In an attempt to provide the latest news about local bars and clubs, a post-secondary student has created a way of doing that without people receiving junk mail.
Marcel Jepson, a Lethbridge College graduate and current new media student at the University of Lethbridge, has created Lethbridge Night Life, a Facebook page documenting night life news around the city.
Jepson, 20, was tired of receiving Facebook messages from bars and clubs in his inbox daily. He wanted something easier and something that combines information about every bar and club in one place.
In his spare time over the summer, he set up a Twitter account called Leth Nightlife, tweeting the local drink deals and events. It seemed to be getting people’s attention and he decided to bring Lethbridge Night Life to Facebook.
The Facebook group promotes local nightclubs and bars by using frequent status updates that will show on followers’ newsfeeds. “Not sending messages to your inbox is what we guarantee,” said Jepson.
Jepson and four others donate their time to the website doing research and posting photos. They have over 600 ‘likes’ on Facebook and almost 300 followers on Twitter and their blog on www.lethnightlife.com.
“I didn’t plan for it to get this big,” said Jepson. “There are more followers on [Leth Night Life’s] Twitter than on my personal account.”
The local bars and clubs are getting involved too. Local club Pulse held a launch party in mid September and, with the school year just beginning, it resulted in a huge turnout and great publicity. Photos taken during the launch party were posted to its Facebook page and generated over 500 views.
Jepson is enthusiastic about the amount of involvement and is hoping the clubs and bars continue their support in the future.
Right now, Jepson and his crew are planning on taking an abundance of photos and are brainstorming contest ideas. He is enjoying his time with Lethbridge Night Life and is sure they won’t be going anywhere soon.
“We’re just a bunch of students doing stuff for other students.”