Public Relations Journal Vol. 4, No.

3, Summer 2010
© 2010 Public Relations Society of America
 
 
 
Social Media and Strategic Communication: Attitudes and
Perceptions Among College Students

Bobbi Kay Lewis, Ph.D.

Social media have been adopted from its inception by public relations,
advertising and marketing practitioners as tools for communicating with strategic
publics. Wright and Hinson (2009) have established that public relations professionals
perceive social media positively with respect to strategic communication. Given that
social media are having an impact on professionals in the industry, the current study
examined if social media are having a similar impact on college students in general and
students studying in the area of public relations and advertising. The uses, attitudes and
perceptions of social media among college students were explored through survey data.
7KHUHVHDUFKIRXQGWKDWHGXFDWLRQDIIHFWVVWXGHQWV¶XQGHUVWDQGLQJDQGDWWLWXGHVWRZDUG
social media. It is important for educators and curriculum leaders to have an
DSSUHFLDWLRQRIVWXGHQWV¶NQRZOHGJHEDVHRIVRFLDOPHGLDDQGKRZ they employ it in
their construction of knowledge and reality. It is also valuable for professionals in the
industry, who are hiring recent college graduates, to gain insight into how students
perceive social media in their own lives and as strategic tools. Findings suggest that
college students majoring advertising and public relations view social media more
positively than other majors because they understand how it fits in to the industry in
which they are being educated. These finding suggest that social media should be
incorporated into strategic communications curriculum to better prepare students for the
current media climate.

INTRODUCTION

Media literacy literature indicates that even though media and commercial
messages are virtually inescapable in American culture, it is still necessary to educate
people about the media and its power and influence. With the emergence of the Internet
DQG³VRFLDOPHGLD´-RKQ43XEOLFLVQRORQJHUWKHSDVVLYHFRQVXPHURIPHGLD
messages; he can now be creator, publisher, producer and broadcaster. Internet tools
such as blogs, YouTube, Flickr, MySpace and Facebook allow the average person to
create content that can be shared with a worldwide audience. The interactive nature of
these tools has transformed media messages from one-way communication to
facilitating a dialogue. Because teens and young adults were among the first to adopt
and utilize these easily accessible tools, it is assumed that they are also among the
most knowledgeable about how to employ those tools (Loretto, 2009).
______________________

Bobbi Kay Lewis, Ph.D is Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University,

[email protected].
 Lewis - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

The emergence of the Internet and social media has had a tremendous impact
on the theory and practice of advertising, public relations and marketing disciplines.
Advertising spending on the Internet has outpaced all other traditional media (Center for
Media Research, 2004). In the last two years, the number of social networking tools
and the number of people using those tools have exploded, thus the rules are
constantly changing and there is considerable uncertainty on how to employ these tools
from a strategic perspective. Professionals in the industry have enduUHGWKH³WULDOE\ILUH´
method of learning how to effectively use social media as strategic communication for
products and businesses, and there is still much to be learned. The communication
environment has changed significantly during the last two decades. These changes
have affected both the theory and practice of all areas of communication. Among these
changes include a more integrated approach to organizational communication including,
but not limited to, blurring the lines of advertising and public relations. The different
areas of communications were once very compartmentalized in their respective silos.
Marketing, public relations, advertising, sales promotions, events and personal selling
were often separate entities with different communications and objectives. Those areas
are merging to consolidate the messages and communicate more meaningfully with
customers on a united front. As the industry has moved to a more integrated approach,
advertising and public relations education also has evolved (Larsen & Len Rois, 2006).
Many programs have moved to an integrated curriculum, which includes integration of
advertising, public relations, and marketing concepts through a strategic
communications approach. Strategic communications, as defined by Hallahan et al.
LV³SXUSRVHIXOXVHRIFRPPXQLFDWLRQE\DQRUJDQL]DWLRQWRIXOILOOLWVPLVVLRQ´
(p.4).

The emergence of new digital technologies and social media has also had a
dramatic impact on the invariable change in communication. The term, social media, is
WKHQHZ³EX]]ZRUG´LQWKHFRPPXQLFDWLRQVDQGPDUNHWLQJLQGXVWU\,WLVWKHFXUUHQW
label for digital technologies that allow people to connect, interact, produce and share
content. These technologies have donned many labels including: social networking,
peer media, new media, digital media, NextGen PR, and Web 2.0. The term, social
media, is yet to be defined by Merriam-:HEVWHU¶VGLFWLRQDU\EXWWKHUHLVDQDFWLYH
ZHEVLWHWLWOHG³6RFLDO0HGLD'HILQHG´ZKLFKSURYLGHVDIRXU-paragraph answer to the
quesWLRQ³:KDWLV6RFLDO0HGLD"´The site indicates social media are the creation of
platforms that connect people together, provide an opportunity to produce and share
content with others, extract and process community knowledge and share it back.
Among the most popular social network services include Facebook, MySpace, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Flickr, and FourSquare. While these are the most recognized, there are more
than 150 social networking websites listed on Wikipedia, and the list is not exhaustive.
In addition to social network services, there are many other services including social
bookmarking tools and news sites, such as Digg, Delicious and Mixx, online platform
sites, such as Ning, which allow people to create their own social network, and video-
sharing websites, such as YouTube, all of which make up the social media landscape.
0RELOHWHOHFRPPXQLFDWLRQVQHWZRUNWHFKQRORJ\DQG³VPDUWSKRQHV´HTXLSSHGZLWK
operating system software and Internet capabilities have provided the opportunity to
VWD\³FRQQHFWHG´ to others and social media networks while on the move.
 Social Media and Strategic Communication - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

Social media are used for personal use to connect with old and new friends, build
on existing relationships, and gather information and community knowledge. In addition
to personal interaction and entertainment value, social media has become a powerful
tool in the arsenal of marketers, entrepreneurs, advertisers and public relations
professionals. Josh Bernoff (2009) of Forrester Research predicts that advertising
dollars will be steadily shifting dollars away from traditional advertising to social media
with an increase from $716 million dollars in 2009 to $3 billion dollars in five years. To
assess the transformation in the communication environment, Wright and Hinson (2009)
have examined the impact of social media and new technologies on public relations
practice. Since 2006, Wright and Hinson have conducted an annual study among public
relations practitioners. The first two annual trend studies concentrated mainly on how
employees communicate via blogs and ethical aspects of this communication ((Wright &
Hinson, 2008). Due to the dramatic changes of social media over the past four years,
the researchers were driven to make considerable updates to the measuring instrument
each year. Thus the most recent two studies have taken a more broad perspective of
social media. Their findings indicate social media are dramatically changing public
relations and the way it is practiced (Wright & Hinson, 2009).

