End Of The Semester

My highs were particular assignments such as the Twitter Scavenger Hunt and weekly blogs as well as the guest speakers. I really enjoyed writing a blog post every week. This course required a lot of writing, which was time-consuming. However, as a communications major, writing is part of the job description, so I really appreciated the opportunity to exercise my writing skills on a weekly basis. Also, I was extremely pleased at the amount of guest speakers offered throughout the semester. There were more guest speakers throughout the semester alone versus my entire college career. I feel that guest speakers are fresh and exciting. It’s always interesting to hear another individual’s advice and success story. My low was the Groundswell textbook. Unlike the Customer Service textbook, this particular textbook was not interesting to read. I would suggest a new textbook for next semester…possibly another one from Peter Shankman.

If I could incorporate any change into the course, it would be a video assignment. Ultimately, I’m a Multimedia Communications – Information Emphasis major, so this assignment stems from my love of video, editing, filming, reporting, etc. It would be a really cool assignment to create a video about social media or Public Relations or PRSSA or our client. It could be a commercial for our client. It could be a general overview of the impact of social media. This would expose more Public Relations students to the entire video making process and the life of a reporter, which could help them understand the relationship between Public Relations professionals and reporters.

This might seem like a “DUH!” point, but there is actually a lot of thought that goes into the tweets/status updates posted by various companies on social media. I have learned that most likely, a picture on Instagram or a tweet on Twitter has a definite purpose. Also, something as insignificant as a Vine by a particular company can start a movement. If a company correctly utilizes social media, it can receive thousands of retweets, favorites, shares, and more. In addition, I’ve learned that while social media can do wonderful things, it can also greatly hurt a company, even if the mistake is as minor as the wrong font choice. Biggest Lesson Of All – social media is powerful!