I’d like to test social media’s culture of generosity by asking for your help in giving young PR students a sense of the impact of social media on PR as a discipline and their prospective careers as PR practitioners.

Social media demands new skills

I’ve been invited to speak about social media to the the students in the public relations program at Humber College in Toronto. In setting up the session, the organizers have told me:

We feel our classmates will benefit most from a lecture focusing on how social media is functioning within PR, primarily how it has emerged and how it is changing the field. As we all have first-hand experience with social media and popular sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc), we would like you to focus on the aspects of social media and PR of which we may not be aware: are there new technologies or sites that will impact the field in the next year? Are there common preconceptions about social media that we should know as we enter the field? How should we be incorporating social media into our careers

I’ve pulled out of this three topics to discuss with the students of Humber College:

• how social media has affected PR;
• new developments, technologies or sites that will impact the field in the next year; and
• how aspiring PR practitioners should be incorporating social media into their career preparation.

Here’s where you come in

If you were talking to a class of PR students, what would you tell them about social media?

• How is social media affecting organizational and group communications?
• What are the technology trends that they should be watching?
• What will it mean for their careers?

I plan to show the Humber class this post and the comments it receives as an illustration of the power of crowdsourcing. So, please give generously of your experience and advice.