LITERATURE REVIEW

As we have learned from traditional media and media literacy literature, being
immersed in the media does not equate to understanding its power and influence or
how to channel and employ that power. People, particularly young people, experience
the world through multimedia such as television, Internet, mobile phones, MP3 players,
DQGYLGHRJDPHV6RFLDOQHWZRUNVKDYHEHFRPHDODUJHSDUWRIVWXGHQWV¶OLYHVWRGD\
both in high school and in college. EDUCAUSE compared social network usage at 44
colleges and universities in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The study revealed that the
percentage of students who said they never use social networks has fallen from 25
percent in 2006 to 11 percent in 2008 (College Students Use, 2008). In fact admissions
officials at colleges are using social media to reach their target audience (prospective
college students) for recruiting. In a study of hundreds of colleges by the Center for
Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, findings indicate
that 85 percent of colleges are using social media as a recruiting tool, as reported in
USA Today (Marklein, 2009).

Literature on social networking sites include both quantitative and qualitative

studies that explore how students use social networks, and among the top reasons
include keeping up with friends, playing games, sharing photos, planning events and as
an outlet for self-expression. Facebook is the top used social networking site among
college students (Spinks, 2009). Online social networking sites allow individuals to
create their own unique web presence commonly called a social networking profile.
Individuals use their social networking sites to self-express and communicate with
others, and social networking websites use member profiles to cache, sort, and catalog
data to share with third-parties including marketers and advertisers. As Digital Strategy
Consultant Danny Meadows-Klue (2008) points out to members of the marketing
community, the rise of the web and the explosive growth of online social networks have
 Lewis - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

consequences that marketers need to understand in order to build blossoming

relationships with consumers. Social media has the ability to illuminate consensus, and
surface all relevant views on an issue (Elgan, 2009). For brands that can persuade their
FXVWRPHUVWR³IDOOLQORYHDQGMRLQLQWKHFRQYHUVDWLRQWKHSLFNLQJZLOOEHULFK´
(Meadows-Lue, 2008, p. 250).

Empirical research on college student use of social networking has focused

mainly on studying online profile content. Stutzman (2006) studied Facebook profiles of
first-year students at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill to examine how
students share information. Grigg and Johnson (2006) also examined Facebook profiles
of first-year students. The study employed a qualitative approach using student identity
and self-representation as contextual lenses. Dwyer (2006) explored how the users of
social networking sites engage in interpersonal relationships. The findings indicate that
students use social networking to help them maintain relationships with friends (Dwyer,
2006). Birnbaum (2008) conducted a study to examine the impressions undergraduate
college students want others who see their Facebook profile to form of them. The
ILQGLQJVLQGLFDWHWKDWFROOHJHVWXGHQWVFUHDWH)DFHERRNSURILOHVZLWKWZR³WDUJHW´
audiences. The first group consists of friends and other students with whom they have
face-to-face interactions; in fact, they expect this group to look at their profiles. The
secondary audience consisting of individuals with whom they have a more superficial
relationship and less face-to-face contact. For example, these individuals may be
someone they had in class, met at a party or someone who has similar taste in music.
In a study on the impact of social networking activities on evangelical Christian college
students, Auday and Coleman (2009) found that 54 percent of participant reported
³QHJOHFWLQJLPSRUWDQWDUHDVRIWKHLUOLIH´GXHWRVSHQGLQJWRRPXFKWLPHRQVRFLDOPHGLD
sites.

Because social networking site usage is so prevalent among college students,

there is an assumption that they know how to employ them as strategic tools. For
example, a Boston-EDVHGPHQ¶VDFFHVVRU\FRPSDQ\UHFUXLWHG³DEORJJHUDQGDVRFLDO
PHGLDJXUX´RQ&UDLJVOLVWRUJ'HVSLWHWKHDVVXPHGH[SHUWLVHLQWKHWLWOHRIWKHSRVLWLRQV
the company was seeking interns. The social media guru job description and
UHVSRQVLELOLWLHVUHDG³\RXZLOOEHUHVSRQVLEOHIRUXWLOL]LQJVRFLDOZHEWRROVDQGRXWOHWVWR
JHQHUDWHDZDUHQHVVDQGH[FLWHPHQWRQOLQH«LQFRUSRUDWLQJ\RXURZQVRFLDOPHGLD
VWUDWHJLHVLQWRRXUFRPSDQ\¶VLQLWLDWLYHV´6RFLDO0HGLD*XUXSDUD7KLV
particular business assumes that qualified college students would be equipped with
their own social media strategies that would be applicable to their strategic
communications efforts. Penny Loretto writes an internship blog on About.com, an
LQIRUPDWLRQJXLGHVDQGUDWLQJV:HEVLWHYRWHG3HRSOH¶V&KRLFH:LQQHUDWWKH
:HEE\$ZDUGV/RUHWWRUHSRUWV³VLQFHFROOHJHVWXGHQWVKDYHPRUHNQRZOHGJHDQG
experience with this line of communication [social media], companies are seeking
students who can help them learn what they need to do to promote themselves and
WKHLUFRPSDQLHVYLDVRFLDOPHGLDQHWZRUNVRQOLQH«$VFROOHJHVWXGHQWVWKLVVWXII
comes natural and for professionals it can be a nightmare keeping up with all the
EHQHILWVRIVRFLDOPHGLD´/RUHWWRSDUD
 Social Media and Strategic Communication - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

In contrast, David Spinks (2009), graduating senior at New York University and
blogger, maintains college students tend to use the most popular sites such as
Facebook and Twitter, but they fail to embrace the great number of other social media
WRROVDYDLODEOHWRWKHP+HRIIHUVDOLVWRI³PXVW-WU\VRFLDOPHGLDVLWHV´WKDWKH
PDLQWDLQVZLOOKHOSFROOHJHVWXGHQWV³QHWZRUNFROODERUDWHFRPPXQLFDWHDQGPDNHGDLO\
college tasks a bit eaVLHU´6SLQNVSDUD&RPPDQGRUHSRUWV³PDQ\
FROOHJHVWXGHQWVLIQRWPRVWGRQ¶WXQGHUVWDQGRUDSSUHFLDWHWKHSRZHURIRQOLQH
PDUNHWLQJDQGEUDQGLQJIRUWKHLUSHUVRQDOVXFFHVV´SDUD$WWKHDQQXDO
convention for Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, John
Moore of Mullen Advertising and PR spoke at a panel session regarding social media
practices for advertising and public relations. He expressed considerable
disappointment in finding recent graduates and interns who know how to use social
media in strategic communications. Despite the fact that recent graduates and interns
DUHKHDY\XVHUVRI)DFHERRNDQGRWKHUVRFLDOPHGLD³WKHLULQWHOOHFWXDOFXULRVLW\DQG
ability to think critically about it is surprisinJO\GLVDSSRLQWLQJ´0RRUH

The purpose of this study is to assess FROOHJHVWXGHQWV¶DWWLWXGHVDQGSHUFHSWLRQV

of social media in regard to strategic communications. The study will compare
advertising and public relations major with non-majors which will offer insight into the
importance of education and curriculum on students understanding of social media and
its application to strategic communications, including advertising and public relations.

