It’s a fun video, but when I looked into it a little, I was really impressed at how far reaching the impact had been – "free hugs day" in 24 countries. Pretty cool for one guy with a sign who just wanted to make some people smile and create some random acts of kindness.
It’s also interesting because when I first saw the video I was suspicious, at first I was like "what’s the frree hugs thing all about?" How sad is that. And that the city of Sydney tried to bad free hugs, and he had to petition to get it back. I think that even with the growing number of people who are creating totally altruistic organizations and events, it still seems unusual. So unusual that Juan Mann (psuedoname – "one man") lands on Oprah and Good Morning America, and free jugs days sprout up all over the world.
Another thing I think is cool is the band The Sick Puppies. The lead singer was working in the mall when Juan Mann starting giving out his free hugs. So he brought in a video camera, and filmed it. Put the footage to his band’s music. Puts it up on YouTube… and then the next thing you know you have multiple countries and international press. That’s also an interesting commentary on the what YouTube has made available. If an idea is good, and it’s well presented (the music in the background really helps) then YouTube can drive international publicity. It’s funny to think of Oprah trolling YouTube for humanitarian videos.
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