New Friendships Forming Next Door to Ground Zero
Dateline: September 9, 2002...New York, NY
Contact Name: Tom Adams
Contact Phone: 212-321-2043
Email: TAdams@CliqueFriends.com

September 9, 2002, New York City - With the Internet as their voice, they call for better understanding from offices that once were in the morning shadow of the World Trade Center towers. Their offices are still there, but the shadows are gone.

"Every morning, we use to look out the window and see the shadows of the twin towers extend over our office and out into the Hudson River," remembers Dave Kehoe, manager of CliqueFriends, an Internet company based 500 feet from where the World Trade Center once stood. "The shadows from the towers were like giant sundials for us, telling us the time of day."

"You could watch the shadow on the water creep across the river until late morning, when they would disappear. Now, the shadows -- and the buildings that cast them -- are gone entirely."

The workers at CliqueFriends were among the lucky that morning. No one there was hurt, and unlike the disruptiveness of the tragedy itself, the horror of events that unfolded before their eyes served to solidify the company's plans and launch two new websites for bringing people together.

"Even before 9-11, we were exploring how to bring people together. But we were struggling for a voice and a way to do it. We had some ideas, but they were vague. In the weeks that followed the attack, while we were locked out of our homes and offices, we had an opportunity to clarify and expand our thinking."

"We had been in the business of giving relationship advice. But we realized that what people wanted to do post 9-11 was to reach out and be in contact with others. Suddenly, there was a massive demand for making connections with others, but not a lot of good ways to do it."

"So we put together what we like to call a 'serious chat room' on the Internet -- a place where serious minded adults can go on the Internet to have real conversations with others on a global scale. It's not a game -- it's like if your favorite local coffee shop or bar all of a sudden found itself at the crossroads of the world."

"We called the place, the CliqueBar and made it look like a real bar with tables and chairs. The people are represented by their photos and you talk with the people that sit at your table. When people join a table, every one says 'hello.' When people leave to change tables, they excuse themselves -- it really is like being in a real place sipping your favorite drink and chatting with old and new friends."

"We found it an immediate success. People who would not ordinarily go out, regularly drop by from all corners of the world for a chat, to see who is new to the CliqueBar, and to catch up with their old friends."

"People particularly like the fact that the atmosphere is upscale and polite. The CliqueBar is family-friendly and everyone knows that our staff that circulates the room strictly enforces it, so we really have a clean, fun environment in which to meet others and talk."

"Then, this summer, we launched a second web site called CliquePals as a free, international Internet pen pal service because, in the wake of September 11th, we felt that too much bad came from a lack of understanding, and in this age of the Internet, there is little reason why there should not be better communications between cultures," Kehoe said.

With nearly 70,000 visits in the past 3 months, the CliquePals website has been a phenomenal success bringing together people from around the world through e-mails. "You wouldn't believe the number of e-mails we get here at our office that start, 'I've met so many nice people at your site,'" said Kehoe.

"In light of the horrific tragedy next door, to have so many people making friends from around the world at the CliqueBar and CliquePals is very uplifting. It is sort of our own 'World Trade' if you will. Yes, the Trade Centers and their shadows are gone, and we miss them. We feel very badly for the many heroic and innocent that died or were injured. But in its place, I think we're seeing a new light of understanding shining through. We see it every morning now when we look out the window."




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