The concepts of neighborhood and community have been redefined with the rise of social media. So it seems right that Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood should find a new home there.
The Fred Rogers Company, which now produces the PBS animated series “Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood,” has launched a new site aimed at continuing and celebrating Fred Rogers’ concept of being a good neighbor on a global scale. The idea of creating a virtual community where people can share the values they learned as children watching the show dovetails perfectly with what its late host taught several generations of kids.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor is “a virtual community — a place where people can come to share positive ideas and thoughts, and support one another as a community,” said Paul Siefken, vice president of broadcast and digital media with the Fred Rogers Company. “We want to embrace that aspect of Fred Rogers’ legacy.”
A Twitter party to launch the new Won't You Be My Neighbor site drew 210 participants, generated more than 1,900 tweets and 8 million impressions and was among feeds that trended in Pittsburgh that day.
The site was designed and developed by Pittsburgh-based Schell Games and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Other partners include The Motherhood, a Pittsburgh-based parent blogging platform and digital marketing agency.
Posts include suggestions for items to donate to local food pantries, stories of random acts of kindness, quotes from Fred Rogers and more.
One section features a map showing the locations where people have posted from.
Anyone who wants to join the conversation with written posts, photos or videos can do so through their Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram accounts, using the hashtag #bemyneighbor
YouTube is launching its own online music site, Music Key.
It will feature commercial-free listening and the ability to play music in the background on mobile devices while using other apps or when the screen display is off. Users also will have access to Google Play Music.
Music Key is in beta testing. Would-be subscribers can sign up to be notified when it will be available.
First Published: November 28, 2014, 5:00 a.m.
