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Our adventure is just beginning!
Technology allows us to use online networks to connect in ways which were not feasible even just a few years ago. MyCityRocks leverages on social networking technology to create a global brand focused on enabling and engaging people to celebrate community pride and spirit, enjoy local culture and entertainment, and give back to their local community. MyCityRocks bridges the gap between online social networking and offline real-world activity in a way that is fun, innovative and exciting.
The MyCityRocks testbed was originally launched in Houston, using a small investment from the Starhold Corporation to cover start-up costs. Since that time, MyCityRocks has continued to organically grow and thrive as a grassroots volunteer-driven venture that enables individuals to:
MyCityRockers Dani, Cliff and Jessi supporting local arts
and music at Houston's Westheimer Block Party |
- Have fun
--enjoy their passions for things like music, art, food, sports, romance, and travel; - Give back
--help to make their part of the world a better place; and - Represent
--share their passion and spirit for life with those around them.
The MyCityRocks brand embraces the idea that being socially conscious, having fun, and prospering economically are compatible and synergistic objectives. It was designed with the understanding that social engagement will be most effective when communities function not just online but offline as well. MyCityRockers believe that every individual can contribute to making their own part of the world ROCK, not just in terms of music, but also in terms of culture, living conditions, health, economics, and human rights. Grassroots social engagement is a powerful force in shaping our society, and MyCityRocks provides a framework for making it all happen. Please feel free to read the white paper "Marketing to the MySpace Generation and the Economics of Social Networking" for additional details on the history of MyCityRocks and the business model driving the venture.
We are thrilled with the response that was so quickly received after launching our initial testbed, particularly with so many requests from cities around the world asking when we would be entering their market. We've now begun the process of expanding worldwide, and we look forward to enhancing the functionality of our Internet resources and the value that we offer our members online as well as while out enjoying life away from the computer.
We welcome inquiries from those interested in joining us on our adventure and being a part of the journey. You are encouraged to send us a note if you would like to initiate a discussion. You are also invited to read a bit about what others have said about us in the articles:
| MyCityRocks has been privileged to support so many events benefiting local charities including:
HBC National Disaster Relief Fundraiser and Concert benefiting the American Red Cross
JAM 4 THE CURE benefiting breast cancer research and awareness
Rockin for Rise Benefits (school for young children with disabilities)
Aids Foundation Houston Camp Hope Benefit and Fashion Show
Pro Players for Youth Charity Affair benefiting Plex Foundation
Jori Zemel Children's Bone Cancer Foundation Benefit
Pancho Claus/Jugates Para el Barrio Christmas Toy Drive
Lotion in Motion Benefiting Boys and Girls Harbor (disadvantaged youths)
MAESTRO Premier benefiting the Orange Show Center for Visionary Arts
Houston ROCKS for Hurricane Katrina Relief
Dollars For Devon Leukemia Benefit
Yellow Umbrella Tour benefiting Cervical Cancer Awareness
Laugh to Love Katrina Relief Comedy Benefit
Groove Girlz Party benefiting Pride Houston (alternative lifestyles organization)
Bringin' Back the Big Easy Katrina Benefit
VIP Celebrity Katrina Relief Benefit
Celebrity Golf Tournament benefiting American War Heros
Paul van Dyk Katrina Relief Benefit
Fashion for Katrina Victims Party
Houston Women's Festival benefiting the Athena Art Project
Beauty and the Beat Shriner's Hospital Benefit
ROCK OUT for Hunger benefiting the Houston Food Bank
Look Good, Feel Good benefiting Women Helping Women
Confessions of a Rockstar benefiting the VH1 Save the Music Foundation
Houston's Fantastic Shoe Event benefiting Women Helping Women
Summer 2006 ROCK SAFE Benefit for The Bridge Over Troubled Waters
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MyCityRocks also supports corporate members, giving businesses a way to get active and visible in their community, involve their employees in philanthropic activities (see our article "Giving Back and the Value of Strategic Corporate Philanthropy"), host corporate functions and celebrations of an exceptional nature, and connect and promote their brand to consumers in truly extraordinary ways. Please see our corporate membership page for additional information.
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Below are glimpses of our story in pictures, taken from the tens of thousands of photographs we've snapped to share with our members over the past months. We have clearly been fortunate to benefit from the enthusiasm of an exceptional group of people who have been inspired to work with us on this venture, and we have a great deal of pride in what they have accomplished in such a short period.
Clifford R. Kurtzman, Ph.D.
Executive Director
MyCityRocks
Selected 2007-2008 Event Photo Archive Links:
- 3 Doors Down at Buzzfest XXI
- Jeff Dunham & Guitar Guy (Brian Haner) with Walter, Peanut, Jose Jalapeno, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, and Bubba J
- Rock For Houston's Youth - Children At Risk Benefit Concert
- Trash The Dress - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Benefit
- Widespread Panic
- Yuri's Night 2008
- Walking With Dinosaurs - The Live Experience!
