As we celebrate our first birthday, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to formally introduce ourselves. After a year of wonderful feedback, it's only fair that we give you an insight into who we are, what we do and why we do it!
As the title suggests, we are totally independent. Best of Barnsley is a creative venture built by Lee, Tom and Danny who are all Broadcast, Film and Photography teachers at Barnsley College. So dispite some people asking us to sort out the bin collections and asking where to pay their council tax online, we can now offically confirm that we are not affiliated with any local authority. We are simply three lads who believe in the future of Barnsley!
After seeing that Barnsley was going through a regeneration, we decided to showcase not just what has happening within the (then) brand new Glass Works complex, but also the surrounding streets across the town centre. From the wonderful restaurants to the lively bars and micro pubs, we wanted to ensure that all places had a platform to share new menus, deals and events!
Barnsley has often been the butt of peoples jokes, and it's fair to say we haven't had the best coverage from many national media outlets. We wanted to change that. We don't pretend we aren't rough around the edges (like all working class towns and cities) but what we are is a hardworking, creative and honest bunch!
"We wanted to ensure that these wonderful places had a platform to share new menus, deals and events!"
As our page started to grow, we couldn't believe how many local businesses outside the town centre then started to contact us about helping them to tell their stories. One thing that rivals peoples love of the town, is their unwavering passion for the villages they call home. Each one having their own bubbling food and drink scenes, plus community events throughout the year.
To help promote Barnsley even further, we decided to invest time into building a website that could help guide peoples social habits. Where to go for tapas, cocktails, good music or even things to look forward across the year for the family. Being teachers at the local college, we also invite involve our talented digital students to generate some of the articles, photography and social media content you see and read!
"One thing that rivals peoples love of the town, is their unwavering passion for the villages they call home."
Just over a year since we launched, Best of Barnsley has received tens of thousands of likes, shares and comments, with our Facebook page alone reaching nearly one million people since last year (that's all down to you by the way; without you this simply wouldn't work!)
We like to believe that we are building a community via our pages. It's a place to promote all the amazing things we have to offer as a town. If you've ever liked, shared or commmeted on any of our content, you've not just helped out our page, but more importantly helped local businesses to get their name out out there!
We've got many more exciting projects on the horizon, and we can't wait to share them with you!
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