A friend of mine, Eva Keiser, senior vice president at Risdall McKinney PR who also teaches of at the University of Minnesota, asked me the other day: “What are 10 online resources you’d recommend for today’s PR student?”

Good question.

So, I got to thinking. What do I read regularly? What would I recommend to those just starting out in the industry? What provides value to me on a daily basis? What helps me build my evolving PR/marketing/social media/SEO skills?

Here’s my best shot:

10–#PR20 (Twitter chat, Wed. evenings 7-8 p.m. CST) I have a hard time following this one personally because it coincides with bed time for my kids, but I usually try to browse the transcript later that evening or the next day (thanks Beth!). Beth Harte, community manager for MarketingProfs moderates this weekly discussion. It has also featured various guest moderators including Shel Holtz and Lauren Fernandez.

9—Mashable. Probably goes without saying, but a rich resource for all things social media, Mashable has positioned itself as the Huffington Post of social media blogs/sites. A must visit several times per week.

8—Commentz. A new service courtesy of Sarah Evans and David Teicher, Commentz provides you with a daily email recapping some of the more interesting and insightful posts from the PR/social media blogosphere each day. It’s only been around for about a month, but already it’s become a must-read for me each day.

7—DaveFleet.com. Without a doubt, one of my favorite PR blogs. Why? Because Dave provides thoughtful, well-researched content on a consistent basis. How many PR blogs can you say that about? But above and beyond that, the reason I follow Dave’s blog so closely is he’s not afraid to tell it like it is. Go against the grain. Tackle a controversial topic. Ask tough questions.

6—A Shel of my Former Self. One of the smarter guys in the field—and someone who’s been operating in the PR/communications/social media space longer than just about anyone. Also, highly recommend subscribing to his “For Immediate Release” podcast—a great listen on the way into the office during the week.

5—Ragan.com. I know Ragan is positioned as more of an internal communications/business communicators organization, but lately they’re daily email has been a great resources for new ideas for me. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a frequent contributor to Ragan.com.

4—Alltop. Looking for the top mommy bloggers? What about the most well-read tech blogs? Or, how about political blogs? Alltop has it all. And then some. A great resource for searching all things blogs.

3—Tough Sledding. Had to include one academic PR blog and this one, in my opinion, is far and away the best. Bill Sledzik’s posts are thought-provoking and well thought out. And, much like Mr. Fleet, Bill is not afraid to take on the tough issues. Just recently, he reviewed Brian Solis and Deidre Breakenridge’s new book, “Putting the Public Back in PR.” It wasn’t the most glowing review, but it opened up an honest and frank discussion. Something we need much more of out here.

2—Journchat (Twitter chat and live events). The best way to learn in this profession? Start participating. Almost a year ago, Sarah Evans created Journchat and gave PR pros, bloggers and journalists the opportunity to meet each Monday night at 7 pm CST and discuss issues that impact us all. Over the months, Sarah’s had a number of guest moderators including a number of journalists. And recently, she expanded the concept to live, in-person events in seven markets across the U.S. (including Minneapolis/St. Paul).

1–PR Reader’s Choice Award Blogs. OK, so this is a bit self-promotional, but really, all the blogs that were nominated for these awards are fantastic reads–and they were all nominated by the community at large. Plus, these blogs cover a lot of ground. There are a number of up-and-coming PR bloggers (Lauren Fernandez and Amy Mengel come to mind) as well as more seasoned pros (Todd Defren, David Mullen and Danny Brown). I’d definitely suggest adding these ALL to your Google Reader immediately. 

What would you add to this list?

Note: Photo courtesy of Nate_Williams on FlickR Creative Commons