A month before the BOE election in April, the Fulop team asked 100 volunteers to enter the names of ten people likely to vote for their candidates into a mobile database system called Campaign Connect. The system allowed them to add email addresses and link potential voters with specific issues of interest. Forty volunteers added 1,000 leads that month, and the campaign later sent email reminders to the volunteers asking them to remind those people to vote.

“We wanted to make them accountable for a certain action,” says Candice Osborne, partner and CEO of C&S Strategies, which built the Campaign Connect system. The digital technology and consulting firm is located on Morris Street in Paulus Hook.

Fifty-six percent of those volunteer-provided voters came out to vote, as determined through voter records, according to Kara Silverman, Fulop’s media director.

To assist in the get-out-the-vote process, Osborne says, observers kept track of who voted via mobile devices or laptops, automatically updating the campaign database so volunteers knew not to bother contacting people who already voted.

The system allows Fulop’s team to take information gleaned from petition drives, events, and other interactions with voters, and attach it to more basic, publicly available voter file data. Osborne considered enhancing the voter file with purchased marketing data — usually information estimating household income or demographics — but in the end she deemed it mostly “junk.” It’s part of the reason she and the Fulop team wanted to develop a tool to better collect and organize real information about real Jersey City voters.

“We want to go on our own, using volunteers and petitions,” Osborne says. “We’re getting better data there.”

Initially, her firm developed the system to assist Fulop himself, as he needed a way to add information learned when speaking with potential supporters to a readily accessible database. “He is very good at talking to people, but he missed opportunities to store information,” says Osborne.

The use of sophisticated digital tools for political organizing has become more prevalent for presidential and congressional candidates since Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign popularized it. However, that modern approach hasn’t yet trickled down to local election operations in many cases. (See our recap of 2009′s mayoral candidates use of the web here.)

In addition to the mobile voting day effort, the Fulop team also bought online advertising before the election. (JCI readers may have spotted image ads featuring the three school board candidates, as well as for their rivals.) Like organizing through digital tools, online advertising is a common practice in national and statewide races that remains somewhat rare in smaller municipal races.

Facebook has also become a platform for advocacy around local political issues, so it should come as no surprise that political candidates and groups have embraced the popular social networking site. Advocacy groups and candidates — from President Barack Obama to Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer — have asked supporters to “donate” their Facebook profile pictures or status updates. The idea is to use supporters, and potentially their extensive networks of Facebook friends to spread a campaign message or simply remind friends to vote. Fulop’s people asked supporters to “tag” friends to a vote-reminder graphic on Facebook (seen at right) the Monday before the Wednesday BOE election.

“We just bombarded social media [telling them], ‘These are the people you’re supposed to vote for,’” Osborne says. While we saw several users complain of being spammed by the tagging, if it successfully reminded users that an election was happening — which seems likely — it could be considered a success.

Only around 370 people like Fulop on Facebook, and Osborne says she is working to grow that number (Fulop’s personal Facebook profile features much more interaction and public comment than his Public Figure page). He also has around 880 followers on Twitter. Meanwhile, Mayor Jerramiah Healy does not appear to have an active official Facebook or Twitter account, just a ghost account from 2009′s campaign on Twitter, and a personal profile and neglected public page on Facebook. Meanwhile, other political groups, like Dan Levin’s One Jersey City, maintain a presence on each platform even when there’s no election; One Jersey City’s Facebook group has 319 members, and it is followed by 191 users on Twitter.

Fulop plans to bolster his online video efforts, too, says Osborne, noting that he’ll respond to questions from voters via videos posted on Facebook. The trend toward incorporating video both for campaigning and to update constituents is becoming more popular, particularly as people view more and more video on their mobile devices.

Could mobile organizing technology and digital channels like Facebook help Fulop in the 2013 race? If anything, Fulop could stand to benefit from harnessing activities already taking place in digital channels, especially if Healy and others ignore them. By constantly cultivating these areas years before the actual election, Fulop is poised to be far ahead of candidates who jump in the race and then build the digital infrastructure.

