Unlike celebrities with an entourage of people
to organize their lives, the average person has always had to rely on random
online searches, emails and word of mouth to find out what’s happening in
their city. Now, 49st.com, a personal event concierge, can seek out and
deliver events to your personalized event calendar.
Created by entrepreneur Rob Imrie, 49st is a local event portal that
connects people with events, venues and other people in their city. With their
own ‘My Street’ page, users can modify their content and submit their own
events and reviews, all while connecting with other users via interactive
profiles.
“There is finally a way to access comprehensive event content,” says
Imrie. “49st’s personal event calendar is a powerful tool to manage
information, seek out new events and plan your social life. We’ve all realized
that our favorite artist was in town after the fact. With 49st, you won’t have
to worry about this happening again.”
Re-launched in 2006 using new collaborative Web 2.0 technologies, 49st
now offers event content for all age groups and lifestyles. Content is
continuously updated and delivered to the 49st community to ensure users have
access to the most comprehensive and up-to-date listings available. Currently
the site connects tens of thousands of people to thousands of events across
Canada.
“The magic really happens when users create a ‘My Street’ page where they
can save their interests and personalize their content,” says Imrie. “The
system then monitors and delivers events and content based on this
information.” Beyond delivering personalized information, 49st recommends
events and venues it feels may be of interest to the user. The more a user
interacts with the site, the better and more relevant the site’s suggestions
become.
49st also offers services to businesses within the event industry, who
can create a microsite to list and promote their upcoming event schedule. The
extensive event industry “network” includes publicists, venues, promoters,
event organizers, charities and performers.
Another development for 49st is the Facebook application, where users can
download and install the ‘My Local Events’ application on their Facebook
profile. ‘My Local Events’ offers the ability to view and manage Facebook
events, as well as access the thousands of local event listings from 49st’s
database, from one central calendar.
49st offers its services in 110 cities across Canada. Currently the bulk
of the content is centralized in 10 major cities, but the site and tools are
available to everyone so that people can submit their events and venues
wherever they reside. Where little or no content exists, users can add their
own, and kick-start their city or community
