This week in class we had a lengthy discussion about neknominations. I think we all came to a conclusion that they are dumb, dangerous, and that they would soon become less popular.. just a ridiculous fad that everyone had to be a part of. As my Facebook page was about to explode with video after video of neknoms, a sudden burst of random acts of kindness videos began to surface. Some friends of friends of mine were founders of a non profit organization called Kindness Counts, that encourages people to be kind in all aspects of life. They started a campaign called #feedthedeed that has similar structure to neknominations. You do a good deed, film it (or not) and then nominate your friends to feed the deed and pass it on. It immediately took off and soon my Facebook homepage had more #feedthedeed videos than neknominations. In class a few people frowned upon people doing this, posting a video of themselves and being in a competition for the most likes. I understand their point of view, but I think they are missing the whole message. Yes, I get it, you should be doing acts of kindness anyways and shouldnt have to be posting it to Facebook waiting for praise from your friends. But you know what? For the hundreds of people who have done a #feedthedeed video, there are more than thousands who were touched by their kindness no matter if it was for Facebook popularity or not. We don't live in a perfect world where there is kindness everyday, all day, and an internet fad that encourages people to do an act of kindness is exactly what this generation needs.
This leads me to my next point. I was nominated to #feedthedeed coincidentally the same day Mark challenged us to do a good deed for a family member over reading week. I decided to surprise my mom with flowers and her favourite chocolates, she was VERY shocked and confused but happy.. as you can see in the video!
