The Dissertation Marathon

I recently received my unit results and was pleased to learn that in the dissertation marathon, I came in 1st. If you have never written a dissertation, let me tell you it is unbelievably painstaking waiting for the decision on how you will be graded for something you have slaved over for months and months. But when you get the result you wanted, the good feeling is the opposite equivalent times ten.

The study was titled 'Is Political Blogging A Worthwile Tool For Engaging Young People In Politics'?, a subject I chose because I thought it to be a timely piece in terms of current affairs (funnily enough, the hand-in date was the same day as the general election). I also have an interest in politics and the study of social media, so that's how it came together.

I wrote a summary of my dissertation which I recently had published as a feature on 'Behind The Spin', an online magazine for students and young practitioners. The article is called 'Political blogging: can it reach young people?':

"Politicians are increasingly under pressure to engage with their constituents online. Some engage via social media. Some don’t. Some are blogging. Some aren’t. In the run up to this year’s general election in the UK, I was researching whether a blog would prove to be a useful way for politicians to get young people engaged…" (read the full article)

'Behind The Spin' is supported by the CIPR and is put together by Richard Bailey. If you are a PR student or professional I strongly recommend that you have a read and consider making a contribution.