Photo of Fulop and BOE candidates Carol Harrison-Arnold, Sue Mack and Marvin Adames on election night by Steve Gold

The story received international attention; Alaina and her family were thrust into the spotlight and interviewed by Gayle King, Today, Inside Edition and scores of print publications. At press time, Alaina’s attorneys have successfully appealed the judge’s ruling temporarily. But the curious backstory of how she went from obscurity to international headlines starts right here in Jersey City with Peter Kaufmann (seen at right).

The longtime Jersey City resident, veteran rock-n-roll drummer, teacher, writer and president of a homespun self-help program aptly named Rockin’ Lifestyle, Kaufmann also happened to be a childhood friend of Alaina Giordano and he helped bring worldwide attention to her cause.

We caught up with him to discuss his unexpected role in not only rooting for the underdog, but in trouncing the bullies with the might of social media.

How did this all start?

I’ve known Alaina since we were in 1st grade, and she was always really sweet and a good friend. She moved away before high school, but like everyone else in the world, we were reconnected through Facebook, a few years back.

So, she obviously told you she was battling breast cancer, right?

Yeah, she was pretty private about it, in terms of not broadcasting via Facebook, but when I was dealing with my fiancee’s breast cancer we talked a lot about coping with cancer.

Your fiancee was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in late 2009. Did this give you additional empathy towards Alaina’s plight?

Definitely. Not just my fiancee — my sister also had battled breast cancer. But when Alaina told me that she was going to court to fight for custody I didn’t worry too much about it. I never dreamed that a judge would rule against a mom with cancer. I mean, Alaina isn’t debilitated by cancer — it’s controlled and not spreading — so life, as far as her kids know it, is not about having a “sick mother.”

Still, the judge was quoted as saying that it was more important for the children to spend time with their “non-ill parent.”

Exactly – despite the fact that the father had been largely absent in the kids’ day-to-day life and was moving halfway across the country.

When Alaina broke the news about losing custody did you think you could possibly help her?

At first I was just in shock. She told me what had transpired in court the previous day and I was floored. Speechless. And it takes a lot for me to be speechless. Then I got really angry. I felt kind of like this evil group of bullies beat up my schoolyard pal when no one was around to protect her. I could not imagine lying down and taking that verdict without some kind of fight. So I did what any social-media savvy person would do: I made a fan page on Facebook.

You are pretty savvy because your livelihood depends on it, right?

Yes. I was forced to learn about social media in order for my career to survive. As a musician or anyone in the entertainment industry, without a presence in social media, you’re pretty much nonexistent. So it was easy for me to create a fan page with the title: Alaina Giordano Should Not Lose Her Kids Because She Has Breast Cancer. I believe that if you have the ability to help someone — whether it be through your skills, knowledge, or talent — and you don’t, you’re guilty of what happens to them.

And what happened? Did you expect it to take off like it did? Did Alaina approve your going public with her story?

Yes, Alaina was fine with me creating this page. I told her that it would catch like wildfire and we’d definitely get some press. Through media coverage my goal was to find some pro bono representation so that she could appeal the court’s ruling.

Wow – and that’s precisely what happened. Tell me, what do you think makes a story like this catch the public’s attention?

Well, everyone has been touched by cancer in some way, shape or form. Everyone. Add to that single parents, divorced parents, custody survivors, cancer survivors, plus your general concerned citizen who can’t stand to see injustice carried out – especially because Alaina was so “out-lawyered” by her ex’s expensive team of attorneys. I knew how powerful Facebook was. C’mon, it has something like 500 million users; you only need a fraction of those to get your message heard worldwide. I just promoted the hell out of her cause — starting with our closest friends and our mutual childhood friends as our solid base. I sent messages to people and asked everyone to repost and “share” the link. Of course, people starting sharing right away. You could see the dots multiplying with each passing day: 200 “likes,” then 400, 800, 1,200, then over 20,000. At the same time Alaina’s sister Lauren, started a petition that garnered over 100,000 signatures [to present to North Carolina’s governor expressing public outrage] – and Sara, another one of Alaina’s friends, started a donation fund to cover any expenses that might strain Alaina’s budget.

