Technology has already drastically changed the media landscape, and the party is just gettin' started. Captured from Meredith Hultman – author of PR Nation and a junior Corporate Communication and Public Affairs major – “Blogs are like, so hot right now.”

Paris Hilton tagline aside, Ms. Hultman couldn’t be more right. Although she is still enrolled at Southern Methodist University, Meredith and her forward-thinking skills will be one of the leaders of a new generation of communication strategists.

We are in an era where the 14, 15, 16 year-old youth of today are growing up with a mouse attached to their hand and digital media in their pockets. They all know how to navigate and utilize the Internet – it’s second nature to them. The beauty of it all is that the little guy/girl with a computer will now be able to compete head-to-head with the larger-scale media institutions – it’s supremely disruptive.

…nothing is more elusive or temporal.

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.

A snippet of advice for any company: At the very least, participation in the blogosphere could just mean doing something as simple as actively reading and listening to what bloggers are currently saying about your products and services or those of your competitors (Yes, they are already talking about you). It's free market research, and no company should ever pass that up.

Again, taken from Meredith at PR Nation:

It is safe to say that the PR field has caught the blog fever and it is only a matter of time before every firm- large or small, corporate or non-profit will have a blog of their own. So for all you PR hopefuls out there, start blogging!

We couldn’t agree more Meredith. 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!

Check out more blogs from Nina Flournoy's Advanced Communication Skills class at SMU.

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