As the professional profile writer turned Patch blogger for the cause, I've sort of taken on the mantle of Petaluma Ca$h Mob, and I've noticed that consumers and business owners alike are intrigued as to what it is.
So I'll take this Ca$h Mob posting to just put it out there. (Family obligations made it impossible to profile and in time for the weekend, but I will post before the next Ca$h Mobbing!)
Petaluma Ca$h Mob is a Facebook group. It has almost 500 members today. It was formed by Melissa Abercrombie and Eliane Barr. I got hooked on the idea because I’ve lived in places with a small-town feeling and local retailers and service businesses (State College, PA in the late ‘70s), Miyamacho, Japan (1990-99) and those without (Kinnelon, NJ, 2002-07), and I want to live in a Petaluma that has a vibrant small-business community. These places will not survive if we all shop at big-box retailers and the franchises of super-corporations.
But Petaluma Ca$h Mob is also NOT many other things, including:
- a top-down organization
- a trademarked concept
- a signal that a business is faltering
- a private club.
Petaluma Ca$h Mob is like Petaluma itself: a vibrant, community-oriented, open-minded group of individuals who want to support our unique, independent, positive, giving local resources.
Although Petaluma Ca$h Mob was formed spontaneously as an Facebook event at Heebe Jeebe in response to the closing of our beloved Jungle Vibes, it is not, in any way, a call to action for businesses in trouble!
AND, please note, dear readers, that the concept is open to further use and interpretation. Lots of businesses are using the Facebook page to post sales or events, new ideas, media coverage.
And there is still more you can do with it! People have said, “We need sandwich boards and balloons!” (Make them, please!) “We need more youth-oriented t-shirts and hats” (The logo and merchandise are yours to change!); “We need people to shop locally.” (Put out the word as you see fit; make your own friend-based Ca$h Mob anywhere, anytime!); “We each need to do a little so we can all do a lot.”
So run with it, Petaluma!