Social Media and Strategic Communications

Social media have changed the rules for strategic communications (Scott, 2007).
'LJLWDOPHGLDH[SHUWV0DU\)DVWHQDXDQG%LOO)ULWVFKRIIHUHGD³ELJSLFWXUH´ORRNLQWR
KRZGLJLWDOKDV³WXUQHGWKHPDUNHWLQJZRUOGXSVLGHGRZQ´)DVWHQDX )ULWVFK
Fritsch presented that branding has become more important with the proliferation of
media choices, and offered support from a 2009 study presented in McKinsey Quarterly
regarding the Consumer Purchase Journey (Court, et. al, 2007).

The consumer is now creating his/her own sales experience. As a result, the
control of the message is now in the hands of consumers, which is often a scary
proposition to most marketing and strategic communications professionals. But smart
PDUNHWHUVDQG³EUDYHFOLHQWV´HPEUDFHWKLVQRWLRQDnd seek to empower consumers
with that control. Strategic communications professionals have to find ways to entice
customers to engage with their clients¶ brands in an honest and authentic way. To do so
involves in depth research and interaction with the community wherein the target
audience resides, and the ability to give them what they need. Scott (2007) reports,
³:HEPDUNHWLQJLVDERXWGHOLYHULQJXVHIXOFRQWHQWDWMXVWWKHSUHFLVHPRPHQWWKDWD
EX\HUQHHGVLW´S(QJDJHPHQWZLWKFXVWRPHUVDQG³MRLQLQJWKHFRQYHUVDWLRQ´KDV
replaced former objectives of exposure and delivering one-way messages. Social media
have enabled strategic communications to meet customers and strategic publics where
they are and join in the conversation. For example, in a niche social network such as
918moms.com for mothers in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, representatives from local
organizations can read and respond to discussions or provide offers based on the
 Lewis - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

opinions of users. In a large, non-niche social network like Facebook, a business may
have a profile or fan page for a representative or brand mascot. The business can
actively become part of the conversation among their friends or fans and provide
information, videos, photos, special offers and more.

7KHFRQFHSWRI³FRQYHUVDWLRQ´LVHVVHQWLDOWRLQWHUQDOand external marketing in

WRGD\¶VPDUNHWSODFH'XQFDQGHILQHVLQWHUQDOPDUNHWLQJDV³DQRQJRLQJHIIRUWWR
involve employees in the planning process and then communicate the finalized plan
back to them to get their buy-LQDQGVXSSRUW´S:LWKEORJVDQGVRFLDOPHGLD
essentially every employee has become a company spokesperson. You want
employees who believe in your brand and communicate that in their personal
communication, which is actually public communication because of blogs, Facebook,
Twitter, and other social media. Therefore, effective internal marketing can result in
external marketing or marketing to the public through employees and stakeholders
using social media. Using social media as strategic communications tools involves
listening and relating to customers and stakeholders rather than simply getting the
marketing message out. Weber (2007) maintains that this requires organizational
transparency that will, in turn, build credibility. The importance of social media in
strategic communications has been explored; learning theories will be now be examined
and applied to the aspect of using social media.

Theoretical Framework

There are many kinds of learning theory including behaviorist, cognitive,

consWUXFWLYLVWDQGVRFLDOOHDUQLQJWKHRULHV%DVHGRQ-RKQ'HZH\¶VH[SHULHQWLDO
learning (Dewey, 1938), constructivism maintains that learners need to experience and
apply concepts and ideas and relate them to their existing knowledge in order to
construct meaning. Constructivist theories recognize that knowledge is highly
contextual and situated, and all individuals carry their own unique maps of knowledge
and of the world (Siemens, 2005). Building on the constructivist notion that learners
build their own knowledge when interacting with an environment, Lev Vygotsky (1962)
maintained that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of
cognition. Individuals cannot extricate themselves from the society in which they live,
and language and culture shape their construction of knowledge (Vygotsky, 1978).

Communities of Practice

9\JRWVN\¶VVRFLDOGHYHORSPHQWWKHRU\LVDNH\FRPSRQHQWRIVLWXDWHGOHDUQLQJ
theory. The mind emerges through interaction with others and the surroundings,
mediated artifacts, signs, and language. Jean Lave (1988) conducted ethnographic
studies that highlight apprenticeship, which help reveal the social nature of learning and
NQRZLQJ6KHVWDWHG³$VWKHVHVWXGLHVSDUWLDOO\LOOXVWUDWHDQ\FRPSOH[V\VWHPRIZRUN
and learning has roots in and interdependencies across its history, technology,
developing work activity, careers, and the relations between newcomers and old-timers
DQGDPRQJZRUNHUVDQGSUDFWLWLRQHUV´/DYHS/DYHDQG:HJQHU
designate learning as a function of activity, context and culture in which occurs; learning
 Social Media and Strategic Communication - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

LV³VLWXDWHG´6LWXDWHGOHDUQLQJGLVFXVVLRQVRIWHQUHIHUWRWKHLGHDRID³community of
practice.´ Lave and Wenger coined the term community of practice while studying
apprenticeship as a learning model, as reported by Wenger (1999). Through further
investigation of the concept, Lave and Wenger realized the existence of the practice of
a community went far beyond the formal apprenticeship system (Wenger, 1999).
Communities of practice are informal, pervasive and an integral part of our daily lives.
Knowledge and skills are obtained by participating in activities that expert members of
the community would perform. Learners become involved in a community of practice,
which embodies certain beliefs and behaviors to be acquired (Wenger, 1998).

