouraging to see how quickly universities have picked up on the importance of social media and revamped their teaching methods to reflect these changes, but I also wonder if it’s something they should have done sooner? I realize not every person or company has been engaging in conversations and learning how to build their brand or business via social networks for the past five years, but then again, many have.
To answer your question of how I keep my skills sharp, I read like crazy (blogs, traditional books and publications, e-books, online publications, etc.)! This is an interesting discussion topic, so thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Hi, just found your blog – great post. I GRADUATED 10 years ago, and share all those experiences, plus, I didn’t really have an email account until I got to college in 1996. I had one favorite prof who was on the edge, he had a weblog, and encouraged us to learn web design. :)
Amy,
I too entered college 10 years ago this week. I felt lucky at the time because my professor had actually been a PR Professional for close to 20 years before teaching, so he actually knew what he was talking about when it came to press releases, pitches, crisis communications. I loved how all of his examples came not from text books but from real life experiences. He is getting ready to retire in the next year or so and mentioned recently how so much has changed the way he needs to teach PR.
He is a tried and true PR fundamentals person, where the focus is on writing and communicating your message effectively, using AP style, etc. He says it’s hard to get the new students to adapt, because they are used to shorthand abbreviations (IM/Text), short attention spans, and a love of all things online. Online tools/social media may be where we are headed as a society, which is fine, but students still need to know how to properly craft a sentence, use correct grammar and punctuation, AP style and *gasp* pick up the phone now and then and make a live call.
My professor has decided, while he’s not too old to learn new tricks, he’s been out of the real world too long now and not using the new tools to adequately teach it and so is turning it over to newer professors. I don’t fault him for this. I will be sad that future students won’t get a chance to learn from one of the best professors ever, but I understand his concern with not being as knowledgeable about a changing medium such as social media.
It all still comes down to fundamentals, and I know many colleges are trying to get professors to ignore the basics and focus on blogs, podcasts, online pitches, twitter, you tube, etc. However, the end result remains: if you can’t write a complete and accurate sentence, you won’t get the results you want.
I’m doing my best to learn the ever-changing nature of PR so I stay current and marketable to future employers. It’s sometimes hard to keep up, but with the help of friends online, it makes it much easier. :-)
Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful anecdote, Jessi. It’s too bad that your professor has decided to step aside. I hope that those new professors who follow in his footsteps not only have an understanding of new media and technology but also adhere to the PR fundamentals that he held dear.
Another good post and thought starter. Since I teach at two universities in Chicago part-time and hold down a day job I think a lot of what I see scares me. All of this great technology is being thrown at students and frankly very few understand it. As a result, students either end up not using it or using it wrong. In addition, universities feel they need to play catch up to all of the technology and I hope we don’t get a lopsided approach to adopting technologies. I think we’re in a unique time from an educational perspective and the adoption of new media into our profession. My hope is that we don’t graduate students who rely only on blogs, Twitter and Facebook to tell a story without understanding the importance of people like the Grunigs, ethical models, and other key building blocks of the profession. I realize I am use broad brush strokes to generalize about all programs, but as everyone seems to be congregating around social media these days we are in need of some balance and checks. Ironically, it may be blogs like yours that help us do that.
@allanschoenberg
Thanks for your comment, Allan. I appreciate it coming from someone who has the perspective of both a PR professional and a PR educator. The fact that you’ve found success using social media in your day job at CME Group yet still stress the importance of the professional building blocks of PR when teaching your graduate students shows that SM is best in conjunction with and not in place of many traditional methods of communication.