Internet Association And Rep. Mike Doyle Meet With Local Businesses And Community Organizations In East Liberty, Pittsburgh To Discuss Value Of The Internet

Pittsburgh, PA – Today, Internet Association (IA) and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), will meet with small businesses and community organizations in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh as part of an “Internet Community Crawl” to highlight the importance of the internet in helping the community grow and succeed.

“East Liberty is a shining example of how the internet helps entire communities thrive,” said Melika Carroll, IA Senior Vice President of Global Government Affairs. “Businesses and nonprofits benefit from reaching a global audience thanks to the internet and online platforms. I appreciate Rep. Doyle’s commitment to a free and open internet and for participating in today’s crawl.”

IA and Rep. Doyle will visit four local businesses and community organizations in East Liberty to hear how they use the internet to reach new audiences, grow their organizations, and strengthen their community. The internet economy adds nearly 120,000 jobs and more than $68 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy.

Representatives from Internet Association member companies including Airbnb, eBay, Google, Lyft, Spotify, Thumbtack, and Uber also attended the crawl.The crawl will highlight the following local businesses and organizations:

• Peace, Love, And Zen – A 100% woman, veteran-owned company whose goal is to provide a sanctuary where members of the community can de-stress while receiving state-of-the-art natural therapy. They rely heavily on online review platforms like Yelp and Google reviews to bring them credibility and to get their name out to potential customers.

• Small Seeds Development, Inc. – A nonprofit that has provided social services and educational support in the Pittsburgh metro area since 1999. Small Seeds provides direct services to combat violence, sustain and support families, and provide opportunities to families and youth so they can thrive. They use online platforms like Facebook as well as google AdWords to help people find their services and keep advertising costs down.

• Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre – A theater fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective, KST strives to connect with the East Liberty community, and part of that depends on technology. KST has prioritized their internet platforms to make it even easier for the community to find them. Whether it’s events on Facebook or an active Twitter, KST wants the community to know where they are and how to find them

• Beauty Shoppe – A coworking company that transforms historic buildings into vibrant and beautiful workplaces with integrated services and amenities for the monthly or tenured customers. Their goal is to create a community of entrepreneurs immersed in the internet for work.

###