I had a really fun and interesting night. I was asked by a friend, Elizabeth Hirst, who also happens to be in charge of the curriculum at McGill University for their Public Relations program, to speak to her Media Relations class.
It was a good group and all were more than eager to hear my take on Blogs, new media, instant personal publishing and how they can become better communications professional. I was also happy to see that only a handful did not really know what a Blog is, and there were even a few who had started their own Blogs.
I’m still a little disappointed.
I think public relations programs and courses really need to wrap their heads around how people are consuming media. I shudder to think about how many hours these PR students spend on spinning convoluted press releases instead of learning how these new – and more powerful – conversations are taking place.
There’s still hope. There were a lot of great comments, questions and enthusiasm from the students. I really want to see the enthusiasm that they exhibit matched by a curriculum and books that will truly give them the arsenal they’ll need when they graduate.