I've seen the future and it might be in Provo

I was in Provo Utah last week, guest lecturing at BYU's
School of Communications and it was the most beautiful place I've ever been invited to speak.



 It was also the best lens into the future of public relations and communications that I've had in awhile. BYU has made serious investments into the technology needed to train students in the future of communications. (Including the very sophisticated digital camera they loaned me to take these pictures.) There's a full TV studio, state of the art newspaper offices, a top-notch in-house ad agency and some very sophisticated measurement tools as well. (Of course they're not using our DIY Dashboard yet, the way the students at the University of North Carolina do, but we're working on that.)
In terms of social media, they're not quite at the level of the University of Georgia which hosts its own social media conference but they've added a blog to their daily newspaper and BYU students are pretty active on Twitter these days.
All of which made it a great learning experience for me. My talk was the usual "PR Measurement in the 21st Century" -- but it was the student reaction that made it so special. They really got it. They understood why taking statistics is an important part of Public Relations. They saw the value in studying web analytics and regressions and correlations and applying what they've learned when they go out into the world and do PR.
It gave me faith that this next generation of communications practitioners will finally bring science and accountability to the profession. That instead of just being "people persons" and "flacks" the next generation will be made up of accountable, strategic communicators that use data and research to plan programs, and use metrics and evaluation to continuously improve their results.
Thank you to Brad Rawlins and all the faculty at BYU for giving me hope that one day, my job might easier.

Comments

[Scott]

You should have looked over at the TMA department for the Social Media Aspect. They have had a class for 2 semesters now entitled "New Media" and the class has studied in depth the various aspects of WEB 2.0. They have produced a web series based on that advertising model- www.jer3miah.com
There is also a digital cultures class from the english department that studies the web and social media. So, not localized in PR but BYU is certainly there.

[Greg Brassfield]

Come back anytime. I thought your presentation was forward thinking and important in the field of PR research. I can't wait to read your book.

[Brad Rawlins]

Katie,

The students are still talking about the ideas of measurement and social media you infused in their minds during your visit. I think this will have long lasting impressions and we are very grateful for your time and insight. You're welcome back anytime!

[Clipping path services]

This is absolutely brilliant post. Thanks for sharing.

[Jet Snow]

With the emergence of web analytics and other measuring tools, hopefully these students won't have to count clippings. I'm still surprised by how many companies use this practice.

Glad you enjoyed your time in Utah - come back soon!