{About the Kindness Project–Too often kindness is relegated to a random act performed only when we’re feeling good. But an even greater kindness (to ourselves and others) occurs when we reach out even when we aren’t feeling entirely whole . It’s not easy, and no one is perfect. But we’ve decided it’s not impossible to brighten the world one smile, one kind word, one blog post at a time. To that end, a few of us writers have established The Kindness Project, starting with a series of inspirational posts.}
(If for some reason this player doesn’t play, please click HERE. Also, there is an interactive transcript there so you can skim if you’d rather not watch the 20-minute video.)
I believe this talk by Jonathan Zittrain is a bit poorly titled because the examples he gives throughout don’t reflect random acts, but deliberate acts of kindness by people who don’t profit from being kind, to people who aren’t in a position to pay them back for their kindness.
I love the parallels that Zittrain drew between the architecture of the Internet and how it can impact the real world. He goes into a little bit of technical detail, but basically he concludes that the internet “is a system that relies on kindness and trust, which also makes it very delicate and vulnerable.“
He uses various examples, including Wikipedia and blogging, but a recurring theme in all of them is that normal, everyday users take it upon themselves to ensure that their piece of the web is problem-free. It’s this thin geeky line that keeps it going. Not because it’s a job, not because it’s a career, but because it’s a calling. It’s something they feel impelled to do because they care about it.
My favorite specific example is about the Star Wars Kid, the poor teenager who filmed himself with a golf ball retriever, acting as if it were a light saber. As you can possibly imagine, this video was ridiculously embarrassing for him, and even though several media outlets give his real name, Wikipedia eventually decided – not unanimously by any means – not to include his real name, despite the fact that nearly all media reports did. They just didn’t think it was the right thing to do. It was an act of kindness. And to this day, the page for Star Wars Kid has a warning right at the top that says you are not to put his real name on the page. If you do, it will be removed immediately, removed by people who may have disagreed with the original decision, but respect the outcome and work to make it stay because they believe in something bigger than their own opinion.
Wikipedia merely reflects what engineer Hans Monderman discovered in the Netherlands, that sometimes if you remove some of the external rules and signs and everything else, you can actually end up with a safer environment in which people can function, and one in which they are more human with each other. They’re realizing that they have to take responsibility for what they do.
And, isn’t that what ‘kindness’ is all about? Not the idea of any kind of transaction, like something for something (payback), or even something for nothing (which can lend itself to bitterness), but just a way to show our humanity.
Let me know what you think in the comments below, and be sure to check out other blogs posting for The Kindness Project today:
Sophia Chang
Erica Chapman
Jessica Corra
Elizabeth Davis
Christa Desir
Sarah Fine
Claire Hennessy
Elana Johnson
Amie Kaufman
Alina Klein
Sara Larson
Matthew MacNish
Sara McClung
Leigh Moore
Tracey Neithercott
Katharine Owen
Elizabeth Poole
Lola Sharp
Michele Shaw
Meagan Spooner
Carolina Valdez Miller
