Yes! Weekly story on Bridges’ reporting/coverage of The Design Arts Technology Symposium, published in print and online October 13th:
Bridges takes center stage at the Design Arts Technology Symposium.
Bridges Connecting Communities (www.MyBridges.net), the brainchild of local entrepreneur Cheryl Schirillo, had a strong presence at the Design Art & Technology Symposium (DATS) at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts in Winston-Salem from Oct. 9 through Monday. View Bridges’ videos and attendees comments here.
My Bridges (www.mybridges.net) is a hyperlocal website for social networking and community building that serves as a dynamic advertising vehicle and information hub for the Piedmont Triad, Bridges founder Cheryl Schirillo said.
During the three-day symposium, Schirillo collaborated with students from Salem College to document DATS. My Bridges had reporters and videographers on the scene capturing a wide variety of events and the experiences of symposium participants via live blog posts, photographs and video essays. Participants created their own blog posts on My Bridges to share what they learned, whom they met and what they found most interesting at the three-day conference.
Schirillo describes My Bridges as “a dynamic way to connect with new audiences, share your news and events and tell your story using the latest in social media tools.”
My Bridges, which went live in April, currently has 1,013 members on it’s web site and thousands more following on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The site recently surpassed 500,000 online impressions.
My Bridges is currently working with supporters of the Forsyth County library bond referendum to encourage voters to support the $40 million bond to construct a new central library and new branches for Kernersville and Clemmons.
Schirillo said there is a distinct difference between My Bridges and other forms of social media.
“Facebook connects you to your friends from high school and college, but Bridges connects you to the topics and events that are shaping our community, and to people who are involved in dynamic projects, causes and movements, “ she said. — KTB
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We love The Business Journal because they love Bridges. Our first big news story rocked.
Here’s a teaser:
“W-S heavy hitters line up behind Bridges social site” by Matt Evans, Business Journal, April 16, 2010
Not every new Web entrepreneur is able to launch with the vocal support of some of her city’s most influential leaders, but Cheryl Schirillo found a way. The product she pitched gained the attention of people like Mayor Allen Joines, Flow Motors CEO Don Flow and Carol Strohecker of the Center for Design Innovation: Bridges Connecting Communities, a local social networking tool she says will connect the virtual and physical worlds while bridging the gaps between community residents that traditional media no longer fill. Click Here to read the story.
BRIDGES’ PRESS RELEASE
C.H.A.N.G.E. wins the Grand Prize In Compete for Your Cause
Winston-Salem, NC, June 23, 2010: Supporters for C.H.A.N.G.E. (Communities Helping all Neighborhoods Gain Empowerment), came out in force on June 23, 2010 to help the organization take home the Prize Pot in the final hour of Compete for Your Cause. CHANGE won $6,800. El Buen Pastor Latino Community Services and The Forsyth County Humane Society came in right behind C.H.A.N.G.E. in votes. Compete for Your Cause raised more than $12,000 for close to 100 local non-profits.
Compete for Your Cause is a community-wide fundraiser for non-profits in Forsyth County sponsored by The Winston-Salem Foundation and hosted on the new web site for social networking in Forsyth County: Bridges – Connecting Communities ( www.MyBridges.net ). Each non-profit that participated in the event will receive $5 for every vote that was cast in its name. The organization with the most votes at 5:13 pm on June 23 won the Prize Pot.
“Our Mission is to create Bridges between people in Forsyth County and the causes they care about. MyBridges.net, our social networking web site, has only been up and running since April 23, so it was exciting to make our mission a reality by helping our community’s non-profits raise much needed funds this summer,” states Bridges’ Founder, Cheryl Schirillo. “Compete for Your Cause also generated a lot of excitement and awareness for our local non-profits, which is an added bonus. We are grateful to The Winston-Salem Foundation for serving as the sponsor of this first-time event.”
Compete for Your Cause kicked off on May 17, 2010 and ended on June 23, 2010. Individuals purchased $10 Raffle tickets for their favorite non-profit in Forsyth County online at www.MyBridges.net. The organization that they chose automatically received $5 and 1 vote for each $10 raffle ticket bought in that organization’s name. The other $5 went into the pot for the Grand Prize. On June 23, the organization with the most votes won the Grand Prize. The competition was free to non-profits.
Compete for Your Cause is the brainchild of Cheryl Schirillo, Founder of Bridges – Connecting Communities ( http://MyBridges.net/ ).
Bridges’ is a social networking web site that connects people to what they care about in WS/Forsyth. It’s Facebook meets LinkedIn, meets the heart and soul of the community. During online events, Bridges encourages face-to-face gatherings – transforming the faceless Internet into an exciting bridge to real life.
www.MyBridges.net is a new way for folks to connect to their hometown and make it a better place to live. It’s an online community, a forum of people who want to be “in the know” about issues that matter and who want to use that knowledge to make a difference. Facebook connects you to your friends from high school and college. LinkedIn connects you to business professionals. Bridges connects you to the topics and events that are shaping our community, and to people who are involved in dynamic projects, causes and movements. From education and politics to featured non-profits, volunteer opportunities and major events to farmer’s market schedules and lifestyle news, it’s never been easier to find a cause that fits your interests, to make a difference — no matter how big or small – with just the click of a mouse.
Users who set up a profile on www.MyBridges.net can share what types of topics, issues and causes matter to them. Each time they visit the site, they will have access to multiple ways in which they can connect and create change for the better in the community around them.
