Keeping up with the "Joneses"

If there is one thing I've learned throughout my college career, its that the public relations field is hard to break into. I didn't know this when I started the program, but I thrive on a challenge anyway. As one in the field knows, its all about networking and who you know. Getting that PR job you want is also all about the experience, and tons of it.

I was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. For those of you who don't know, the UP is that strangely shaped land form that is connected to Wisconsin, but everyone thinks its a part of Canada. I decided to go to school at Northern Michigan University, located in Marquette, which is conveniently located only 20 minutes from my hometown.

It's hard to image, but there is no such thing as "urban" in the UP. No skyscrapers. No subways. People who have an iPhone are rare, and those who even have an idea of what PR is, even rarer. The UP has more acres of forest than any place should want, along with sparse towns here and there with their little shops, restaurants and neighborhoods. The largest employers found in the area are the open-pit iron ore mines and the hospitals. This doesn't generate many opportunities for young PR students looking for that great internship. But the students at NMU find amazing and creative ways to deal with this lack of experience by accomplishing amazing thing in our small community.

Because we (and when I see "we" I am referencing to the people of the UP, also known as "Yoopers") are so far away from any metropolitan area, it takes awhile for the latest trend, fashion, or popular item to catch fire. For example, when my school went to Detroit in November 2008 for the PRSSA National Conference, it was the first time we had ever heard of twitter. We kept hearing, "you must be on twitter" or "Go and tweet about this later." We all looked at each other confused, and googled twitter as soon as we got back to our hotel rooms.

So what's to be done in order to play "catch up"? For me, its listening, learning, and participating in the social media, public relations and any other trends that come around. I take advantage of every opportunity that will help me grow personally and professionally.

So why read this blog?

I find that the experience I have, as well as my perspective on the PR world are worth mentioning. Its important to know the differences in people and learning how to work with others of different backgrounds. Small town PR and its experiences are different from the experiences one would have in Chicago, New York, Boston, Seattle, or any other area that has a large population. This blog will document my small town PR experience and how I hope to use these experiences to break into that competitive, but exciting, PR world.

Happy reading.