The world of technology has been advancing at such a steady rate that it would be foolish for public relations trends not to keep up with it. New social media trends such as linked in, twitter, and weebly are all helping people around the world stay connected, network, and stand out to potential employers. http://www.linkedin.com/nhome/ shows all of the professionals and students I am connected with, information about myself, and a background on my school career and work experience. What I find to be useful about linked in is how personal all of the connections are. Twitter allows you to follow professionals, celebrities, and students; however, the connection is only reached on one end. http://twitter.com/ allows me to have access to hundreds of PR professionals and public relations agencies in the surrounding areas. www.bigshoesnetwork.com posts new internships for students every day, which gives them plenty of opportunities to seek out new experiences. A few organizations that are offering out jobs and internships through twitter are as follows: Laughlin Constable @cooljobsatLC, @buzzmonkeysPR, @branigancomm, and @emeraldislePR. All of these PR firms are in the surrounding or Milwaukee areas and I recommend following them on Twitter. www.weebly.com allows students and professionals to put up an online resume for potential employers to scope out. When we went to the BMA event a few weeks ago, speaker Haley Landsman, @haleylandsman, said that 75% of employers are looking at online resumes. This allows us to gain exposure, get involved, and find us jobs. Not only is the social media world helping us find jobs, but also, it is an actual job for some professionals.
http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2010/12/28/rise-in-social-media-jobs-means-opportunity-for-job-seekers says that there are nearly three times more jobs with social media in the title, with quote, "It's becoming a vital part of what companies do, and that's good news for job seekers in a market that—admit it—you know is brutal," says Bernhard Warner, editor of Social Media Influence, a London-based industry newsletter. Fortunately our economy is on the rise from 2009, and I think it is wonderful that we have been able to offer job opportunities in the social media world. Being connected in social media has become essential in the public relations field when it comes to staying connected and having an online resume for the 75% of employers that are seeking potential employers. Not saying that having twitter, linked in, and weebly are the only places that an employer looks, but it definitely would not hurt to have it.