Situated Learning and Digital Technologies

It is established in the literature that mediated elements play a significant role in

the situated learning environment. Recent development of mobile technologies and
better understanding and application of web technologies, particularly cognitive tools, is
set to have a profound impact on pedagogy, according to Comas-Quinn, Mardomingo
DQG9DOHQWLQH7UD[OHUUHSRUWV³PRELOHSHUVRQDODQGZireless devices are
now radically transforming societal notions of discourse and knowledge, and are
responsible for new forms of art, employment, language, commerce, deprivation and
FULPHDVZHOODVOHDUQLQJ´S0). Most of the current work in mobile and digital learning
apply constructivist principals and situated learning assumptions (Jonassen & Land,
7KLVYLHZIRUOHDUQLQJFRQWUDGLFWVWKHLGHDWKDWWKHWHDFKHU¶VUROHLVWR
communicate facts and knowledge to students. The concept of communities of practice
reveal that teachers can facilitate learning by creating inventive ways of engaging
students in meaningful practices, providing access to resources that enhance their
participation, opening their horizons so they can put themselves in learning trajectories
they can identify with, and involving them in actions, discussions, and reflections that
make a difference to the communities that they value. Sharing, collaboration and
interaction with other learners and experts from whom the learner can obtain different
perspectives on the problem clearly enhance the opportunities for learning (Comas-
Quinn et al., 2009).

As Digital Strategy Consultant Danny Meadows-Klue (2008) points out to

members of the marketing community, the rise of the web and the explosive growth of
online social networks have consequences that markets need to understand in order to
build blossoming relationships with consumers. Social media has the ability to illuminate
consensus, and surface all relevant views on an issue (Elgan, 2009). For brands that
FDQSHUVXDGHWKHLUFXVWRPHUVWR³IDOOLQORYHDQGMRLQLQWKHFRQYHUVDWLRQWKHSLFNLQJZLOO
EHULFK´0HDGRZV-Lue, 2008, p. 250).

METHOD

As Wright and Hinson (2009) have established, it is important to understand

industry professLRQDOV¶DWWLWXGHVDQGSHUFHSWLRQVRQVRFLDOPHGLDWREHWWHUXQGHUVWDQG
its impact on communications practice. Social media and its impact on strategic
communications is a fairly recent phenomenon, so the empirical research on the topic is
 Lewis - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

somewhat limited. :ULJKWDQG+LQVRQ¶VVXUYH\LQVWUXPHQWXVHGWRPHDVXUHWKHLPSDFW

of social media on public relations among practitioners, was modified and employed
with permission of the authors to measure the perceptions of social media among
undergraduate college students in this study. Driven by the following hypothesis,
research questions and purpose, the uses, attitudes and perceptions of social media
among college students were explored by analyzing survey data.

H1: Public relations and advertising majors will perceive social media more
positively than other majors.

In addition, the following research questions were addressed:

RQ1: +RZZLOOJHQGHUDIIHFWFROOHJHVWXGHQWV¶DWWLWXGHWRZDUGVRFLDOPHGLD"

RQ2: +RZGRHVQXPEHURI\HDUVLQVFKRROLPSDFWVWXGHQWV¶ positive perception

of social media as strategic communications tools?

RQ3: How will the beliefs of students who use social media as a primary news
source be affected regarding whether corporations should consider
employing social media as tools in their communication efforts?

RQ4: +RZZLOOWDNLQJDFODVVRQVRFLDOPHGLDDIIHFWVWXGHQWV¶SHUFHSWLRQVRI
social media as strategic communications tools?

Quantitative data were collected through a survey of 463 college students.

Attitudes toward social media were analyzed using 26 five-point Likert-type scale
statements ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). To determine the
significance of the difference between group means, Independent-samples t-Tests were
used for the Likert-type survey questions relating to the impact of social media on
FROOHJHVWXGHQWV¶FRPPXQLFDWLRQLQJHQHUDODQGZLWKUHVSHFWWRVWUDWHJLF
communications.

Data Analysis
 

Statistical analysis for this study included descriptive statistics and a t-test. Tests
were considered significant if p < .05. The study participants were 463 undergraduate
college students at Oklahoma State University; 58% were females and 37% males.
Class level or standing was almost equally distributed among participants with 24.56%
(n = 117) freshmen, 24.2% (n = 115) sophomores, 22.5% (n =107) juniors, and 25.5%
(n = 121) seniors. Out of the 463 total participants, 457 reported their major, with 47%
advertising and public relations majors and 53% other majors. Participants indicated
that 78% (n = 362) have declared a minor, 10% (n = 38) of those students reported
seeking a minor in marketing. In order to assess exposure to social media education,
participants were asked if they had taken a class on social media. The data showed that
23% of the participants have taken a class on social media. Students were asked to
 Social Media and Strategic Communication - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

rank their top three media sources for news and current events. The participants top five
media sources for news and current events are listed in Table 1.

Table 1
Highest Ranked Media Sources for News and Current Events
1 2 3 Total Top 3
Television 46% (214) 28% (129) 12% (57) 86% (400)
Newspaper 8% (39) 19% (89) 20% (91) 47% (220)
Online Newspaper 22% (101) 16% (73) 10% (44) 46% (218)
Social Media 11% (50) 13% (59) 18% (82) 41% (191)
Radio 4% (15) 13% (60) 19% (86) 35% (161)
 

Television, newspaper, online newspaper and social media were the highest
ranked media sources. Television was ranked as the top news source by 46% (n = 214)
of the participants. Television was ranked as the second highest news source by 28%
(n = 129) and third highest news source by 12% (n = 57) of the participants with a total
of 86% (n = 400) of participants ranking TV as one of their top three media sources for
news and current events.

Wright and Hinson (2009) have established that public relations professionals
perceive social media positively with respect to strategic communications. Given that
social media are having an impact on professionals in the public relations industry, the
researcher questions if social media are having a similar impact on college students in
general and students studying in the area of public relations and advertising. To
address these issues, the researcher posited one hypothesis and four research
questions. Because of the integration of public relations and advertising curriculum
across the country, known as strategic communications, students majoring in public
relations and advertising are grouped and measured together for the purpose of this
study.

The attitude toward social media scale used in this study was virtually identical to
WKHRQHXVHGLQ:ULJKWDQG+LQVRQ¶VVWXG\6RPHODQJXDJHZDVVOLJKWO\FKDQJHG
to address the student population, but the meanings of the statements were not
affected. The scale consisted of 26 five-point Likert-type scale statements ranging from
strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) and designed to measure attitude toward
VRFLDOPHGLD&URQEDFK¶VDOSKDFRHIILFLHQWRIUHOLDELOLW\ZDVXVHGWRPHDVXUHWKH
average inter-correlation of the scale (Alpha =.785). The scale met the requirements of
a acceptable measure of .70 or higher. To determine the significance of the difference
between group means, Independent t-Tests were used for the 26 Likert-type survey
statemeQWVUHODWLQJWRWKHLPSDFWRIVRFLDOPHGLDRQFROOHJHVWXGHQWV¶FRPPXQLFDWLRQLQ
 Lewis - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

general and with respect to strategic communications. The findings of this research
effort were analyzed according to the hypothesis and the research questions
addressed.

