Interactive isn’t always digital: Before I Die
Living in our always-on connected lives we sometimes forget how powerful it can be to make a connection with our neighbors. We exist day-to-day making constant virtual connections with people from all around the world. But some of the most powerful Social Media we can interact with centers around our neighbors and local communities, like when a New Orleans artist named Candy decided to find out what aspirations were hidden in the people on her block.
It was an abandoned house in her neighborhood that inspired Candy Chang to get the community talking. She turned the side of the building into a giant chalkboard where pedestrians can complete the phrase: “Before I Die I Want To…”
On her website, Chang says that the project “transforms neglected spaces into constructive ones where we can learn the hopes and aspirations of the people around us”.
Chang has continued to check back since the launch of the project, and take more pictures of the messages added to the chalkboard over time (check out her website for more stories and pictures).
The statements range from “learn French”, to “beat some sense into you”, to “understand” and “be OK with not understanding”. Looking at the handwritten answers to her simple question forms a fascinating picture of what is important to the people in her neighborhood.
It’s wonderful to see a project that is both personally- and community-focused, where the idea is all about getting everyone to participate together as a group, but doing so by sharing something as personal as a life objective.
I find that sometimes when marketers ask for participation, the activity ignores the fact that the person is both an individual and a member of a community (or many communities). If you want to design powerful sharing opportunities that truly move people to action, you have to consider a few questions:
1. Why should I care? Is the activity something that benefits, enlightens or helps the person doing it? And the purpose has to be clear here, because unless it connects with something pretty important, people won’t feel moved to take action. Remember, the chalkboards premise is “Before I Die”, not “Before Something Unimportant Happens”.
2. Do you care? Ultimately I want to feel that the idea comes from an honest place, and that I can believe that you really want my participation (not just to sell me something). The artist showed that she really wanted the feedback by the design, scale and commitment she showed to the project. Can you do that?
4. Have you done your homework? Have you given me a way to participate and offer me the tools I would need to contribute in the best possible way? She didn’t assume that every walks around with a marker. Her choice of location, site, and materials all point to a considered effort to gain a community response.
5. Will my participation make my world better? Finding new ways for people to mail in boxtops doesn’t inspire action or esteem, and shows that you’re after the individuals attention, not a member of a community. Find ways to show your dedication to changing the world by eliminating eyesores in my community, cleaning up garbage, making people treat each other better, or spreading moments of joy.
What would you write on the wall? What’s important to you?
Via Creative Review
