{"id":392,"date":"2018-06-15T10:15:42","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T14:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/?p=392"},"modified":"2018-06-25T12:00:55","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T16:00:55","slug":"additional-new-bedford-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/pokemon-go\/additional-new-bedford-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"One organizer in New Bedford"},"content":{"rendered":"

The story of Pok\u00e9mon GO in New Bedford<\/a> could not be told without Michelle Keith<\/strong>, who has become an unofficial spokesperson for the game locally.<\/p>\n

Keith\u2019s introduction to Pok\u00e9mon came through the inquiry: how can this game be used to motivate people to vote? Inspired by the crowds of people playing while she and her sons traveled through Europe, she made a commitment to \u201cget to level 40 by election day.\u201d Upon achieving this goal, however, she came to a new understanding: rather than using the game as a political tool (especially a partisan one),\u00a0she could use the game to bring people together.<\/p>\n

“People are out of practice with just being around each other and tolerating differences,” Keith said in our interview. “Everybody is in their own little silo and nobody’s mixing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Geographically, Keith experimented with Pok\u00e9mon GO as a way to bring people into the downtown area of New Bedford. Her efforts align with city rebranding and even redevelopment.<\/p>\n

A cross-media strategy <\/strong>is at the heart of Keith’s organizing, including through social media, the distribution of physical flyers, video invitations to old and new players, and the creation of Pok\u00e9mon GO pins and t-shirts, she has engaged with several local groups in the New Bedford community.<\/p>\n

Directly petitioning the company behind Pok\u00e9mon GO is also part of Keith’s organizing. Her goal is to make New Bedford a more prominent destination for players.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Michelle’s ongoing efforts to enhance the Pok\u00e9mon GO experience in New Bedford.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The game continues to gain momentum in New Bedford. Under Keith\u2019s leadership, the town explores different ways to unite residents. Pictured here, Keith is at the Manjiro Exhibit Opening at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, just one of the locations she profiles and organizations she is recruiting for more playful engagement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Michelle at the New Beford Whaling Museum working hard to build community partnerships.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For more in Keith’s own voice, see her article<\/a><\/u>\u00a0on the game\u2019s potential for increasing physical health, building community, and establishing grit.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The story of Pok\u00e9mon GO in New Bedford could not be told without Michelle Keith, who has become an unofficial spokesperson for the game locally. Keith\u2019s introduction to Pok\u00e9mon came through the inquiry: how can this game be used to motivate people to vote? Inspired by the crowds of people playing while she and her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pokemon-go"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":665,"href":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392\/revisions\/665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}