Educating Public Relations Students to Enter the Blogosphere: Results of a Delphi Study

Abstract

This study uses the Delphi technique to ask public relations experts how Web logs (blogs) are changing the practice of public relations and how educators can prepare students for these changes. Respondents agree that blogs are a powerful new medium, creating new audiences, and that as a media outlet, blogs have changed how public relations professionals work. Findings suggest that students must develop online conversational skills, learn to communicate with bloggers, and learn to use blogs to monitor issues. However, panelists said that educators should not require students to blog because forced content skews the transparency of the blogosphere.