When you encounter anyone new, how do you know where they come from, what their surname is or what religious path they choose to follow? In most cases, because they’ll tell you. People consider these things to be part of their identities and who they are – and during the first opportunities in casual conversations (especially first-time ones), they’ll tell you, whether or not you’ve asked.

News spreads because people talk about it. Memes replicate because people share them. You know about certain things and certain topics because you might have heard someone talk about them and decided to use your phone to look it up on the spot. Ideas go from one place to the next through the simple act of people mentioning it.

If we look at the popularity of bridge and the numbers of bridge clubs everywhere, all that we really have to do to change the face of how well-known and well-played the game becomes is to start talking about it.

Have you told someone about the game of bridge today?

Bridge in Mainstream News and Fiction

I love seeing references to bridge in mainstream news, fiction and on shows you wouldn’t normally hear the word on. It’s honestly one of my favorite things to see, and it always makes my week a little better. It’s like getting a personal nod from another bridge player – even though I might not know who they are – to say, “Hey, I love this game, too!”

I also love seeing bridge in mainstream news and fiction because it gets a lot of non-players to talk about the game. Maybe to look it up, and maybe to start playing it themselves from there.

The news of Helgemo’s ban spread far: Almost every mainstream news site had a story about it – and bridge was suddenly forced right into almost every newspaper and website that was within my reach.

While the ban itself might not have been good news, it certainly got a lot of sports players and fans to think about the topic of doping, and inadvertently the game of bridge at the same time.

What do we need to do to get bridge some more publicity?

Talk about it.

If you’re in a position that means you get to say something about bridge in public, do it! It helps the game, and it might help someone to discover it.

Let’s Use Tags, Hashtags and Statuses Everywhere

If you’re a fan of the game of bridge, you can do something for the entire movement by just mentioning it. Tell a friend about the game, invite someone to an event, share a bridge post on your social media accounts, find a bridge quote and post it – or tag the word bridge or any of the many bridge clubs or organizations in your post.

There are many ways to talk about something. Let’s use tags, hashtags and statuses everywhere to give a nod – and a boost – to bridge.

Just one per day from one player at a time is all it would take.