Findings

:ULJKWDQG+LQVRQ¶VUHVHDUFKLQGLFDWHVWKDWSXEOLFUHODWLRQVSUDFWLWLRQHUV¶

perceive social media positively. As a result, one would expect that students studying
public relations and advertising would also demonstrate positive attitudes toward social
media. The following hypothesis was posited to test this assumption H1: Public relations
and advertising majors will perceive social media more positively than other majors.
Consistent with the prediction, public relations and advertising majors expressed
significantly more positive attitudes toward social media than other majors. Overall
mean scores among public relations and advertising majors (M= 3.69%, SD = .34) were
significantly higher than those among other majors (M = 3.53, SD =.28), t (456) = 5.42;
p = .0001).

As illustrated in Table 2, this hypothesis was supported: public relations and

advertising majors reported a significantly more positive attitude toward social media
than other majors on more than half of 26 statements assessed. Table 2 includes
responses to the statements, which demonstrated statistically significant mean
differences among public relations and advertising majors and other majors.
 
 Social Media and Strategic Communication - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

Table 2
Attitudes toward Social Media Means for PR/Ad Majors and Other Majors
Major
PR/Ad Others t df

Changed external comm. 4.19 4.02 2.67* 456

(.643) (.725)

Complement traditional media 3.60 3.34 2.84* 456

(.938) (1.04)

Conflict with traditional media 3.10 3.30 -2.20* 456

(1.03) (.984)

SM Enhance PR 4.34 4.00 4.94*** 456

(.702) (.761)

Blogs Enhance PR 3.90 3.52 4.28*** 456

(.960) (.929)

Respond more quickly 4.27 4.02 3.71*** 456

to criticism (.675) (.722)

Tell the truth 2.86 2.67 2.64* 456

(.709) (8.14)

Advocate ethical culture 3.10 2.92 2.14* 456

(.876) (.849)

Offer low-cost way to 4.19 3.94 3.87*** 456

develop relationships (.690) (.671)

Impact organizational 3.90 3.65 3.70*** 455

Transparency (.710) (.753)

Mainstream media honest 4.04 3.87 2.01* 456

and ethical (.838) (1.01)

Measure amount of comm. 3.92 3.52 5.44*** 456

about organizations (.806) (.759)

Analyze content of comm. 4.16 3.84 4.56*** 456

about organizations (.739) (.731)

Measure impact on influentials 4.00 3.72 4.38*** 453

(.701) (.658)

Measure impact on attitudes 4.08 3.76 5.38*** 452

and behavior (.641) (.645)

Note. * = p < .05, *** = p < .001. Standard Deviations appear in parentheses below means.

 
 Lewis - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

Of all 26 survey statements, public relations and advertising majors reported

more positive attitudes toward social media than other majors. Public relations and
advertising majors held significantly more positive views than other majors in more than
half, 15 out of the 26 statements in the scale. Among the highest mean difference,
between the two groups include the following four statements: Social media enhances
PR (t = 4.94; p = .0001); and Blogs enhances PR (t = 4.28, p = .0001); Public relations
and advertising practitioners should measure: The amount of communication that is
being disseminated about their organizations (or client organizations) through blogs and
other social media (t =5.44, p =.0001); Public relations and advertising practitioners
should measure: The impact information disseminated about an organization through
social media has on the formation, change and reinforcement of attitudes, opinions and
behavior (t = 5.38, p = .0001). The next set of analyses addressed the research
questions.

Gender

The study compared attitudes toward social media among female students and
male students. Results on individual statements suggest that females tend to view
social media more positively than males. Female students held significantly more
positive views of social media than males among six of the statements on the 26-
statement VFDOH)HPDOHVWXGHQWVDJUHHGPRVWVWURQJO\ZLWKWKHVWDWHPHQW³Social
PHGLDKDYHHQKDQFHGWKHSUDFWLFHRISXEOLFUHODWLRQV´M =4.31 on a 5-point scale), and
the results of this statement had the highest statistical significance between mean
difference among male and female participants (t = 4.22; p = .0001). The results
indicate that gender does have an impact on the perceptions of social media among
college students. However, average mean scores among female students (M= 3.58%,
SD = .36) were not significantly higher than those among male students (M = 3.64, SD
=.30), t (451) = 1.79; p = .073). Although the data suggest that gender does have some
impact on attitudes to social media, the findings are relatively weak.

Class standing

The study addressed the impact of number of years in school on attitudes toward
social media. Number of years in school was measured by class standing. Junior and
senior students (M= 3.66%, SD = .35) expressed significantly more positive attitudes
toward social media than freshman and sophomore students (M= 3.56%, SD = .28), t
(457) = 3.23; p = .001). As Table 3 illustrates, an analysis of individual items on the
scale also revealed statistically significant differences among groups. Most notably,
junior and senior students tended to agree more strongly with the following statements:
³3ublic relations and advertising practitioners should measure the amount of
communication that is being disseminated about their organizations (or client
RUJDQL]DWLRQVWKURXJKEORJVDQGRWKHUVRFLDOPHGLD´ (Jr/Sr M = 3.89; Fr/Soph M = 3.59;
t = -4.05; p = .0001), and ³3ublic relations and advertising practitioners should measure
the impact information disseminated about their organizations (or their clients) through
blogs and other social media has on influentials, opinion leaders and members of other
VWUDWHJLFDXGLHQFHV´ (Jr/Sr M = 4.00; Fr/Soph M = 3.74; t = -4.14; p = .0001). Table 4
 Social Media and Strategic Communication - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

includes responses to the statements, which demonstrated statistically significant mean

differences among students with a class rank of junior or senior and students with a
class rank of freshman or sophomore.

