Embrace the dialogue

PokemonGo is a cultural phenomenon. In a matter of a week, it has made headlines, both good and bad globally. It has also gotten people of all ages walking around their communities, looking for game goals.

Last weekend, I was out with my 15 year-old daughter and asked her if our firehouse had any part in the game. She was unaware at the time, so we drove by. It is a Pokemon Gym, where players can come and work on skills. Foot traffic in our borough has visibly increased recently with people of all ages walking around playing the game. 

I know, they're walking around looking as screens like zombies. They're going to get killed or robbed. It's dumb. The same people that have been sitting on couches are now out and walking! C'mon- embrace the possible new audience!

In our case, I talked with the fire company president that evening and proposed a post on Facebook and Twitter announcing that the station was a gym and invited players to come, and take advantage of our benches in front of the station.

Facebook post

DFC1979News A #PokemonGO #gym at a #firehouse in @DoylestownBoro? Stop by 68 Shewell, find out, and ask about volunteering too! https://t.co/KHAsSaTfKL 7/11/16, 11:15 AM

Soon we had players stopping by and working on their skills. I was getting texts all day from members at the station on the number of people. Hopefully people who had no idea the station was there, or that it's a volunteer organization. We are working on QR codes for our membership page that are tracked.

What's next? We'll have to see how the game progresses. This all happened in the course of less than a week. We'll have to be nimble, and listen to our kids.