06

Mar

2008

Free hugs

Last Friday I was lucky enough to meet Juan Mann, the guy behind the free hugs campaign that started in Sydney, but which has now spread around the world.

His is an amazing story, about a simple act which grew and grew until it has literally changed the world.

I challenge anyone to view his video (posted on youtube) without feeling refreshed and invigorated, and without walking away seeing the world in a better light. And that is priceless.

The Free Hugs campaign is an interesting story about what can happen when you directly and honestly address peoples' real needs, and communicate that solution clearly.  “Free hugs” is a compelling proposition. It sells itself. More correctly, it gives itself away.

The Free Hugs campaign is also an internet story. As Juan's actions inspired and recruited others the story spread onto the web.  The video by Sick Puppy is an amazing communication tool, posted on Youtube it has been viewed over 24 million times.  Googling “Free hugs campaign” reveals over 609,000 references on the web. this blog post will be just one more.  There are people standing out on street corners with free hugs signs in over 80 different countries.  The story spread virally, building up enough momentum that Juan was invited onto the Oprah Winfrey show. Now he has a serious media profile.

Juan has a website – www.freehugsguide.org – its a lovely little site that talks about the campaign.  you can download an e-book for free. If you like it you are invited to make a donation.  Juan has received donations ranging from 1c to several thousand dollars. It has been more successful for him than if he had gone to a traditional publisher, and more people have got to read the book.

This is the essence of the new world being ushered in by the web. Its a world of abundance where people – enthusiasts, creatives, open source idealists – give things away for free. Amazingly, this doesn't seem to reduce the wealth but instead increases it.

It works.  The Free Hugs e-book has been available for just over two months. In that time over 180,000 copies have been downloaded.  4% of those downloading it have been moved to submit a donation. That's over 720 individual Paypal donations.

I highly recommend that you download the e-book (and maybe even make a donation). Not only will it brighten your day, but its an excellent example of giving value to your website's visitors. It is an act of generosity, 120 pages in length, with lots of little hidden links that send you off to other parts of the web for new adventures, new surprises.  For those who are interested in promoting their own business or passion on the web they could do a lot worse than using this document as a model for how to act generously and give value to your website visitors. I think you will find that you will be rewarded for it too.


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