People Bridge
A Bridge to Better Schools
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You’d think that having his social networking software constantly compared to the popular MySpace.com would make Dave Kozuki one happy camper. After all, millions of people are already familiar with MySpace’s simple-to-use interface, and Kozuki’s software, People Bridge, pretty much works along the same lines.
The reality is, however, that the comparison’s mostly just been a thorn in his side, since the target market for Kozuki’s software is schools. “Many schools don’t know about social networking,” says Kozuki. “If they do, they associate it with MySpace, and if they’ve heard of MySpace, it’s been negative. So it can be a tough sell.” But that hasn’t stopped Kozuki from peddling his software to local schools, churches, media and other groups.
“Basically, what we do is we connect people by creating online communities for existing affinity groups such as school alumni associations. It’s a way for them to find each other, and keep in touch and arrange events,” says Kozuki. “Once we’ve created that venue for them, there’s no telling what could happen. But, as an example, Roosevelt school collected close to $1 million for their sportscomplex, through alumni.That’s what happens when you connect like-minded individuals.”
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| Dave Kozuki, Founder, People Bridge photo: Cory Lum |
Kozuki says that, unlike MySpace, which aims to attract basically anyone who can type, People Bridge serves smaller, more exclusive groups, and should therefore have a longer lifespan: “It’s not going to take long for people to grow out of MySpace. But once you’re a St. Louis School alumni, you’re an alum for life.” Schools such as St. Louis, Moanalua, Sacred Hearts, Castle and Chaminade University are all early adopters of the People Bridge software, which costs upwards of $300 per month, plus an initial setup fee. Organizations can also opt to solicit paid sponsorships for their site, in lieu of the monthly fee.
Kozuki’s hope (and the reason he created People Bridge) is that Hawaii alumni will find their way back to their school sites, reconnect with their former classmates and engage in discussions about how they can give back, whether it be planning fundraisers or implementing new school initiatives. The end result he’s hoping for is a more balanced and egalitarian school system: “My son is 8-years-old. My goal is that, by the time my son gets to high school, [enough work will have been done in the public schools that] the decision to send him to private or public school doesn’t have to be a hard one anymore.”
| >> THE SOCIAL NETWORKING CRAZE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The popularity of social networking sites, which enable online interaction between friends, communities and groups, is on the rise.
As of March 2006, the biggest of these sites combined garnered nearly 172 billion unique visits since their inceptions.
Source: Comscore Media Metrix |
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