Student Blogs: A Sign of What’s to Come

Last Friday, I was invited by my friend, Leslie Dangel, to deliver a guest lecture to a class of marketing students she teaches at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. She’s asked me on a number of occasions in the past, and I always enjoy the experience.

This time around was no different.

I first spoke about running the Boston Marathon for charity and the five different fundraising campaigns I’ve conducted – on behalf of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (’96), The Home for Little Wanderers (‘02 and ’03) and Children’s Hospital Boston (’05 and ’06) – as part of the Boston Athletic Association’s Charity Program.

I then showed the class a wall calendar we used as a self-promotional, lead-generation piece when I worked as a creative director at Boston’s Yellowfin Direct Marketing. It was a great example of using both creativity (each month included a tip on how to “take your organization’s direct marketing initiatives to the next highest level”) and printing technology (each individual calendar was highly personalized, featuring the recipient’s name in big, bold letters) to capture your audience’s attention.

But what seemed to interest the students most was when I talked about blogs and suggested that blogging is a skill that just may help them land that first job out of college. In fact, one student, Daniel P. Viens, seemed especially enamored with the topic. So much so, apparently, that he launched his own blog just two days later, in which he wrote…

I recently had a speaker in a marketing course I am taking who spent a portion of his time discussing the value of blogging in business and the growing importance of blogs in the professional community. Mr. Bob Cargill’s enthusiasm about this form of online expression was exiting and definitely the catalyst that finally led me to take on the endeavor of creating/maintaining my own website/blog.

The fact that my remarks resonated so much with Daniel is why I’ve never hesitated to say yes when asked to speak before a group of students. It’s not everyday you get to have such influence over the next generation.

Of course, the fact that blogging is so appealing to Daniel and so many other young people is another takeway from this story altogether. If you’re still not taking blogs – and other new media – seriously, take a look at how college students are using technology to communicate today. Then ask yourself how fast things are going to change in just a few years once they’ve fully matriculated into the workforce — and society at large — and the communications habits, preferences and skills they’ve brought with them have reached critical mass.

Now would be a good time for us to prepare.

Note: The author of A New Marketing Commentator, Bob Cargill, is an award-winning creative director, copywriter and blogger who is currently available for hire as a freelancer, consultant, contractor or employee. In fact, Bob’s services – satisfaction guaranteed – have recently been put up for bid on eBay. You can contact Bob – anytime – at Email Bob Cargill.

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