Socially Speaking

Friends of Charles Town Now,

Or should I say Followers? Friends? Likes? Who are you anyway? In the ever evolving world of social media, I'm just trying to keep up. In late 2013 I created @CharlesTownNow as a simple twitter profile. The goal then, was to simply create more of an online presence for the town I lovingly call home. I did so by actively searching for 'mentions' of Charles Town on twitter, and interacting with the user one-on-one.

It wasn't long after I created this account, Angela Kable-Johnson and Mary Burns realized it's potential and urged me to partner with Discover Downtown Charles Town. Today, the Charles Town Now brand is the public face of a very talented group of incredible volunteers. I couldn't be more proud of the work we've been able to do; highlighting all that makes Charles Town a wonderful place to live. Most of our merchants have created or enhanced their social media platforms to further reach potential customers and further tell their story to help visitors and residents alike, discover all that is here. Some of them I got to know solely by helping them set up their business accounts. It's been a true joy to watch this town come alive online.

Recently, Discover Downtown Charles Town was granted 501(c)(3) status. For us, this is a huge milestone toward our Main Street goals, which is our largest endeavor as an organisation; however, with that status, comes some subtle changes that I think are worth mentioning to the public.

Until now, Charles Town Now on Facebook and Twitter has promoted any and all events sent our way. Banners, signs, videos, tweets, statuses, or a combination of all these were posted from our Charles Town Now accounts. While we very much look forward to continuing awareness of all that is going on, we will be doing it with a slightly different procedure.

“A 501(c)(3) organization’s activities should be directed exclusively toward some exempt purpose,” said Richard Crom, Staff Assistant for IRS Exempt Organizations Customer Education and Outreach office. “Its activities should not serve the private interests, or private benefit, of any individual or organization (other than the 501(c)(3) organization) more than insubstantially. The intent of a 501(c) (3) organization is to ensure it serves a public interest, not a private one.”

We invite all of our merchants and non-merchants alike to continue sharing their events on our website's Events page. These events will be added to a calender which we will continue to push through social media. We will also continue to share your Facebook and Twitter posts. The difference from before, is 'our call to action'. We will promote your event with a "public service announcement" approach, informing our followers of your event without a plea to attend. We are going to be leaving that up to the businesses. Which, its seems you are all more than capable of.

I am especially grateful for the receptiveness most of you have had to the idea of Charles Town Now, and even more proud of the work many have done to bolster their online content. It's really been incredibly fun to watch, and has caught the attention of small towns around the country. I look forward to growing what we've started. Charles Town was great before, it's even better now.

Van Applegate