When I first moved back to York from New York City, I didn’t really know anyone anymore, so I spent a lot of time online. To my surprise, not only were York locals on Twitter, they had built a whole community around it—anchored by the hashtag #iloveyorkcity. That story—about how we built a digital neighborhood and turned it into real friendships—is one for another day. This story is about Dateline.
Friday Nights with Murder and the Internet
In the early 2010s, I made my first York friends on Twitter. What started as @ replies turned into real hangouts, memes, shared jokes, and eventually, a tradition: Friday night Dateline.
We’d all watch it from our respective couches and live-tweet it together, hate-watching (but loving) every twist and turn. Within 5 minutes we’d declare “the husband did it,” and by 9:47 p.m., we’d usually be right.
Soon, the Dateline producers and social media team noticed us. They started engaging with our tweets—especially Trish (@parva_x) and me. We were early true crime influencers before the term even existed. Eventually, they rewarded our dedication with Dateline SNUGGIES. I cannot emphasize this enough: we were gifted wearable blankets by Dateline NBC. Peak 2012.
#MankAndMe
In 2012, Dateline launched a quirky fan contest called #MankAndMe—a chance to win a visit from correspondent Josh Mankiewicz. Tricia entered with hilarious tweets like:
“brainstorming the ultimate #MankAndMe submission to get on Dateline (without getting murdered first)”
– @parva_x, 9/20/12
Neither of us won (shoutout to @MelLvs2Tlk and her “Get Stuffed with Dateline” dinner invite), but the team noticed us. We were tweeting, engaging, and tagging York, PA every time.
Then, in early 2013, lightning struck. I tweeted:
“At least six people in my small town livetweeting #dateline right now. Ya’ll should come here for a fan appreciation party haha”
– @nomiddlenamemeg, 4/3/13
To which Josh actually replied:
“That’s a very good idea!”
– @JoshMankiewicz, 4/3/13
Reader, it happened.
York Gets the Dateline Treatment
That fall, Dateline launched a new campaign: #DontWatchAlone, a promotion encouraging communal watch parties. They needed a fanbase to kick it off—and they chose us.
I was heavily involved in downtown revitalization efforts at the time, so I basically event-planned the heck out of it:
- The Appell Center put “#DontWatchAlone” on their marquee
- Sunrise Soap Company made custom Dateline-themed soap
- We organized a group photo in Continental Square with dozens of Dateline fans
- The Dateline team filmed footage for promos that aired on national TV
- Lester freaking Holt talked about #iloveyorkcity
And then told me not to pee my pants about it.
In short, we fully co‑produced a community event and York became the official hometown of America’s most charmingly macabre watch party.
The Night Josh Came Over
And then: Josh Mankiewicz came to my house.
We hosted a watch party in my living room. We all wore #TeamMank shirts. Josh talked us through the episode like the true crime whisperer he is. My Aunt JoAnn—one of Dateline’s biggest fans—was in heaven. We laughed, we analyzed, we took selfies. It was surreal, just discussing double homicides over guacamole.
Ten Years Later: CrimeCon Reunion
In 2023, Trish and I attended CrimeCon in Orlando and met up with our old pal Josh. We reconnected, hugged, and caught up. Ten years after our weird little social media campaign-turned-hometown PR dream, the Dateline crew still remembers York.
RIP Storify, But Our Tweets Live On
Our story made it into a Storify by Dateline NBC (RIP Storify). Here’s a cached version of it via Wayback Machine.
It included tweets from the original #MankAndMe days, our York shenanigans, and a quote that sums it all up:
“How two amazing Dateline fans made us realize we HAD to pay a visit to this small town.”
So yeah, the internet is weird. Sometimes you join Twitter thinking no one in your town uses it, and a year later you’re wearing a custom snuggie and hosting a Dateline correspondent in your living room, and 10 years later you’re taking girls trips to learn about DNA advances in crime scene investigations.
10/10 would recommend.
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