Blogging as a Tool of PR

Last semester public relations practitioner Cooper Smith, of the Cooper Smith Agency in Dallas, spoke to my Introduction to Public Relations class. He stressed the importance of PR practitioners knowing every single thing about their client or product and constantly scanning the environment for emerging trends within that particular industry.

Blogging has given PR practitioners a quick and easy way to discover trends affecting the specific audience they are trying to connect with. As blogging increases in popularity more and more PR firms are creating blogs to provide another medium to send their message through. According to Media Orchard, blogs offer a unique type of 2-way-communication and have the ability to connect people from all over the world. Never before has a single individual had the power to express themselves and share their opinions so freely.

Wet Feet PR helped me to understand the vital role blogs are playing in today’s PR world.

“Blogs can impact your business or the outcome of a political campaign. Do not ignore them. Do so and you will lose out on potential business deals and your competitors will get ahead. Bottom line is – Blogs are not a fad, Blogs are here to stay.”

I really do believe that blogs are here to stay. Social networking will continue grow as technology advances. Therefore, PR professionals should continue to utilize blogs as another form of expression.

A Wake Up Call to Our Generation

Today I was looking at the online edition of The New York Times to prepare for a current events quiz in this class when I came across an article describing the ethnic violence happening in Kenya. As I read over the article detailing the brutal and mindless attacks among the people in this country I was saddened I was unaware this was occurring. It really made me think about my generation and the things we see as newsworthy. It also made me think about where I get my news from.

As an aspiring PR professional in the entertainment industry I find my news in the latest gossip magazines and online celebrity news databases. Quiz me on the latest scandal committed by Britney Spears and I will be able to give you a play by play of her downfall. When I came across this article I realized that a large majority of our generation does not really know what is happening in our world.

Throughout my college career every single professor in my communications classes has stressed the importance of reading the newspaper and keeping up with what is going on in the world. Reading a newspaper is not something that is done regularly by the youth in today’s society. With the advancement of technology and the many different outlets that provide news, our generation has not utilized newspapers in the same way as previous generations.

When I do want to find out what is going on in the world I browse the online editions of my local paper and The New York Times. Instead of looking at the articles featured on the front page of the paper, I look at the most popular articles which are normally stories that have catchy headlines and have little relevance to what is going on in our world as a whole.

Although I have yet to think of specific ways to change the type of news our generation sees as newsworthy, I have personally committed myself to finding my news through different media channels throughout this semester. I will continue to read my gossip magazines but I am committed to discovering and exploring new media outlets that will give me a greater knowledge of what is going on in our world. It is vital that we find a way to integrate the type of news that interests our youth because one day our generation will lead this country and our knowledge of the Britney Spears scandal is not going to do us any good.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog!

This blog is for my Communication, Technology and Globalization class at SMU. I am a senior CCPA major with a minor in psychology. Throughout this semester I look forward to understanding the world of blogging and the benefits it has to offer in the world of public relations. When this class is over I hope to continue blogging and use it as a tool throughout my career.