PR Profs tell students: Keep up the good blogs

With the semester's finish line in sight, I want to congratulate student bloggers for creating innovative blog sites with many insightful posts.

Not only did you delve into the assigned communication topics (the implications of technology for the PR/PA field, media relations, net neutrality, online ethics and CSR)but you brought a lot of your own thoughts about current and future communication "practices into the mix.

Especially memorable are your postings about the impact of blogs and online social networking on political systems worldwide, on the US presidential elections, the way in which bloggers have exposed human rights atrocities in China and how that has played out in the lead-up to the Olympics.

My repeated prompting for students to mingle in the blogosphere in an attempt to generate hits (comments) on your blog resulted in a few hits for students this semester, and also served to confirm our understanding that getting traffic to your blogsite can be tough with the zillions of blogs all competing for attention. I know you tried.

Caitlin Myers tried, and scored. Her lively profile on Tim Rogers, executive editor of "D", ended up on the magazine's award-winning blog: Front Burner. http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2008/04/17/d-magazine-intern-scores-a-on-profile-of-tim-rogers
It received both praise and sharp criticism, which illustrates the disconnect between PR and journalism. Chalk it up to experience.

Speaking of experience, we are grateful for the fabulous speakers (should I include Tony Blair?) who took time out to give students the benefit of their experience. We were wowed by Dallas communication professionals like Burson-Marsteller's Mike Lake, Weber-Shandwick's Ken Luce, Erika Holland, Allan Koenig and Ann Jane Cox, Fleishman Hillard's Destiny Varghese and Jenny Parker, and Scott Baradell, president of The Idea Grove, a branding strategy and public relations agency.

Baradell sort of capped off the semester when he concluded his talk last week by urging students to keep their blog going after the semester ends, and even after they graduate. Treat it like a living PR document, a resume that reflects your personal brand. Amen.

Enjoy your summer, and keep blogging. I'll be checking in to see what's on your mind. Thanks for making it a great semester. --Prof. Flournoy

Taking Root

It's not an orignial notion, but it is still fresh: working in corporate communication is about networking, establishing a strong root system in order to grow. That' what students in this Communication, Technology and Globalization class will be doing this semester. Students will branch out, make connections and explore new strategies and tactics being used in professional communications. Forward thinking communication professionals understand that the Internet is constantly changing the way we give and receive information. Consumers now access media, information and entertainment in a variety of ways, at a moment's notice — anytime, anywhere. In this hypercompetitive global marketplace, communication students must learn to navigate in a rapidly changing, complex web of information exchange. Getting your message out there has never been so instant and so complicated.

So this semester, we’ll examine the latest trends in communication technology, beginning with blogs. We'll use the blog format as a forum for discussing current best practices in corporate communications. We will do this by using our student blogs to invite the professional PR community to contribute their insights on our class blogsite. By doing this, we hope to put down roots, create mentor relationships, and open up frank, informative dialog.

To get started, each student is invited to post a comment here describing your goals for the class this semester. But first, browse the blog links on this site to get familiar with ideas that fellow communication students and professionals are discussing in the blogosphere. Be sure to sign your name to your comment. Next, each student will build a personal blog site. But more on that in class.
--Professor Flournoy

Look-Look at the New Entrepreneurs

This week SMU Advanced Comm. Skills students are hard at work finishing up their research
on a trend challenge presented to them by California trend-tracking company Look-Look.
According to the executives at Look-Look, young people (who they define as 19 to 35
years old) are redefining their career values and creating new paths for their work life.

Today's youth are moving away from the old definitions of success held by previous
generations. This shift has kicked-off a surge of young entrepreneurs who are striking
out on their own, developing new business models, launching independent ventures.
Look-Look calls this current breed the “New Entrepreneur.”

To examine this trend, the Look-Look folks have asked our class to research the SMU
community — current students and those who have graduated in the last five to 10
years — to find out if the new entrepreneur trend is showing up at SMU, and in what ways.
In addition to conducting independent interviews with SMU students and alums who fit
the model of the “New Entrepreneur," students in this class are researching the affects
this trend is having or will have on all types of businesses — retail, manufacturing,
technology, health and beauty, service industries, entertainment and fashion.

To read their independent findings, click on their individual blog links to the right
of this page to access their blog entries.

Feel free to leave your comments.

And thank you, Look-Look, for giving students an opportunity
to work on a real-world project.

--Professor Flournoy

What's On This Week

Just back from Spring Break, our class is researching PR case studies to determine the strategy used in handling different types of communication situations. Click on the student blog links to the right of this page to read their findings.

Up next? Trend spotting. Our class will examine trends — what they are and the promotional strategies for pushing them to trend status. We will be working with Look-Look, a trend tracking company that will guide our class in tracking specific trends and reporting the results.

Following are resources students will be browsing for background in assessing the current trend landscape:

http://look-look.com

http://www.springwise.com/ideas/

http://www.psfk.com/

http://www.slate.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/collective/

http://www.joshspear.com/

Stay tuned.

Kudos for our SMU Student Blogs

One of our student blogs by Meredith Hultman caught the attention of Dave Cote of Agency Next, a professional Marketing and PR agency. He writes about our class blog efforts and predicts that our "forward-thinking skills" will be instrumental in creating "leaders of a new generation of communication strategists."

(Read his entire blog post: Here’s a scholar (and the future of marcom BTW)

We appreciate his vote of confidence. It seems clear that since the Internet is second nature to today's students, communication companies will count on this generation of college students to help companies navigate in the blogosphere. Cote insists, "Organizations with members who blog well and blog regularly will benefit from the invested effort. Striking a balance between getting your message across while serving the needs of your users and building community is critical. Nothing propels adoption faster than online communities. Nothing builds traction more cost effectively. And nothing is more elusive or temporal."

Amen. And although I'm aware that if you're reading this blog, I'm preaching to the choir, it does not change the overwhelming evidence that the blogs have caught on well beyond original expectation. As Cote says on Meredith's blog, "PR professionals have caught the blog fever, and the only prescription is bloggers like you. As a matter of fact – give us a call when you graduate!"

Count on it.

Thanks Scott Baradell

Today, students in SMU's Advanced Communication Skills class heard from Scott Baradell, founder of Dallas PR firm Idea Grove. Baradell provided a fresh perspective on how students must learn new forms of communication, such as blogging and podcasting, to enhance their communication skills and give them an edge with prospective employers. He said communication professionals no longer refer to blogging as a flash in the pan. In fact, he characterized blogging as "huge" for the communication field.

Baradell urged students to continue developing their blog sites over time, not abandoning their blogs at the end of the semester. "Blogs are a great networking tool, and students should know that by listing their blog sites on their resume, they are giving employers an opportunity to see much more than just what you can squeeze on a resume." He said employers can browse the blog and see the quality of a student's writing style, their point of view, their technological skills and their reach. "Think of your blog as an extension of your resume," he added.

Good advice, Scott. We invite you to drop by our blog and give us advice and insight anytime. And we'll keep up with you through your blog: Media Orchard http://www.ideagrove.com/blog/index.html
Thank you!

Generating Buzz

I asked students to browse the Internet to find examples of unique, quirky or wildly successful ways PR or Marketing practitioners have generated buzz for their clients. Students will post their findings on their blog site (Student blog links are listed in the column to the right of this page). We invite communication pros. to share your tips or examples for creating Buzz. Leave your comments in this posting, but be sure to check student blogs to see what they have to say on the subject.
Looking forward to hearing from you!