Guest blog: What they didn’t teach me at PR school

I know some more experienced professionals that are slowly learning the ropes of social media – becoming accustomed to dealing with bloggers instead of reporters, Twittering, Facebooking, etc. It’s only natural to think that someone fresh out of PR school would be an expert right?

Over the past two years, I have learned a lot in the public relations program at College. From media relations and communications planning, to fundraising and event management, the knowledge I’ve gained is immeasurable. That is why, after completing classes and moving on to co-op, I am surprised that social media seems to have taken a back burner to more traditional PR methods.

I am no expert. I feel very behind when it comes to new methods – I just started using Twitter, but I am having trouble convincing myself that people give a crap about what I’m doing. I have the same issue with blogs – who cares about my opinion? But I am (very) slowly gaining confidence.

Social media has undoubtedly changed PR, but has not yet changed the way PR is being taught, leaving even new professionals to learn for themselves. But I am hoping that the learning curve won’t be too steep.