That’s really helpful; did you come up with a fundraising idea too?

Yes, there’s also a song coming out for Alaina entitled “I Believe,” written and performed by New Jersey hip-hop Artists Venn Grimm and Arioose. They’ve been gracious enough to donate their services with all the proceeds of the song going to Alaina and her children. I think the song reflects exactly how the public feels about this battle Alaina is going through. Not only is music a great way to send a message to the world, but in this case it can help Alaina out financially as well.

That’s great news, plus Alaina is a stay-at-home mom, isn’t she?

Yes, which the court sees as: “she doesn’t work.”

That’s so infuriating. Every mother knows that a stay-at-home mom’s job is 24/7 … exhausting, yet rewarding. So, the court’s idea was basically ‘you want to be with your kids – move to Chicago and live closer to their dad.’

Right, either move there or stay in North Carolina, continue your treatment and they’ll visit you from time to time. Gimme a damn break! But you know, I watched my fiancee go through cancer treatment and recovery. Believe me, the last thing you want to do is move, or undergo something as stressful as a custody battle or losing your kids to your ex. The lack of empathy made me so mad. Plus, Alaina and I are both from New Jersey, and in New Jersey we don’t play that.

What does that mean?

It means we don’t go down without a fight. A lot of people like to joke around about New Jersey, but remember — you piss us off and you will regret having done so. People from New Jersey are loyal to each other, even if you move out of state. I’ll fight to the death on an issue I truly believe in. And if I die trying, I’ll come back and haunt you as a poltergeist. Believe that.

Is this a Rockin’ Lifestyle philosophy?

[laughs] Yeah, it kind of is. I talk a lot about following your passion – about inspiring yourself and others to do positive things, and to quit complaining. When something doesn’t sit right – like a hapless judge making a life-altering decision that will impact two vulnerable children – you better believe you gotta fight the fight, for all it’s worth.

As things stand now Alaina has her children as a temporary measure pending another ruling, correct?

Yes. Obviously the goal is to get the ruling overturned so she’ll never have to worry about her kids being ordered to leave their home and their mother. The larger goal though is to change some of the legislation that judges still rule by — about kids living with the “non-ill parent” — and redefining what “sick parent” truly means. Alaina may have cancer, but she’s a stable, functioning and very loving mom. Her kids need her now, more than ever.

As we know from past experience, there’s nothing the folks over at Men’s Health love more than a good list. This month, the magazine has a new one out that measures the most socially networked cities in America, and Jersey City comes in at number 43 on the list, sandwiched between Des Moines and Indianapolis.

While there are likely a number of ways to measure social connectivity online, the Men’s Health methodology seems pretty legit. They explain it here:

We started by calculating the number of Facebook and LinkedIn users per capita, followed by overall Twitter usage (NetProspex). Then we looked at traffic generated by the major social networks, including Myspace, Friendster, Reddit, and Digg (analyzed by ad network Chitika). Finally, after factoring in the percentage of households that check out chat rooms and blogs (SimplyMap), we had the results.

Much like in this year’s Census count, Jersey City fell behind perennial rival Newark on this list (the Brick City came in at 35), but we did come in ten spots ahead of our big brother across the river, New York City.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the top five cities on list were, in order: D.C., Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis and Seattle. For the rest of the results, you can check out the full list here.

Like so many others who were born in the ’60s, my parents married young. It’s meant a couple of things over the years — by the time my parents were my age they were divorced and remarried, and I was out of college. Because my parents were so young it also meant that I was lucky enough to grow up with all four grandparents alive and active in my life. I grew up playing in their yards with cousins, eating at their house just because instead of just special occasions, and generally knowing them well and loving them. One set of my grandparents lived a mile away, the other set lived two miles away. Most of my aunts and uncles lived nearby too.

