While my life is as crazy as the next academic’s, I do try to take time and check out Steve Rubel’s MicroPersuasion blog. In a recent post, he points to a colleague’s post (power of recommendation!) about becoming a better blogger. In Media Landscaping, there is a robust debate about taking advertising within a blog. The best advice I found in the Landscaping post is remembering to find a niche and stick to it. This will define you and your message.

I’ve spent nearly three years teaching in the School of Journalism here at K-State. Every time I bring up the topics related to e-communication, whether it be blogging (weblogs), e-newsletters, Web design, you name it, I’m a rather bit amazed at the blank stares I receive. When I first taught a media relations class about blogging, the reaction to the subject matter was negative. The students, all upper-level public relations or mass communications students, all felt that blogging was merely trendy, a fad, something that would pass. The gist I felt from the students was that there was no place for e-communication in traditional mass communications and that as long as we focused on the big three — newspapers, radio and television — that it would pass.

Two years later, I’m actively teaching students about blogging, about e-newsletters, about Web design. I’ve also heard from alumni that have told both myself and colleagues that if we don’t get riding (and steering) on the e-communication bandwagon that we’re going to start losing students. Employers are expecting, more and more, at least a basic understanding of e-communication tactics…though I can guarantee you there are an incredible few classes and textbooks out there to use as resources to teach mass comm students (especially those in PR) how to USE the tactics of e-communication.