Table 3
Attitudes toward Social Media Means for Juniors/Seniors and Freshmen/Sophomores

Class Standing

Fr/Soph Jrs/Srs t df

Changed how organizations 4.43 4.31 2.05* 456

communicate (.585) (.659)

Complement traditional media 3.36 3.61 -2.77* 457

(1.05) (.920)

Conflict with traditional media 3.36 3.03 3.51*** 457

(.963) (1.04)

Blogs Enhance PR 3.61 3.84 -2.48 457

(.934) (.991)

SM Enhance Advertising 4.44 4.24 2.99 457

(.649) (.750)

Respond more quickly 4.09 4.23 -2.16 457

to criticism (.699) (.703)

Tell the truth 2.71 2.86 -2.09 457

(.797) (.734)

Offer low-cost way to 3.96 4.19 -3.70*** 457

develop relationships (.696) (.669)

Serve as a watchdog 3.42 3.65 -2.82* 457

for traditional media (.866) (.875)

Impact organizational 3.66 3.91 -3.69*** 456

transparency (.753) (.706)

Measure amount of comm. 3.59 3.89 -4.05*** 457

about organizations (.786) (.808)

Analyze content of comm. 3.92 4.11 -2.69* 457

about organizations (.756) (.738)

Measure impact on influentials 3.74 4.00 -4.14*** 454

(.694) (.668)

Measure impact on attitudes 3.83 4.04 -3.51*** 453

and behavior (.664) (.636)

Note. * = p < .05, *** = p < .001. Standard Deviations appear in parentheses below means.
 Lewis - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

Junior and senior students expressed more positive attitudes toward social
media on all of the 26 statements with the exception of one. Freshman and sophomore
students agreed more strongly than junior and senior students with the statement: ³The
emergence of social media (including blogs) has changed the way organizations
FRPPXQLFDWH´)U6RSKM = 4.43; Jr/Sr M = 4.31; t = 2.05; p = .108). The statement,
VRFLDOPHGLDDQGWUDGLWLRQDOPDLQVWUHDPPHGLDDUHLQFRQIOLFWZLWKHDFKRWKHU´LVDFWXDOOy
coded as a negative statement toward social media; therefore, more positive mean
scores on that statement indicates freshman and sophomore students view social
media less positively than junior and senior students (Fr/Soph Mean = 3.36; Jr/Sr Mean
= 3.03; t=3.51; p<.001). These findings suggest that number of years in college
LQFUHDVHVVWXGHQW¶VDWWLWXGHWRZDUGVRFLDOPHGLDZLWKUHVSHFWWRVWUDWHJLF
communications.

Social Media as Primary News Source

The study compared attitudes toward social media, regarding whether

corporations should consider employing social media as tools in their communication
efforts, among students who use social media as a primary news source, and those
who do not. As Table 4 illustrates, data revealed that students who ranked social media
as one of their top two sources for news and current events have more positive attitudes
than those students who did not rank social media as their top two sources for news
and information.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Social Media and Strategic Communication - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

Table 4

Attitudes toward Social Media Means for Students ranking SM as Primary News Source

Top News Source

SM Other t df

Changed how organizations 4.52 4.34 2.14* 189

communicate (.537) (.633)

Blogs enhance advertising 3.86 3.57 2.08* 189

(.976) (.917)

Influence traditional media 4.17 3.91 2.42* 189

(.743) (.724)

Traditional media influence SM 3.94 3.62 2.56* 189

(.870) (.855)

More accurate than 2.73 2.41 2.73* 188

traditional media (.765) (.845)

More credible than 2.50 2.23 2.38* 189

traditional media (.743) (.806)

More trusted information 2.65 2.30 2.78* 188

source than traditional media (.886) (.812)

Tell the truth 2.98 2.70 2.53* 189

(.707) (.856)

Offer low-cost way to 4.30 4.09 2.16* 189

develop relationships (.687) (.689)

Serve as a watchdog 3.85 3.49 2.95* 189

for traditional media (.826) (.878)

Impact organizational 4.09 3.78 2.91* 189

transparency (.788) (.648)

Analyze content of comm. 4.35 3.94 4.20*** 188

about organizations (.614) (.731)

Measure impact on influentials 4.13 3.77 3.60*** 187

(.737) (.618)

Measure impact on attitudes 4.17 3.83 3.52*** 187

and behavior (.646) (.671)

Note. * = p < .05, *** = p < .001. Standard Deviations appear in parentheses below means.

   
 Lewis - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

An analysis of individual items revealed significant differences among students

who use social media as a top news source and those who do not on more than half of
the statements on the scale. Students who use social media as a top news source
DJUHHGPRVWVWURQJO\ZLWKWKHVWDWHPHQW³public relations and advertising practitioners
should measure aQGRUDQDO\]HFRQWHQWRIZKDW¶VEHLQJFRPPXQLFDWHGDERXWWKHLU
organizations (or their clients) in blogs and other sociDOPHGLD´(SM as top source Mean
= 4.35; Other as top source Mean = 3.94; t=4.20; p<.001).

Social Media Class

54+RZZLOOWDNLQJDFODVVRQVRFLDOPHGLDDIIHFWVWXGHQWV¶SHUFHSWLRQVRI
social media as strategic communications tools? As illustrated in Table 6, the data
LQGLFDWHWKDWWDNLQJDFODVVRQVRFLDOPHGLDZLOOKDYHDSRVLWLYHLPSDFWRQVWXGHQWV¶
perceptions of social media as strategic communications tools. Table 5 includes
responses to the statements, which demonstrated statistically significant mean
differences among students who reported that they had taken a class on social media
and those who reported they had not.

Table 5
Attitudes toward Social Media Means for Students who have and
have not taken SM class

Taken Social Media Class

Have Have Not t df

Blogs enhance PR 3.97 3.65 3.07* 457

(.905) (.971)

More accurate than 2.70 2.39 3.36*** 457

traditional media (.909) (.799)

Offer low-cost way to 4.19 4.04 2.00* 457

develop relationships (.637) (.706)

Serve as a watchdog 3.77 3.46 3.21*** 457

for traditional media (.838) (.881)

Impact organizational 3.93 3.74 2.35* 456

transparency (.756) (.732)

Measure amount of comm. 3.94 3.67 3.06* 457

about organizations (.751) (.816)

Analyze content of comm. 4.15 3.97 2.23* 457

about organizations (.674) (.771)

Measure impact on influentials 4.00 3.83 2.27* 454

(.701) (.688)

Note. * = p < .05, *** = p < .001. Standard Deviations appear in parentheses below means.
 Social Media and Strategic Communication - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

An analysis of individual items revealed that students who have taken a class on
social media held significantly more positive attitudes than students who have not
among seven of the statements on the scale. Social media students believed more
strongly thDW³VRFLDOPHGLDLQFOXGLQJEORJVDUHPRUHDFFXUDWHWKDQWUDGLWLRQDO
PDLQVWUHDPPHGLD´+DYHWDNHQFODVV0HDQ +DYHQRW0HDQ W 
SDQGWKDW³VRFLDOPHGLDVHUYHDVDZDWFK-GRJIRUWUDGLWLRQDOPDLQVWUHDPPHGLD´
(Have taken class Mean = 3.77; Have not Mean = 3.46; t=3.36; p<.001).

DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

The purpose of this investigation was to understand the relationship

between strategic communications curriculum including advertising and public relations
coursework on studenWV¶DWWLWXGHVDQGSHUFHSWLRQVRIVRFLDOPHGLD The results of the
study suggest that major, class standing or number of years in school, using social
media as a top news source, and social media coursework have a significant impact on
FROOHJHVWXGHQWV¶DWWitudes and perceptions of social media. Gender was considered as
a determinant of positive attitudes toward social media, but there was little support to
argue that gender is a key factor. Results on six out of 26 of the individual statements
suggest that females tend to view social media more positively than males. However,
average mean scores among female students were not significantly higher than those
among male students.

The findings from this study provide insight for both public relations educators
and public relations practitioners. Although college students in general are early
adopters and heavy users of social media, it does not mean that they make the
connections of how to employ social media strategically, either to further their own
careers or to benefit a brand or an organization. Education is the key. Advertising and
public relations majors view social media more positively than other majors because
they understand how it fits in to the industry in which they are being educated. Junior
and senior students expressed significantly more positive attitudes toward social media
than freshman and sophomore students. A significant relationship was determined
between students who use social media as a primary news source and positive attitude
toward social media as strategic communications tools. Public relations and advertising
majors were more likely to use social media as a news source, which also indicates
their coursework and education is having an impact on their behavior. Finally, results
indicaWHWKDWWDNLQJDFODVVRQVRFLDOPHGLDZLOOKDYHDSRVLWLYHLPSDFWRQVWXGHQWV¶
perceptions of social media as strategic communications tools. Participants who
reported taking a social media class had significantly higher attitudes toward social
media than those who did not.

It is important for educators and curriculum leaders to have an appreciation of

VWXGHQWV¶NQRZOHGJHEDVHRIVRFLDOPHGLDDQGKRZWKH\HPSOR\LWLQWKHLUFRQVWUXFWLRQ
of knowledge and reality. This study provides evidence for instructors who are weighing
the pros and cons of taking on the challenge of incorporating social media in their
FODVVURRPV-XVWDVVWXGHQWV¶OHDUQLQJRIDQGDSSUHFLDWLRQIRUDGYHUWLVLQJDQGSXEOLF
relations are often increased by experiential learning and service learning techniques
 Lewis - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

VXFKZRUNLQJZLWKD³UHDO´FOLHQW=ZDUXQVWXGHQWVEHQHILWIURPJDLQLQJ

knowledge and hands-on application of social media. If students are exposed to the
benefits of social media as strategic communications tools, they can become active
members of the community of practice in the field of strategic communications by using
social media in experiential learning environments for clients and gain a deeper
understanding of the impact of strategic communications by examining the real-time
results afforded by social media. Public relations and advertising students can also
learn how to leverage social media to develop an identity in the field or digital footprint
that demonstrates their skills in the field, which may result in employers seeking them
out to hire.

This study also provides valuable insight for professionals in the industry, who
are hiring recent college graduates. The findings reveal how students perceive social
media in their own lives and as strategic tools. The findings suggest that public relations
and advertising students are developing a strong sense of identity tied to the community
of practice through understanding of common tools common concepts, and shared
language. Professionals cannot assume that any college student, no matter the field of
study or number of years in school, will be able to use social media strategically.
Professional should seek out interns and new employees who earned degrees in
programs that engage students in meaningful practices, providing access to resources
that enhance their participation including social media, opening their horizons so they
can put themselves in learning trajectories they can identify with, and involving them in
actions, discussions, and reflections that make a difference to the communities that they
value. These findings also provide insight for professionals who are reluctant to use
social media or see its benefits for their clients. They too can be educated of its benefits
as strategic communications tools. They can become more marketable and more
effective in their jobs if they take the time to learn and become familiar with social
media.

LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The study was limited by the purposive sampling size that decreased
generalizability of the findings. The finding in this study can be applied to other
universities that possess similar advertising and public relations curriculum.

The findings provided in this research have left more questions to be answered.
Consequently, further research could be conducted in a number of areas. While it has
been established in public relations literature that blogs have had a tremendous impact
on journalism and public relations practice (Chung, et al., 2007; Scoble & Israel, 2006;
Wright & Hinson, 2009), very little research has examined student use of blogs,
particularly with respect to strategic communications education. The potential impact of
EORJVRQWRGD\¶VPHGLDODQGVFDSHDQGVWUDWHJLFFRPPXQLFDWLRQVLVSKHQRPHQDO:ULJKW
& Hinson, 2009). Thus, strategic communication education must echo the importance of
blogs and reveal how they tie back to goals, objective and strategies.
 Social Media and Strategic Communication - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

Social networking sites offer considerable audience and advertising potential for
the future (Maul, 2009). In an article in USA Today, Swartz (2008) reports, young
audiences are turning attention to their computer and smartphone screens to engage in
social networking more often than they are turning to the television screen, movie
screen or gaming screen combined. As this study suggests students are looking to
social media among their top sources for news and information. As a result, social
media are having an enormous impact on advertising media planning in particular.
Social media requires a radically different mindset from traditional media planning.
Many studies have addressed curricular implications of the changing media landscape
with respect to training creative people and account-planners (Blakeman & Haley, 2005;
Kendrick et al., 1996; Robb B. & Lloyd, C.; 2008; Slater et. al., 2002). Yet, there is a gap
in the literature regarding how social media are affecting advertising media planning
practice and education. Research should examine advertising media planning trends in
leveraging the mass use of social media.

The tremendous impact of social media on public relations and advertising bring
up numerous ethical considerations. Gale and Bunton (2005) conducted a study that
assessed the impact of ethics instruction on advertising and public relations graduates.
Their findings indicate that media ethics instruction corresponds with ethical awareness
and ethical leadership (Gale & Bunton, 2005). It would be interesting to examine how
social media have impacted ethics and education in strategic communications.
 Lewis - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

REFERENCES

Anderson, M.L. & Taylor, H.F. (2006). Sociology: Understanding a diverse society. (4th
Ed.) Bellmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.

Auday, B.C. & Coleman, S. (2009, April). Pulling off the mask: The impact of social
networking activities on evangelical Christian college students.
Religion Newswriters Association Conference: Minneapolis.