I’m a little sad to say that Dash probably won’t ever have that experience. Our closest family members are in Minneapolis and some are as far away as San Diego, with Florida being another outpost. We do our best to visit the grandparents and can generally be found traveling to see one set of family members or another during the holidays. But it just isn’t the same. We have many great friends in the area and Dash adores them as surrogate aunts and uncles, but he’ll never have the same experience that I did.

One way we’ve come to combat the distance is to Skype with family every once in a while. As it turns out online video chat is an ideal format for young kids and older folks who somehow led happy and productive lives before the advent of cell phones and the internet — my mother still doesn’t know how to use a computer. The fact that the software is free doesn’t hurt either. So about once a week we log onto the computer and talk with family of one sort or another, but it’s mostly grandparents.

It’s remarkable how well Dash has picked up on it. He’s seen these people often enough to know who they are by face and name, but it can be a different thing seeing those faces and hearing those voices on the computer. Not as different as I feared however: Sometimes he’ll have a chat about whatever the day’s most fascinating topic is (trains, a popped balloon, a visit to the park, a recently found piece of string); sometimes he jumps around the room doing the same hyperactive floorshow that we see on most nights; sometimes he’ll be a jerk and will not do or say much of anything because he’s tired or whatever.

What’s cool about this is that it gives the grandparents some insight into seeing him in his natural environment, just as my grandparents saw me in mine. Because I saw them all the time they got to see me warts and all and not just on vacation when I was in a good mood. For his part, Dash gets to see that they are people who exist even when he doesn’t take a plane ride to see them.

There’s much talk these days about virtual reality and the dangers of spending too much time online. But for the downside, there is an upside too. He gets to see family members onscreen. To him they are just as real the characters to his favorite TV shows or videos, which is to say as real as real can be. So yeah technology does offer some solace, just as the ads promise, bringing families closer together. So I guess the joke is: Can’t make the family reunion? Video conference yourself in! It’s something I’d never conceived of in my youth, but it’s as logical as anything else in this day and age.

Weird behavior of the week: With all the snow melting recently the storm drains have been of particular interest to Dash. We can hardly get by ones near corners without Dash insisting on stopping to see how much water has pooled in the catchbasin under the grate. God help us if we are running late because it takes a few moments of analysis before we can move on.

Last night, Jersey City Incinerator Authority (JCIA) crews cleared a number of emergency snow routes from “curb to curb.” Meanwhile, the JCPD and Office of Emergency Management worked on removing the approximately 50 remaining abandoned cars off of city streets, according to city officials, who say the workers tried at all costs to avoid towing the abandoned vehicles, instead visiting the homes of the car’s registered owners when possible.

The cleanup continues today, as about 20 JCIA crews work to clear the remaining emergency routes, as well as any streets that have yet to be plowed. They are also working to clear the corners of snow, and have been assisted by Department of Public Works (DPW) employees in doing so.

The city is once again warning residents not to shovel snow into the streets; doing so is a violation of city law and makes the citywide plowing operation slower and more costly. City inspectors will be enforcing this law, as well as the law forcing residents and businesses to clear their sidewalks enough to allow pedestrians and strollers to easily pass. Under the law, businesses must do this within four hours of sunrise after a storm (residents have eight hours after sunrise), but the city had given a few days grace since the storm was so severe and fell on a holiday weekend.

The city’s continued cleanup efforts come as some frustrated residents are voicing their concerns on this website, on Twitter (check out four recent examples here, here, here and here) and on the city’s Facebook page about unplowed streets, a lack of garbage pickup and a lack of leadership from the Healy administration. Many critics have taken the opportunity to compare Mayor Healy’s response to that of Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who has been all over Twitter — and all over Newark — responding directly to residents’ concerns.

Booker’s work has once again put his savvy use of Twitter in the national spotlight, with TIME calling him “the Superhero of the Blizzard.” Healy’s Twitter account has not been updated since he won re-election in May 2009 (though a “Not Mayor Healy” spoof account did surface this week after the blizzard hit).

We’re currently awaiting a response to the criticisms from city officials; we’ll update the story when we receive one.

