Social Media & The Super Bowl

Every year, there is a media circus surrounding the Super Bowl along with inane bets by mayors and Governors of the involved teams. There is also always a viable economic benefit for restaurants, hotels, and stores in the host town as well as the home teams cities.

This year, however, social media has extended the reach of Super Bowl fever.

Ways for the lay-person to get involved!

1) Help out local Boys & Girls Clubs and get a sneak peek of the Coke ad airing during the Super Bowl. If 10,000 people cheer on Pittsburgh through Coke's site, then the soda magnate will donate $25,000 in addition to $1 per each "cheer".

2) If you donate to Penn Future, you are joining the EnviroBowl 2011 helping to improve Pittsburgh's air quality. That's a little more important than the Bud Bowl of past years.

3) If the Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl, head on over to the Carnegie Museum of Art to see Boating on the Yerres by Gustave Caillebotte which will be temporarily loaned by the Milwaukee Museum of Art.

4) And before the Super Bowl on Sunday night, why not stop by WYEP's annual Alternative Souper Bowl to enjoy some local music and help out a local homeless shelter by donating non-perishable goods?

If we as a city are going to spend so much time and effort cheering on a football team, we might as well do some good while we're at it and show off our philanthropic side.

Fitting Tribute

In his will, George Sodini bequeathed $225,000 to University of Pittsburgh. They said "no" to the money.

It's unfortunate because this would have been a great opportunity for the University of Pittsburgh to counteract the negativity wrecked on this region by this pathetic shell of a man. How about using the money to help fund women's programs at the university? Perhaps self-defense classes? Rape counseling? Hiring a new professor of Women's studies? More funding for women's athletics? Of course, I am not recommending that anything be named in his honor. But maybe he would roll over in his grave knowing that his money will be benefiting generations of young women that he attempted to undermine.

However, I do respect the University of Pittsburgh for this stance. It is not easy to turn down hundreds of thousands of dollars. And if the money can end up in the hands of the victim's families, that will also be a worthwhile place for it.

Carnegie's Legacy

After Andrew Carnegie funded his first United States library in Braddock, he went on to fund 1,689 other libraries across the nation. While he may have favored the Pittsburgh region, Carnegie's generosity covered the globe from here to Fiji.

In addition to 19 libraries, Carnegie also built spectacular museums in Pittsburgh. However, he did not invest the money to sustain these great cultural institutions forever. He wanted the city to fund their day-to-day responsibilities. Today, RAD (that pesky extra 1% sales tax in Allegheny County) funds 70% of Carnegie library operations. The rest is funded by state and federal government alongside generous modern-day donors.

Maybe Carnegie's greatest legacy to Pittsburgh is not the buildings he left behind, but the responsibility to continue paying for those buildings and maintaining them. There are few Natural History museums, library systems, or arts institutions that can rival ours. In spite of population loss and economic downturn, our citizens have continued to pay for these places through sales tax and donations. None of us would dare let Mr Carnegie down.

Once again, the Carnegie libraries are facing financial issues. Do they close libraries, cancel or limit services, or find new ways of making money? Time will tell, but I'm pretty sure our community will manage to step up and lend a hand to those who depend on the library:

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will inspire in the citizens of our region respect and responsibility for life-long learning, citizenship, and civic participation.

Let's all do our part to help them follow through on their vision.

Yesterday, on a blazingly hot day in Pittsburgh, I visited the air-conditioned Carnegie Museum of Art. I ooh-ed and aah-ed at the artwork of Van Gogh, Teenie Harris, and Kara Walker. Thanks to Carnegie for starting this vision and thanks to Pittsburgh for continuing to follow through.