Research - "Here you go"

I've been looking for projects that use postcards and interaction with the outside world and stumbled across this one whilst looking for a blog. Really glad I did though because I had a lot of fun looking through it and it's an interesting project.

"Here you go" is a community project based in Pittsburgh. They have an extremely interesting concept. They go out while it's raining and hand out yellow umbrellas to people who are getting wet. In exchange for the umbrella, they ask that these people do something kind in return for somebody else. The way of monitoring this is that theyattach a stamped and waterproofed postcard to the umbrella and hope that people will fill it in with what good deed they did.

It's a very quirky idea and a way of trying to make the place friendlier and kinder. So it works on two levels, one as an art project that asks for public interaction and two, on a community level that encourages random acts of kindness. I found some of the responses touching and hope the project continues to build.

"Here you go" is the type of project that reminds us all of how lucky we are. Things we take for granted and how little random acts of kindness can really mean something to somebody else and are so easy to do, yet we just don't do them often enough. It's an endearing project that has a feel good element to it.

Perhaps this is where I'm going wrong. Although I am covering the social network aspect of things, perhaps the way to broaden responses and collect more is to appeal for wishes by leaving postcards that get sent back to me somewhere. It would still be anonymous and I'd still get to create the wishes and make photographs from them. I definitely need to try something different as I'm now stuck at a certain number and want more contributions.