In the months that have followed, the pipeline proposal has quickly grown into one of the biggest and most contentious issues of the year, as evidenced by the hundreds of people who turned out at the recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hearing. So the activists yesterday launched a standalone website, NoGasPipeline.org, in an effort “to stop Spectra Energy’s natural gas pipeline planned route through Jersey City.”

The site was created by Hardman and Jersey City web designer Stephen Musgrave, who first met at a Harsimus Cove Neighborhood Association meeting where the pipeline was being discussed.

“Dale and I agree on stopping this pipeline through Jersey City,” Musgrave says. “And since I build websites professionally I said let’s put our backgrounds together to do this for the benefit of us all in Jersey City.”

They say the group is seeking 501(c)3 nonprofit status, and, in addition to helping inform concerned residents, its main goal is pressing the city to officially take on legal intervener status, which they believe may be the only way to stop the pipeline.

“We must stop Spectra Energy from bringing their pipeline through Jersey City as the risks are too great, due to toxins that are released and become airborne, and pipeline explosions,” Hardman says. “I met Stephen and we decided to build a website integrated with Facebook, Twitter and other social media that will seek to galvanize residents, the mayor’s office and New Jersey state and regional agencies to seek formal intervener status which is the only legal basis this project can be stopped coming through Jersey City.”

In other pipeline news, today is the last official day to submit letters to FERC during its “Pre-Filing” scoping period, although FERC officials said at the August 4 meeting that they will continue to accept public comments until Spectra files its formal proposal, which is expected to happen in December. Then there will be another public comment period, on Spectra’s actual proposal.

To submit a letter, click here; you will have to reference Docket #PF10-17.

Photo: Steve Gold

Juggle.com evaluated city government websites on a wide range of criteria, including information accessibility, technological innovation, ease of use, and exceptional service to the public. Mayor Jerramiah Healy says he “couldn’t be more proud” of the accomplishment, saying it “shows how a talented, dedicated group of public employees can produce a top quality website.”

In a release, the city is quick to tout the fact that the city 2007 website redesign was “done at a cost of only $37,500,” as compared to “other municipalities who spend millions of dollars on website design.” In a Q&A with Juggle.com, website manager Christine Wiltanger explains that for the city’s website, content is king, and that hiring a full-time web manager to update the site on a daily basis is what has really set it apart.

“A successful municipal website is only as good as its content,” she says.

Ironically, the very force that has led to many publishers’ newfound appreciation for the legals — the recession — has led New Jersey and other states to explore ways to save money by cutting the middle man — the newspaper publishers — out of this equation.

A bill allowing municipalities and other government agencies to post legal notices online instead of in newspapers unanimously cleared a crucial Senate committee Monday. And given the state’s fiscal clampdown and the cost-cutting at all levels of government, the bill may have the best shot of passage it’s had in years.

This proposal is not new to New Jersey — it has been around for the past three legislative sessions. In 2006, when first introduced, it died on the vine in the Assembly after passing a committee in the lower house. Two years later it passed the full Assembly but failed to gain any traction in a Senate committee.

Now, with powerful state Sen. Brian Stack pushing the bill in the Senate, and with bipartisan support coming out of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, it seems to face a much clearer path to becoming law, although opposition remains.

At Monday’s hearing, Star-Ledger publisher Richard Vezza testified against the measure, saying legal advertising is “an important part of our revenue stream these days,” given the recession’s effect on the paper’s other revenue sources.

The NJ Sierra Club, which also opposes the bill, similarly warns of the negative economic impact in a statement issued Monday.

“Many small newspaper rely on these legal advertisements to keep afloat,” the organization says. “Without them, local newspapers may close, resulting in less scrutiny of local government and a citizen’s right to know.”

The legislation is also opposed by the New Jersey Press Association, which represents many newspaper publishers. The trade group claims, among other things, that putting the notices online will make them less accessible and less readable. In a 2008 memo against the bill, the association argued that “turning on the computer, dialing an ISP, remembering a specific URL to find the site, and scrolling through a computer screen just to see if a public notice has appeared” is an inherently more difficult task than “having public notices packaged in a mainstream product containing relevant, useful and timely community information (news, sports, grocery ads, classifieds, etc.) delivered to your doorstep or mailbox.”

