OTHER NEWS
YPN unveils Plug-In Sioux Falls website

By Amy Smolik
Marketing & Communications Manager

Last month the Chamber's Young Professionals Network launched a new website, www.pluginsf.com, to encourage people ages 18-40 years old to engage in civic participation.

The Plug-In Sioux Falls website is made possible from support from the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce and a grant from the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation. In late 2009, the Chamber was approached by the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation about doing a project to encourage young people to engage in civic participation by using social media and new technologies. The Community Foundation awarded a two-year, $50,000 grant to the Chamber to pursue this goal, utilizing the Chamber's successful Young Professionals Network. The YPN was started by the Chamber in 2009 to create business opportunities, support civic involvement and promote an overall investment in the future of the community. Since that time, more than 550 individuals  have joined and represent all types of businesses and organizations in the Sioux Falls area.

A Plug-In Task Force made up of young professionals was created to develop the website and other activities and programs to meet the goals of the initiative. The goals are to: raise the level of civic participation; create a conversational network that disseminates facts on civic issues; conduct opinion polls that will ascertain young professionals' opinions and their level of engagement; increase the number of 18- to 40-year-old registered voters; and educate young professionals on how to go through the election process, which will increase the number of young professionals who vote and also achieve a more diverse group of public servants.

The website is one of the primary ways information will be communicated with the targeted audience with the hope that the site becomes a regular source for young professionals to get news about the community.

Not everything on the site is political; also included are general statistics and information about the community and topics to spark discussion. Members of the task force are posting information under four category headers: Hey, did you read this? which has interesting links to news; Did you know? which includes stats about Sioux Falls to inspire thought and conversation; Why should I care? which is a monthly guest blog by a local public figure; and What do you think? which is an open question meant to inspire people to voice their opinions.

Social media is also playing a role. You can follow the news on Twitter at @pluginsf and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pluginsf.

For more information about the Plug-In Sioux Falls initiative, contact the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce at (605) 336-1620.