OK button

Quoted in The Globe and Mail about the OK Button

September 8th, 2007
OK

In Friday's edition of The Globe and Mail, Canada's oldest national newspaper, I was interviewed and quoted about the OK Button, a social experiment in which wearers signal that it's okay to strike up a conversation with them. I'm reported to have said something like the following: "[I wear the button] to keep myself accountable when people do want to talk to me." After growing up in Courtenay, B.C., "I'm still used to giving people a signal on the street that acknowledges that they exist." The story appeared in the second last page of the entire paper (not just the front section), and can be read online, at least for the time being. Vancouver blogger Lesli has a copy of the article as well as some commentary about the OK button: “I don't think buttons or a capitalist scheme are necessarly the answer, but perhaps we've come to the part where neighbourliness and smiling require a viral marketing campaign?” I'm pretty sure I heard about the OK Button through Djun. The timestamp on his post is later than I remember, but the earliest I documented having a button was January 7th, 2007.

Beyond Robson promotes the OK Social button »

Haven't been wearing mine lately, since it's permanently attached to my jacket, which I don't wear in the summer. Time to attach one to my backpack.

OK

OK

"An OK button is not only very handsome, but also very functional. It tells people that you're not only great to talk to, but you like the idea a warmer and more open city. It's an icon to let people know that you won't think them insane if they speak to you.That's all there is to it."

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