10 Things I Learned as a PR & Advertising Grad Student

This list is essentially a follow-up to my previous entry. Towards the end of that post, I mentioned how I really wanted the entry to be about what I learned in graduate school, but it ended up being the story of why I decided to pursue a Masters Degree in the first place. Now that I’ve had a couple weeks to reflect on my two years of post-graduate education at St. Cloud State University, I present a “Top Ten” list of things I learned. Some topics were learned in the classroom, some while writing papers and others came about in other ways as a student. Though I am not going to elaborate on any of the topics, I do challenge you to ask questions or argue some of the statements. A few might even be considered controversial. Here goes:

1. There is nothing ‘new’ about new media
2. Learn the basic theories of psychology, and become a better communicator
3. Even when you think you have produced creative content, you should step away and try again
4. Always know your audience and do the research to find out more
5. Differentiate, segment and tailor the message for each medium
6. Never stop learning; I will never be an ‘expert’ in anything because there is always more to learn
7. Media convergence is impossible, but web convergence is possible
8. If you want to be successful in any communications-related industry (journalism, public relations, advertising, marketing, etc.), you must live and breathe social media
9. Huge corporate media conglomerates are the demise of democracy–nearly every media outlet is conservative … even NPR
10. News outlets can no longer afford to simply push out information … people expect to participate in a two-way conversation about everything