As one of the students who recently found out about blogging, I would have to say that my immediate response was somewhere between the two you mentioned. I wasn't horrified, nor was I excited...it was more of a feeling of puzzled and confused.
I am one of the current students in Robert French's Auburn classes, so my first exposure was about three weeks ago. I learn well by relating one thing with another, but I had nothing to relate blogging to. I was frustrated at first, grasping for a solid definition. The best I could do for myself was to realize that there isn't one, at least not one that I could come up with.
I've discovered that blogging is one of those things that is really best learned by doing. The process has definitely become easier and more natural. The hardest part at the moment is coming up with topics to blog about. Since it's for class, Robert gives us guidelines for what we have to write about, so that's the hardest thing for me.
I also find it a bit intimidating that my name is out there and readily available. Not that I post personal information that I don't want others to see, but the fact that I am out there and anyone in the world can find me is almost surreal. I can't help but think that someone I haven't seen in 15 years is going to stumble onto my blog and read about me and what I'm doing, without ever having to contact me. And not that that's bad, it's just, like I said, kind of surreal.
Anyway, I read your post and wanted to provide a perspective from a student learning about blogging for the first time. And, with any luck, this will help with some of your future speaking engagements.

"Why PR Students Love Hyku"

Not really relevant to your post Josh, but I think the help, praise and time you give to PR students out of your undoubtedly busy day is admirable. For that I commend you sir! :-)

Not to steal any thunder from Stephen...but I too appreciate all of your efforts and attention that you have dedicated to PR students and blogging!

About your comment...when Robert first made public that we would be required to blog four times a week, my response was similiar to both reactions usually seen from experienced professionals, with probably a deer in headlights kind of look mixed in as well. I realized coming into this, that I was one of the few who was not familiar with blogging myself, although I was familiar with the topic. However, because my grade depended on it, I began blogging and have truly been opened up to a whole other dimension to PR.

Much like what you said in your post, one of the reasons I took on blogging so easily was because I was able to do it NOW, as opposed to memorizing how to do something (i.e. write a press release, fact sheet, pitch, etc.) and then waiting until I got a job and was able to apply it. Plus, blogging itself is easy; trying to think up blog ideas, however, isn't always!

Essentially, blogging has taught me how to be more confident in my voice. I feel that many times because I am not a seasoned PR professional, my stance on topics is not credible. And while I don't have much experience in the PR world, I am educated on it and have developed my own opinions and thoughts, through the art of blogging. I have gotten much more confident in my opinionated writing, and that right there is something only blogging has taught me.

Quite right about blogging, although I would definitely disagree with the "not much use for press releases or media relations in the life of a college student".

Monica hits on it when she says she can't do a press release NOW! Why not Monica? Don't you do any voluntary work. aren't you involved in a pressure group, community association, charity or political party? Or what about sports clubs or student union grups.

By volunteering their services for the public good every PR student can get quality work to display in their portfolio. Even if the clippings are only from a local newspaper, they are ones the student has done themself.

If a student hasn't "given something back" then we won't consider them. The pressure groups and politics might be contreversial with some but I'm still far more impressed by a student who has volunteered for something I disagree with than one who can't be bothered to "give something back".

I somewhat agree with your post. I think a person's motivation for doing something is more important sometimes than the reason they are doing it though. I still do not enjoy blogging. I do it because I have to. I also do not want to do anything poorly, so even though I would not normally choose to blog or do not particularly enjoy it, I will not put my name on anything that is less than presentable. I do try to make my posts thoughtful and innovative. I check and recheck every word that goes on my blog or the blogs of others. Blogging has simply become something that I must do to finish Robert's courses with flying colors. Should it be a part of my job in the future, I will do it then too. I will not promise that there will be a smile on my face as I am doing it though.

In response to the comment made by Stuart Bruce above, I do not necessarily agree with your stance on giving back. It is your company's personal choice on who you would and would not consider hiring. I do think you should keep in mind that many of us do give back. I am taking six classes this semester and working 20 hours a week. Add to that all of my extracurricular activities. I believe that there are many college students with a hectic schedule like me as well. A lot of us do still find time to give back, but our voluntary efforts do not usually include writing press releases. The charities I have volunteered for, such as Habitat for Humanity and Toys for Tots, already have people that do that job for them. When I have gone on mission trips for my church, I do write or speak about my experiences. This probably will not show up in a secular paper though. I think you should consider that when you are looking at a prospective employee. When we volunteer, we do whatever we are needed to do for that organization and most of the time that does not include writing press releases. Rest assured, when the time comes for us to routinely write press releases, we will be ready.

As a veteran of Robert's classes at Auburn, (I had him for Intro to PR as well) I've had a little bit of time to think about the benefits of blogging. While many of my classmates have not participated in the venture before our Style and Design class, I have had time to warm up to the idea. What attracts me most to the social media is that it is presented to us as an edge on our competition coming out of school. We have all heard the numbers and predictions that PR jobs are increasing, but competativeness is not decreasing. Blogging is going to be one skill and experience that many other college students won't have. We need every advantage we can get when we start the search for jobs and internships.

Another draw for students is the ability to interact with professionals in the field. The knowledge passed on from our professors is greatly appreciated and received, but it is always good to draw knowledge from as many sources as possible. Through the internet and blogs, we have been able to make contacts that would never have been made without the medium. I see it as an enormous benefit.

Thanks for sharing this, Josh. I like your take on it. The experiential side of the exercise for PR students it what appeals to me the most. And, that experience covers everything from the reading, writing and then interacting with people like you. If the experience has a set of phases that build upon themselves, I think it can aid students in acclimating themselves to blogs.

In our class exercises, that is (I hope) accomplished by having students (a) create their own blogs, (b) comment in Marcomblog, and (c) visit the contributor's blogs and comment, too. Then, after they have experienced that, they can then venture out and begin interacting with the whole community of PR blogs - and beyond.

Thanks for the feedback.