Bernoff, J. (2009, July 20). Advertising Will Change Forever. Message posted to
http://adage.com/digitalnext/post.php?article_id=138023.

Birnbaum, M.G. (2008). Taking Goffman on a tour of Facebook: College students and
the presentation of self in a mediated digital environment. Retreived from
ProQuest Digital Dissertations. (AAT 3320071).

Blakeman, R. (2007). Integrated Marketing Communication: Creative Strategy From

Idea to Implementation. Lanham, Maryland; Rowman & Littldfield Publishers, Inc.

Blakeman, R. & Haley, E. (2005). Tales of portfolio schools and universities: Working
FUHDWLYHV¶YLHZVRQSUHSDULQJVWXGHQWVIRUHQWU\-level jobs in advertising. Journal
of Advertising Education, Fall, 5-13.

Bush, M. (2009, Oct. 26). As Media Market Shrinks, PR Passes Up Reporter, Pitches
Directly to Consumers. Advertising Age. Retireved from
http://adage.com/article?article_id=139864.

Chung, D.S., Kim, E., Trammell, K.D. & Porter, L.V. (2007). Uses and Perceptions
of Blogs: A Report on Professionals and Journalism Educators. Journalism &
Mass Communication Educator, 62 (3), 305-322.

Comas-Quinn, A., Mardomingo, R. & Valentine, C. (2009). Mobile blogs in language

learning: making the most of informal and situated learning opportunities.
ReCALL, 21 (1), 96-112.

College Students Use of Social Networking (2008, Sept. 22). Retrieved from
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1006557

Dewey, J. (1938). Education and experience. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Duncan, T. (2005). Principles of Advertising & IMC. (2nd ed.) New York, NY: McGraw
Hill.
 Social Media and Strategic Communication - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

Elgan, M. (2009, Feb. 17). Why social media is killing (bad) TV. Retrieved from
http://www.internetnews.com/commentary/article.php/3803556/Why+Social+Medi
a+is+Killing+Bad+TV+News.htm

Facebook Press Room: Statistics. (2009). Retrieved on Oct. 2, 2009, from

http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

Fritsch, B. & Fastenau, M. (2009, October). The New Advertising Paradigm ±

Connecting with Customers in an Online World. Presented at the
Association for Women in Communications Annual Conference, Seattle, WA.

Gale, K. & Bunton, K. (2005). Assessing the Impact of Ethics Instruction on Advertising
and Public Relations Graduates. Journalism & Mass
Communication Educator, 60 (3), 272-285.

Grigg, J.A., & Johnson, J. (2006). Student self-representation in web-based social

networks: University freshmen and thefacebook.com. A paper prepared for the
discussion at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research
Association, San Francisco, CA, April 9, 2006.

Hallahan, K., Holtzhausen, D., van Ruler, B., Veri, D., & Sriramesh, K. (2007). Defining
Strategic Communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 1
(1), 3-35.

Jonassen, D. & Land, S.M. (2000). Theoretical foundations of learning environments.

Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Kendrick, A., Slayden, D. & Broyles, S. (1996). Real Worlds and Ivory Towers: A Survey
of Top Creative Directors. Journalism and Mass Communications Educator,
Summer, 63-74.

Larsen, P.V. & Len-Rios, M.E. (2006). Integration of Advertising and Public Relations
Curricula: A 2005 Status Report of Educator Perceptions. Journalism & Mass
Communication Editor, 61 (1), 33-47.

Lave, J. (1988). Cognition in Practice: Mind, mathematics, and culture in everyday life.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation.

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Loretto, P. (2009, Oct. 3). Employers seek college students to assist with social
media. Message posted to http://internships.about.com/b/2009/10/03/emploters-
seek-college-students-to-assist-with-social-media/
 Lewis - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

Maul, K. (2009, Mar. 2). Survey shows optimism for social media, digital in 2009. PR
Week. p. 2.

Marklein, M.B. (2009, April 29). College recruiters are Twittering, too. USA Today,
pp. 6D.

Meadows-Klue, D. (2008). Falling in love 2.0: Relationship marketing for the Facebook
generation. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 9 (3), 245-250.

Moore, J. (2009, August). Working social media before it works you: Best practices in
advertising and public relations. Presented at the Association for Education in
Mass Communication Annual Convention, Boston, MA.

Moore, M.S. (2009). Written communication in an online learning environment.

Retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations. (AAT 3367076).

Sanghvi, R. (2006, Sept. 5). Facebook gets a facelift. Message posted to

http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=2207967130

Scott, D.M. (2007). The New Rules of Marketing & PR. Hoboken: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc.

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism ± A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. International
Journal of Instructional Technology & Distance Learning 2(1). Retrieved Sept. 4,
2009, from http://itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm

Spinks, D. (2009, April 16). Ten must-try social media sites for college students.
Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/04/16/social-media-colege/

Stutzman, F. (2006). An evaluation of identity-sharing behavior in social network

communities. International Digital and Media Arts Journal, 3 (1).

Swartz, J. (2008). Social-networking sites work to turn users into profits. USA
Today. May 11. Available at http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor
/industry/2008-05-11-socialnetworking_N.htm.

Traxler, J. (2007). Defining, Discussing and Evaluating Mobile Learning: The

International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 8 (2) 1-12.
 

Vygotsky, L.S. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological

processes. Edited Cambridge MA, London: Harvard University Press.

Wales, J., & Sanger, L. (2001). History of Wikipedia. Retrieved May 7, 2008,
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About#About_Wikipedia
 Social Media and Strategic Communication - Public Relations Journal - Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010  
 

Weber, L. (2007). Marketing to the Social Web: How digital customer communities build
your business. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity.

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: the key to a knowledge strategy.

Knowledge Directions, 1 (2), pp. 48-63.

What is social media? Retrieved Aug. 9, 2009, from http://www.socialmediadefined.com

/what-is-social-media/

Wright, D.K. & Hinson, M.D. (2009). An analysis of the Increasing Impact of
Social and Other New Media on Public Relations Practice. International
Public Relations Research Conference. Miami, FL. Retrieved from:
http://www.instituteforpr.org/research_single/wright_hinson_social_ media_miami

Wright, D.K. & Hinson, M.D. (2008). How Blogs and Social Media are Changing Public
Relations and the Way it is Practiced. Public Relations Journal, 2 (2).

Yahoo Answers. (2009, July). Facebook has a cap on inbox messages?!?

Retrieved from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=
20090706054157AAE0uZk