Touting Those Who Tout Michigan

This past week, I received a cordial invitation from my good pal Julie to the launch party of BrainGain Marketing, Detroit/Michigan's ONLY social media focused PR and marketing agency. The small gathering took place at Buzz Bar in Detroit, which was great for me because I've never been there, so it added to my newfound interest in visiting as many hip places as possible that I've never been to before. This up-and-coming, ubercool (my new favorite prefix to all words is uber) social marketing company targets creative, young and talented people throughout the state who are the next influential wave of social media. Heck, they're a bunch of creative, young and extremely talented people themselves, so they know exactly how to reach out to their targeted audience.

Julie and her colleagues also have created a cool Web site called MiLife MiTimes (Mi = Michigan...get it?). The site offers a fresh perspective on life in Michigan for and by those who can't help but love the state that's been taking so much political/social/governmental slack recently. Most of the articles focus on artsy, innovative topics about music, entertainment, outdoor recreation, eco-friendly info, fashion and forward-moving companies. I find myself tapping into the site at least once a day to see what new and fun things are going on around the state, and to confirm my sometimes questionable decision of choosing to live and work in Michigan. It's great when companies like BrainGain come along because it helps reinforce that decision and pools creative talent together who have the same thoughts and interests. Our state definitely needs more people like the BrainGain team to help fuel the creativity/social media fire and provide a resource for young, enthusiastic people like myself (and so many of my friends) who are itching every day to make a difference in the communications 2.0 world.

What's even better is that now anyone can post an article on the MiLife MiTimes site. Just go to Submit a Story on the main page and let your thoughts run wild. Of course, the article must be ubercool (there's that word again), and will be reviewed by staff prior to posting. I know I will be contributing articles in the near future to help play my part in spiffing up the way people think about Detroit and Michigan in general. It's up to us young and talented folk to dig deep and uncover all the hidden secrets of our state, because if we don't do it, then who will?