The Light of the PIAs Still Shines Brightly in New York City
The Platinum PIAs was a decade-long experiment in NYC Manhattan, aimed at recognizing and celebrating the outstanding contributions of both business owners and non-business owners in the community. The name “Platinum PIAs” was inspired by the concept of “People I Admire” and reflected the organization’s goal of creating a positive impact on the community both in-person as well as digitally online. The event was unique in that it held ten award ceremonies over the course of a decade, with one ceremony each year, allowing people from all over the world to participate in the process.
The Platinum PIAs provided a platform for New Yorkers to be recognized and honored for their achievements and contributions to the community. In some ways the Platinum PIAs unknowingly helped small companies in New York City with Cause Marketing because those nominated as well as the winners, helped causes and benefited from the visibility that came about. It was an opportunity for people to come together and celebrate the positive impact that individuals and businesses can have on society. The awards ceremony brought attention to the importance of recognizing and supporting local businesses and community leaders, and it encouraged others to get involved and make a difference in their own communities with issues such as homelessness.
In conclusion, the Platinum PIAs was a truly wonderful initiative that demonstrated the power of community spirit and the positive impact that can be made when people work together. The decade-long experiment showed the importance of recognizing and celebrating the contributions of individuals and businesses in the community, and it inspired others to get involved and make a difference in their own communities. Thus demonstrating the transformational impact that Cause Marketing can have. The legacy of the Platinum PIAs continues to inspire and encourage people to come together and make a positive impact on their communities, and it serves as a reminder of the power of collaboration and community spirit.
The Platinum PIAs was my first awards show. Funny how in 2010 it came into being, in such an unexpected fashion. We were putting together a digital film project and planned to premier it at the Tribeca Screening Room.
What Comes Next?
But as we got closer and closer to the date, it was clear we were not going to finish in time. So what to do now? We had already booked the screening room so we needed to come up with something.
Metal Meets Mission
Then it hit me. An awards show. Yes of course. One that celebrated Public Internet Artists or its acronym: PIA. Since awards show traditionally involved some metal, we chose one of the best: platinum. Hence the Platinum PIAs were born. And best of all, it was going to celebrate not only their artistic achievement but also public internet artists who are making a difference!
Fast forward to today, and an Homage
The homage is to some of the most hardworking people we know: Home Business Achievers. What should we call this show? Home Business Awards?
2017 Platinum PIAs Award winner Lin Manuel Miranda relaxes in Inwood Manhattan, years before winning a PIA “Crystal Triangle of Artistic and Humanistic Inspiration.” The Platinum PIAs Awards are for ArtisticPreneurs who are making a difference in their communities and around the world. Mr. Miranda is a deserving PIA honoree!
The Platinum PIAs are in Need of a Platinum Keyword Miracle
We are approaching the 2019 Platinum PIAs Community Awards Show that annually since 2010 has been recognizing ArtisticPreneurs who are making a difference in their neighborhoods and around the world. Although over the years the PIAs have been held in venues such as Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Screening Room and community havens such as DCTV, Inwood Manhattan has always been very visible at the awards ceremonies. This in part because the founder lives in Inwood but also because Inwood is such an incredible community experience and there is the strong desire to share the enclave with the rest of the world.
The Importance of Ranking Online
But sadly the Platinum PIAs as of late have been having a tough time of it in terms of ranking on search engines. Why is this important? Because with a strong voice on the web the message of making a difference can be expanded into places other than just Inwood Manhattan.
The Wonderful Neighborhood of Inwood Manhattan
Inwood Manhattan, for those of you who do not know, is a Northern NYC neighborhood that is the home to a distinguished lineup that includes Lin Manuel Miranda and even the late Bessie Houdini who was the wife to none other than Houdini himself. In fact, the headquarters for the InwoodManhattan.com website is just a few blocks away from where the Bessie Houdini resided during the last years of her life.
Getting Out a Message of Hope
Again back to the issue of ranking on search engines to get out a message of hope. It seems that part of the problem is with the word “Platinum” of “Platinum PIAs.” You see it was easy back in 2010 for the Platinum PIAs to rank for keywords like “Platinum” in the search engines. In those days when you searched the word “Platinum” you would find the “Platinum PIAs Awards” as a pull down menu option which is a sign of popularity. The internet in the early 2010’s were helping to quickly build a national and international fan base for a new awards show that was introducing Inwood to the rest of Manhattan – Inwood being a better than gold neighborhood, dare we say a platinum one!
Enter Big Business
In the years since 2010 there has been an onslaught of platinum products and services. And existence of these entities on the web has rattled things to such an extent that now a decade later, if you search “Platinum” there’s no Platinum PIAs Awards as a pull down menu. In fact, even searching for the Platinum PIAs Awards directly there’s no longer a pull down menu with it’s name.
These days when you search “Platinum” or even “Platinum PIAs Awards,” the pull down menu is cluttered with an infestation of commercialized “Platinum” products and services. These products and services include platinum plus rewards, platinum plus rewards of bank of america, mbna platinum plus rewards, bankamericard visa platinum plus rewards, weins canada platinum plus rewards, alaska airlines platinum plus rewards, boa platinum plus rewards, bankamerica travel rewards, bankamericard travel rewards platinum plus visa, vystar platinum rewards plus, bankamericard rewards platinum plus mastercard just to name a few.
The Platinum PIAs are at a Crisis Point Online
The Platinum PIAs Awards are at a crisis point in terms of their internet exposure. Although they still have and will likely always have the strong support of Inwood Manhattan, bringing the message of “believing” to other parts of the country will not be forthcoming as long as search engines give preferential treatment to big business.
And let’s face it, with the web currently being what it is, if they can’t find you in the search engines then you don’t exist. Sure, the PIAs could get their SEO (Search Engine Optimization) geek squad to save the day, but unfortunately many of the techniques that work are what are called “Black Hat” (which is considered bad) instead of “White Hat” (which is considered good). So because the Platinum PIAs have too much integrity to cheat the system, they are lagging online.
Is there Hope for the Web Bearers of Hope?
Case in point, while writing this post we decided to search “Platinum PIAs Awards” online and we got the message “Did you mean: platinum plus rewards?” No we didn’t mean Platinum Plus Rewards, we mean the awards show that has helped countless artists of all kinds as well as emerging entrepreneurs to successfully launch their careers as ArtisticPreneurs. Can a blog post make a difference with big business and search engines? Probably not. But fortunately the Platinum PIAs continue to have the support of the Inwood Manhattan community and that’s a beautiful thing indeed!
