Around Oakley: Maybe it's time for Oakley to do some social networking

SHOULD THE CITY of Oakley try its hand at social networking to bring business to town? Bringing new business to Oakley is a top concern of city officials, especially since funds from other venues, such as state and county resources, are drying up. Tax dollars from successful businesses can make all the difference in the world, just look at Antioch and Brentwood. Social networking is the latest craze for business networking, but can it help cities grow?

Recently a small town in the Midwest, similar in size to Oakley, started a campaign to attract business franchises by using the latest in social networking success tools, Twitter. Twitter is a service by which individuals and businesses social network by "following" each others "Tweets." Essentially the city would set up a Twitter page and then go online and find all the businesses it wants to attract to Oakley and then encourage them to follow their "Tweets" about the city.

In the case of the Midwest city, they were finding it difficult to get any response at all from large franchise chains through sources such as trade shows and query letters. Their city was just too small to draw interest, like the nearby bigger cities. They were being passed up by those towns that were already successful with other franchise businesses. Sound familiar?
As the article pointed out, the idea of social networking is still new, and there are still some pitfalls. As a way to draw attention to their city the officials began "following" the franchises they wanted to come to their town and only about 20 percent "followed" back. Still, though, all it takes are a couple to decided to come and others will follow.

The way Twitter works is that each "Tweet" consists of 140 characters, spaces included. That would mean that they would have to get their message across very quickly. An example of a "Tweet" might be: "Calif. young, up-and-coming community with 35,000+ pop, offers plenty of potential for just the right business. www.ci.oakley.ca.us." This "Tweet" leaves 10 characters leftover.

In the end the question for Oakley officials is what can it hurt? Twitter's service is free, and it only takes a few minutes to have it set up and putting up daily "Tweets." At this point Oakley isn't having much luck drawing business. The economy may be causing some problems, but businesses weren't jumping in to take their chances on coming to town before. Despite the worries of a continued sagging economy, businesses are still opening in Antioch and Brentwood.


Just a quick activity note: Friends of Oakley is hosting a fundraiser to help Oakley schools. The event will take place July 18 in Cypress Square shopping center in front of Mike's Beef 'n' Brew. The event is titled "So You Think You're Hot Stuff! Chili Cook-off and BBQ." The organizers are looking for all you chili cookers out there to join in on the fun and bring your favorite recipes. Entry fee is $100, and the prize is a 50/50 split with the teachers and other prizes given at the event. Deadline to enter the cook-off is tomorrow.

After hearing of the current budget cuts at Oakley's schools, Friends of Oakley decided to help out the teachers and the students by adding to the money the teachers receive to stock their classrooms with supplies needed for student instruction in all curricular areas for the entire year. This money will be used to provide pencils, paper, art supplies, staples, tape, markers, etc. for as many classrooms as the fundraiser can help.

The July 18 event also will feature a dinner of barbecue tri-tip, chicken, hot dogs and beans/chili. Tickets are $15 or two for $25; meals fro children are $8 each or two for $15. All barbecue proceeds go to supporting Oakley teachers. For entry forms and more information on how to get tickets check out www.friendsofoakley.com.

Roni Gehlke is an Oakley resident. Reach her at ourbackyard@comcast.net.