The bill, which sponsors say would save an estimated millions of dollars each year, would require municipalities to pass a resolution each year to publish the notices online, and that particular resolution would have to be published in the local paper.

If passed, the measure could mean further trouble for the struggling Jersey Journal. The paper, which narrowly averted a shutdown last year, charges $6.46 per column inch for legal advertising, which comes out to more than $300 for a full page’s worth (it charges nearly four times as much when it has less than 5 working days notice to place the ad). On most days, there are at least a few pages’ worth of legal ads, and on Mondays and Tuesdays, foreclosure listings tend to push that number much higher. (The day this bill cleared committee, for example, the Journal ran nearly 13 pages’ worth of legal ads.) While $300 a page doesn’t sound like a ton of money, some quick back-of-the-napkin math (300 x 2 x 6 x 52), shows a conservative estimate of annual losses the paper could face climbing above $100,000.

The paper has been reportedly losing money for years (as much as a reported $4 million a year in 2002, the first time this decade the Journal faced threats of closure), but it has benefited from being part of a large, privately held publishing chain, Advance Publications, which has been able to absorb some losses in the newspaper industry given its diverse roster of other publications. (Among other companies, Advance owns Conde Nast, which operates The New Yorker, Vogue, Wired and Glamour — see the full list of what the Journal‘s parent company owns here.)

But with Advance’s more traditional cash cows facing tougher conditions as well, the company has begun to shutter some print publications, closing the 170-plus-year-old Ann Arbor News last year.

Meanwhile, Mayor Healy says his administration thinks the proposal is “interesting,” but he by no means is offering an endorsement of the measure.

“We want to figure out the cost savings it would have,” he says, “and the impact it could have on those individuals who are not computer literate or do not have access to computers.”

- Renegotiating Abatements: The city has negotiated a settlement with four waterfront developers that will bring nearly $1 million in back tax abatement payments for the two most recent years.

- Are More Transparent City and County Websites on the Horizon? County and municipal governments and authorities would have to develop searchable websites so taxpayers can see how their money is spent under a bill that cleared the state Senate yesterday. Hudson County’s website recently received a below-average score on how well it provides “detailed and timely information to the public” from a coalition of good-government groups.

- BP Rally: About 20 activists staged a rally across the street from a BP gas station at the mouth of the Holland Tunnel yesterday to protest caps on oil companies’ liability for oil spills. “If the oil companies didn’t have so much power, we’d have electric cars by now,” one organizer tells the Journal. “We wouldn’t have to fight wars for oil.”

- Bill Proposes Change to UEZ Paperwork: A proposed bill would allow all businesses located in Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZ) to immediately deduct the entire sales tax on purchases for their own use inside the UEZ, rather than having to apply to the state for rebates. Advocates of the measure — like Jersey City UEZ director Roberta Farber — say the reduction of paperwork would be a huge boon to urban businesses.

- Moishe’s Collecting Notes for LeBron: The moving company is collecting gifts to be shipped to Cleveland to be given to LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers star who will become a free agent on July 1. The Knicks are among the teams interested in picking the b-baller up. If you want to send something LeBron’s way, the storage container will be awaiting additional gifts at 215 Coles St. through the end of this weekend.

- Daycare Coming to the Beacon: Little Explorers Academy has signed a lease to open an early childhood learning/daycare center at BeKids, the 66,000 square-foot children’s-only destination located within the Beacon complex.

- Bank Robbery: A man made off with more than $2,000 after robbing the Capital One Bank at West Side and Virginia Avenues yesterday.

In Statewide News:

- Affordable Housing Overhaul Clears Senate: Legislation that would abolish the state Council on Affordable Housing and give cities and towns more of a role in deciding the amount of affordable housing within their borders was approved 28 to 3 by the state Senate Thursday. The bill, which is opposed by a coalition of affordable housing, environmental and smart growth groups, now moves to the Assembly.