- Jingle Jam '07 - Featuring Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy, Lifehouse, Sean Kingston, and Jordin Sparks
- Dane Cook
- Buzzfest XX - Featuring Sick Puppies & Fuel, Evans Blue & Another Animal, Evanescence & Earshot, Chris Cornell & Smashing Pumpkins, and Glass Intrepid & Alter Bridge
- Texas BigBeat Benefiting Cherish Our Children International
- Westheimer Block Party - Fall 07
- Blue Man Group
- 56th Annual Gridiron Show
- Goo Goo Dolls
- Houston Press Music Awards Showcase - SkyBlue72, Black Math Experiment, Paris Green, Glass Intrepid, and Million Year Dance
- SkyBlue72 CD Release Party
- Houston's First BodyArt Battle
- 21st Annual Watermelon Social and Dance Benefiting KPFT "Radio for Peace"
- Giza and the Pyronauts
- Eisley and The Fray
- 2008 FightGirl Calendar Model Search
- Hometown Showdown II
- Wizard Of Oz Meets The Wiz Body Art Party
- Theatre Under The Stars Sweet Charity Mixer
- Weird Al Yankovic
- Theatre Under The Stars SPAMALOT Reception
- Mixers, Elixirs, and IMAX at the Houston Museum of Natural Science
- Cult-i-vate @ The Silo
- MyCityRocks Summer Blastoff Party
- Buzzfest XIX
- Yuri's Night World Space Party
- HaVoK After Dark and DigiDollz
- Westheimer Block Party
- Muscular Dystrophy Association Crawfish Boil and Music Festival
- Chant
- South By Due East Festival
- Scion/Reno 911 Premier
- Mardi Gras Galveston with Blue Oyster Cult, Better Than Ezra, and Paris Green
- Slunt
- Confessions of a Rockstar - VH1 Save the Music Foundation Benefit
2006 Photo Archive
December 2006:
New Year's Eve with Comedian Jon Reep and Dipstick:
Free Press Houston Holiday Bash:
Pancho Claus/Jugates Para el Barrio Christmas Toy Drive:
Vertigo Blue and Mike-Synth:
Aids Foundation Houston Camp Hope Benefit and Fashion Show:
November 2006
Westheimer Block Party No. 2:
Dominion Goth Fashion Show:
Santomojo Music Festival:
October 2006
Blue Man Group:
More photos from this event using this link.
Houston Women's Festival featuring Patrice Pike:
September 2006
Labor Day Music Festival:
Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows:
More photos from this event using this link.
MyCityRocks Fall Frenzy:
Yellow Umbrella Tour / Cervical Cancer Awareness Benefit:
Rockin for Rise Battle of the Bands benefit for children with disabilities:
More photos from this event using this link.
August 2006
Citizens for Animal Protection Festival:
Hoobastank and Nickelback:
More photos from this event using this link.
July 2006
Rock Safe Benefit:
More photos from this event using this link.
Dollars For Devon Leukemia Benefit:
Funk tha' Heat Festival:
June 2006
MyCityRocks Summer Blastoff:
Rock N' Blues Festival:
Houston's Funniest Person Competition:
Look Good, Feel Good Benefit for Women Helping Women:
More photos from this event using this link.
Houston's Fantastic Shoe Event Benefit for Women Helping Women:
More photos from this event using this link.
May 2006
Chant and Vertigo Blue:
Westheimer Block Party No. 1 with Million Year Dance:
April 2006
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried:
March 2006
Rae kicked off our expansion into new cities with this shot representing NEW ORLEANS:
Scott of the rock group South represented HOUSTON in a performance:
Texas Rock Festival:
Comedian Greg Giraldo:
ROCK OUT for Hunger Benefit and Fashion Show:
February 2006
Valentines Day with DJ Red:
Performance art with the Dominion:
Mardi Gras Galveston with The Hunger and Blue October:
January 2006
And we started 2006 off with the United Music Alliance at the Throwdown Festival:
(Above photos courtesy Cliff Kurtzman, Jordan Chan, and Paul Ellis.)
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For highlights from earlier events, please see our
2005 MyCityRocks Photo Highlights.
Our favorite poem:
Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy (1844-1881)
We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams.
World-losers and world-forsakers,
Upon whom the pale moon gleams;
Yet we are the movers and shakers,
Of the world forever, it seems.
With wonderful deathless ditties
We build up the world's great cities,
And out of a fabulous story
We fashion an empire's glory:
One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song's measure
Can trample an empire down.
We, in the ages lying
In the buried past of the earth,
Built Nineveh with our sighing,
And Babel itself with our mirth;
And o'erthrew them with prophesying
To the old of the new world's worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth.
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