Chronicle Me and Key to Change

Posted 
on May 13, 2015
 
   At our May 13 meeting, Margaret Brooks introduced us to two young entrepreneurs:  AJ Richichi and Jordan Dudden.  AJ, who is also Margaret’s grandson, is co-founder and CEO of ChronicleMe which has been billed as an anonymous social network.  Jordan is the creator of JoJo Rings, making hand-crafted jewelry out of recycled keys.
 
   AJ attended school in Skaneateles until 11th grade, when he transferred to Philips Exeter, a boarding school in New Hampshire, famous for graduates such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.  One day, he received some troubling family news, and turned to social media for answers.  The problem with social media, of course, is the sharing aspect associated with it.  He didn’t want to post the sensitive news, because it would be seen not only by friends and family, but also by friends of friends and beyond.


Pictured (l-r): President Bob Yost, A.J. Richichi, Margaret Brooks, Jordan Dudden.
 
   He went on to create ChronicleMe, which allows users to post anonymously and determine when and with whom they will share their identities.  On the site, users will find existing “communities” which they can join.  Users can also create new communities based on any topic or interest they choose.  In this way, users can connect with and meet other users who share the same interests and issues.  All while remaining anonymous, or not, as they choose.  Basically, you can follow someone but the person you’re following determines whether you know who they are.  It allows a user to get support from others, without compromising their details.
 
   ChronicleMe has made many connections since its inception.  Some of the self-help organizations they’ve partnered with are the GBLT National Help Center, NO MORE, RAIIN (Rape Abuse Incest National Network, and Vera House, plus many others.   ChronicleMe is more than that, though.  There are communities for humor, and anonymous company feedback, for example.  The platform allows the user to be in control of their content, built on the principles of “anonymity, positivity, and community.”
 
   AJ is currently developing an app, VolU, which is a volunteer management system.  It is intended to provide a way to match people interested in volunteering with volunteer agencies.  Additionally, the volunteer agencies will be able to use the app to coordinate and direct those volunteers who have signed up.
 
   Jordan Dudden, also from Skaneateles, was given a challenging assignment in her jewelry elective class at Syracuse University.  She was instructed to make a ring out of anything she could find.  She had several old keys lying around and thought, “Maybe I can just bend them.”  She made a single and a double ring for the class.
 
   When she started wearing the rings, people would ask her where she bought them.  She acquired more keys from collectors and locksmiths, and was soon heating, bending, and soldering more keys into rings.  Soon she had enough rings to constitute a line of jewelry.  With encouragement and advice from her boyfriend, AJ, she started her new business, JoJo Rings. 
 
   The company keywords are “Individuality, Social Good, Sustainability.”  There are thousands of unique keys in different colors, shapes and materials, so no two JoJo Rings are exactly alike.  $5 from each ring sale is donated to a local charity.  The first month in business that was Vera House.  Next was the Food Bank of Central New York.  More organizations will benefit in the coming months.  All of the keys are donated, which keeps them out of landfills and junk drawers.  Some are donated by individuals; many have been donated by locksmiths, faulty or imperfect keys from their shops.


One of the more popular ring styles, the "control" key.
 
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