In doing this assignment, I knew I was going home for the weekend, so I decided to give the money away in Jacksonville Beach. Jax Beach is a very chill, surfer area- people are constantly walking and biking around. They're also pretty friendly for the most part, so here are my predictions/ course of action:
I will walk around in my neighborhood and stop people who are either going somewhere or talking on the phone (just like the directions say). I plan on approaching people who are by themselves. Many people bike or walk around in groups in Jax Beach, and I think less people would be less intimidating. My plan for giving away the dollar is to ask these people, who are in a rush, and ask them to "pay it forward". Hopefully with this method, I will be able to give all five dollars away.
Here are my results:
The other takes were absolutely cringe-worthy for me to watch- these 2 our of the 5 weren't that bad. It wasn't hard to give away the money, as "pay it forward" is something of good intentions. I was right that everyone would want to pay it forward (or at least they said they would), however they were all either unsure (of my intentions, probably) or very uncomfortable. I don't think it helped that I was videotaping their reactions, either. Since I went home this weekend, I didn't have a friend available to videotape for me, so I had no choice other than to hold the phone- I tried making it look like I was just holding it in my hand, but I'm not sure it worked. No one asked me what this was for, so it was hard to keep a conversation going, not to mention the overall uncomfortable atmosphere- I just wanted to run away each time ha ha. Overall, this assignment was extremely uncomfortable for both parties, especially myself :)
Here are my results:
The other takes were absolutely cringe-worthy for me to watch- these 2 our of the 5 weren't that bad. It wasn't hard to give away the money, as "pay it forward" is something of good intentions. I was right that everyone would want to pay it forward (or at least they said they would), however they were all either unsure (of my intentions, probably) or very uncomfortable. I don't think it helped that I was videotaping their reactions, either. Since I went home this weekend, I didn't have a friend available to videotape for me, so I had no choice other than to hold the phone- I tried making it look like I was just holding it in my hand, but I'm not sure it worked. No one asked me what this was for, so it was hard to keep a conversation going, not to mention the overall uncomfortable atmosphere- I just wanted to run away each time ha ha. Overall, this assignment was extremely uncomfortable for both parties, especially myself :)
Hi Shannon!
ReplyDeleteEven though you said that you felt extremely uncomfortable with this assignment, you did a really great job! You couldn't tell that you were nervous and being awkward at all, especially from the perspective of just watching the interaction via recording but not being there in person. I especially loved your "reasoning/cause" for giving away the money because the theme of passing it on has gone viral over social media and all over the internet so it seemed totally normal. Awesome job!
You can check out my videos of giving away free money at http://amunozent.blogspot.com/2016/02/free-money.html
ReplyDeleteHi Shannon,
ReplyDeleteYou did an outstanding job with this assignment. It was a little funny how your interviewees reacted, especially the second one. You did a great job at finding a soundbite that one can identify with: "pay it forward". I like to say that this phrase is embedded in many people's minds as it relates to charity, or being a good Samaritan. The average person would feel bad to turn down your offer if you use this phrase.