Today while surfing the web I came across an article on the Empire State Building. I just got back from a weekend trip to the Big Apple so this article caught my eye. I am a big fan of New York City, and I try to visit the city as much as I can. I just hate the subway system and the mass transit. You can be three or four miles from somewhere and it take you two hours to get there using the city buses and the subway system. Not to mention how expensive the city is. Everything costs so much money in that town. But regardless, New York City is home to some of the most well known tourist attractions in the country. You can catch a show on Broadway, take a walk through Times Square, catch a game at Madison Square Garden, pay your respects to the lives lost on 9/11, or get a bird’s eye view form the Empire State Building.
Speaking of the Empire State Building, it has joined the social media revolution and has joined both Facebook and Twitter. Not the actual building, of course, but a team of dedicated folks ready to share all sorts of information with the entire world. The company behind this is actually the Empire State Building Company (clever name for the company that owns such a building) and has created the Twitter handle @ESBObservatory. The same firm has also started an Empire State Building Facebook campaign (under the same brand name) by creating a business page for the iconic landmark. These accounts will be used to post photos of the building, share building information, highlight pop culture tidbits and update the general public on fun factoids about the famous office building.
The building is actually about to turn 80 years old, so be prepared for a lot of content about the history of the building in the near future. Also look for updates on weather, traffic, and just general news surrounding the building. The idea is great, and I am glad that someone finally has figured out that not only can people and businesses have a presence on the popular social network, but also building and landmarks. What’s next, is the moon going to join MySpace? (You never know, an astronaut did just in on foursquare from outer space earlier this week.)
This is a big step in the right direction for social media. People are starting to realize that these tools are more than just a simple waste of time and can actually add some value to our daily lives. Do you follow the Empire State Building on Twitter? What about on Facebook?