- Fights Over Specifics in the Budget: Democratic legislators are reportedly planning to ask Gov. Christie to restore roughly $400 million in budget cuts to programs and services for AIDS patients, students and the poor. Meanwhile, physicians and others are calling on the governor and legislators to save the state’s $7.5 million anti-tobacco programs that may be eliminated July 1.

- Lobbyists Using Federal Law to Avoid Disclosure: With a new group airing radio ads that pitch Gov. Christie’s tax cap proposal, questions are being raised once again about who funds these efforts. But because Reform Jersey Now is registered under federal law as a nonprofit social welfare organization, it doesn’t have to disclose its donors or abide by strict state laws that seek to prevent well-funded special interests from dominating state politics. The Record reports that this is part of a pattern of organizations the federal tax code to skirt the tougher state campaign-finance rules, which require disclosure and limit contributions.

- No Federal $ for Fighting Cell-Phone Using Drivers: While drivers on cell phones are considered one of the most serious problems on New Jersey roadways, the absence of federal funding for crackdowns has left local police departments to strike out on their own, according to state highway officials.

- Help for Those Who Owe the MVC Money: The state Motor Vehicle Commission has announced a new program to help people get back on the road legally who owe thousands of dollars in surcharges but are unable to pay them off because they need a driver’s license to get to work.

- Biotech Industry Doing OK: A new survey from a trade group finds the state’s biotechnology industry has continued to thrive during the past two years despite a troubled economy and reluctant investors.

“I found it really hard to search for kiddie events in the area,” she says. “I would go through a myriad of websites each week, busily copying details from each of them into my calendar or printing a whole bunch of papers with different events.”

Now the 35-year-old Tan is working to corral all of that information into one place, with the new website and e-newsletter Macaroni Kid Jersey City. The website is part of a national chain that grew out of a Hamptons-based site launched in 2008; there are currently Macaroni Kid sites in more than 150 markets nationwide, according to founder and CEO Joyce Shulman.

The site, Tan says, “does the hard work of collating the best kids events in the area.” The parent company also provides all the local publishers with suggested content and special deals that work anywhere in the nation, such as the 50 percent off coupon for Pixable photo books currently on the Jersey City site. The local “Publisher Mom,” as the site proprietors are dubbed, gets the final say on what she wants to publish.

Many of the Publisher Moms have left the workforce to have a child, and may be, in the words of Shulman, “suffer[ing] from a loss of identity” related to work. But Tan — who has a 4-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy — breaks that mold; she works full-time developing public health and infectious disease policies at the United Nations. Pointing out that being a mom and a homemaker is, in essence, another full-time job, Tan says that “with Macaroni Kid Jersey City, I’m adding a third little job, though it’s really more like a hobby.”

Though this sounds like a recipe for burnout, Tan says she thrives on the busyness.

“Like many moms I know, I love multi-tasking, having a full plate and juggling it all. It somehow makes me feel more alive,” she says. “I also like the thought of giving back and contributing to our community with our strengths.”

Local publishers like Tan pay the parent company what Shulman describes as a “modest monthly hosting fee” (a November story put the exact figure at $59 a month, though Shulman says the rate varies “based on several factors”). From there, advertising can be sold locally by the Publisher Mom, and the parent company also places ads across the entire network. Both Tan and Shulman say they won’t divulge all the financial details, but Tan says “it’s a very fair split for all of us.”

Tan says that for now, Macaroni Kid Jersey City will focus on posting events but not editorial content. However, she says she hopes to expand what the site offers in the future, and perhaps also branch out to offline activities, like parenting workshops or mom get-togethers.

She says that either way, she wants the website to not only provide a service to parents, but “build and support community life and local businesses” in Jersey City.

“Despite its reputation, Jersey City is a wonderfully multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, exciting and vibrant city, and my husband and I fully believe in its potential for growth,” Tan says. “I believe that Macaroni Kid can be just one of many tools to bring people together in this city.”