Ryan May, who may be best known for running a Minnesota PR industry Web log called FeedBlitz, has a new day job.

May, who formerly worked for Fridley arms manufacturer BAE Systems, recently joined New Brighton firm Risdall McKinney Public Relations (RMPR) as vice president.

Even though he now works for one of the firms covered by FeedBlitz – which features blog posts and opportunities for local PR firms to post their news and business victories – May says there’s no conflict of interest.

“I’m not going to cover just one company. If anything, (FeedBlitz will) have to be even more inclusive than before to avoid the appearance that coverage could be slanted toward certain agencies, including RMPR.”

May’s shift to RMPR, a business unit of Risdall Marketing Group, was fortuitous because BAE earlier this week announced the layoffs of 314 people – nearly 24 percent of its work force – after the U.S. Department of Defense canceled funding for one of the company’s arms projects.

May brings significant PR blogging experience to RMPR, where he plans to set aside a percentage of his time to run FeedBlitz. The blog never lacked for posting during its editor’s job transition.

“I started that blog in February 2003,” he said. “That was before blogs were even called blogs.” When FeedBlitz started, “I was the sixth PR blog in the world.”

When May started FeedBlitz, he said, one acquaintance commented, “Wow you’re really throwing away your career.”

But then May started being called about national news stories, and other industry wags started calling for comment or advice on how to start up a blog.

Rose McKinney, president of RMPR, characterized May’s founding FeedBlitz as “Very insightful. Newsletters were going to go away and blogging was the upcoming medium.”

May, who holds a master’s degree in business administration from Augsburg College, said he will help RMPR clients promote themselves and engage in social media.

It’s not like May is at a loss for things to keep up with when he’s off work. He and his wife have an infant, and have a second child on the way.

“I feel like the luckiest guy in the world,” he said.

May spent seven years as communications manager for BAE Systems’ Armament Systems division. He headed development of PR and marketing efforts for BAE’s major U.S. military contracts, including media relations, congressional briefings, internal communications, video creation and collateral to support business development.

RMPR registered $4.4 million in revenues during 2008.