:-D (Told you!)
___________

...I found this really touching, and despite all of the vile atrocities that are going on in this world, it's marvellous to see that there are still some people willing to make a positive change...

Go GoL! ;-)
JulianT, Nov 12, 06 20:54

Can't wait to get out there, join Lolly and go hugs crazy, you know some days you just need a hug to make it through the day

Can't wait to start hugging

Simon
DJ_Symcard, Nov 13, 06 01:38

who said Geneva was a boring unfriendly city? I have been laughing ever since I saw the video...too bad I won't be there on saturday...please take pictures!!!
spellbinder, Nov 13, 06 18:53

I can't tell you how rapt I am to find that a little post I did almost a month ago has sparked off this activity.

Watching the video for the first time was so inspiring to me, I just wanted to run out on to the street to hug people, and my posting of the video was in the hope that others would be similarly moved and enthused. Its wonderful to see such support of the idea, and I am looking forward to a heap of hugs on Saturday!

Kiriel

Kiriel, Nov 14, 06 13:28

Thanks for sharing the love...will you hug with us this Sat?
Nir Ofek, Nov 14, 06 14:32

just excellent idea!!!
olga_1401, Nov 14, 06 20:35

Hey Kiriel, I LOVE this idea!!!

You'll get an extra hug next time we meet!!!

xxx
C.
Carsten, Nov 15, 06 00:30

And Kiriel is a great hugger!
Iolly, Nov 15, 06 01:50

Apparently it was on the news in Australia...and has been so popular on Youtube, that Good Morning America even decided to run it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AdQo1qBy1E&mode=related&search=

And if you love the music---it's "all the same" by sick puppies. (written by the band especially for this video---which they also produced) check out the link, and you'll get the full story.

see you on saturday.
sherri, Nov 15, 06 11:58

...able to make our own GoL video recording the event - such as the one done for the 5000 party??!

It could then even be sent into TSR to show the whole of the Suisse Romande (and who knows, even further afield?!) that the Swiss can be warm hearted people after all (as we have all come to find - and contrary to the well-known stereotype)*... and just think of the GoL publicity that could generate! ! ! :-D

* I wonder how many of those will be Swiss though... as much of GE is made up of friendly foreigners! :-)

JT
JulianT, Nov 15, 06 18:37

El Guiri and I will be filming the event...and editing a video. I will then post it on YouTube and join the others who have organized their own "free hugs" day in cities around the world.

Would be cool to get the press involved too though!


sherri, Nov 15, 06 19:28

...to getting the link - wow! :-D

JT
JulianT, Nov 15, 06 20:33

I cannot make it :-( Snif Snif
peembee, Nov 15, 06 23:44

I really wanted to be giving out hugs, but now something has come up

Have a great day guys

Simon
DJ_Symcard, Nov 16, 06 00:45

Congrats to Nir for getting into the local free paper Matin Bleu... Page 2, there is a small note about the GOL Free Hugs event...

Hope you'll get many candidates for warm hugs...
kayhec, Nov 16, 06 12:38

why should there be a limit to free hugs


Dear site administrator,

I noticed in my email box that I had mail at Geneva online today. So I went to my box to see what it was about. When I clicked on the email I read about your free hugs campaign. I think its a great idea. It is full of compassion and positivity. But when I noticed that your group was full I thought, well that sucks. Why would anyone do that. It seems like free hugs should be inclusive not exclusive. Maybe a good idea when posting emails to everyone on Geneva online is to think about how many people can participate in the event. If it is only open to a few people maybe you should send emails to people who you think would like to participate or post a message. Also I think it might have made more sense to help facilitate lots of groups to go out into different sections of town to give free hugs. That way you are making the campaign as inclusive as possible and maximizing its effect. As it is now some people might think that the free hugs campaign smacks with a little too much exclusivity and a "hey look at me I'm so cool" approach. After all this is suppose to be about everyone so why not make it so.

Hey I love hugs,
Love to give you one sometime.
I love you more!
No we just love!
Love Love Love!
MrBoogie, Nov 16, 06 23:17

You will see that it's one person giving out hugs, and kind of passing it on...as many of the participants then give a hug to another stranger...

Imagine how intimidating it would be to walk into a GROUP of 30 huggers....I'm an outgoing friendly person, but I would try my best to avoid a HERD of huggers...So I'm in favor of limiting it...and I think 30 is far too many for one location. I'm kind of hoping that we dispearse around the city...and spread the love.

And if you enjoy hugging so much---then you should come and be hugged!

**also keep in mind that this is the first run at doing the free hug campaign...if it's a success (which is will be) you can bet that we'll be doing it again...At which point, you can join the team of huggers!

sherri, Nov 16, 06 23:36

We're limiting the hugger team to 20 huggers for 2 reasons:
1. This is the first time we're doing this, so we want to keep it manageable and learn what works before making it wide open.
2. We know that having 100 huggers surround 1 poor hugee could be a scary experience...(-:

Net, this is just the start. If the free hugs campaign works well this saturday, we'll spread the joy and have more huggers. And then we'll also need more people to help coordinate different groups, and you're more than welcome to volunteer.

Hope to see you on Saturday, and sending you a big hug...(-:



Nir Ofek, Nov 16, 06 23:41

Please make a VIDEO!! :o)
Roberta, Nov 17, 06 10:19

But JulianT would have been happy to start it off too in Lausanne. I would WILLINGLY have done it in Lucern this Saturday too! And I'm SURE we would find people in Bern and Zurich too. Guess maybe if GE does it first, the news will get wind of it, and then the next time around, we do the BIG thing!
Roberta, Nov 17, 06 10:31

Too many free hugs will let the hugs feel meaningless.
Why free hugs are so successfull in big cities with money oriented life style ?

Just to play the serious guy a bit. Also to note the formal aspect of a free hug session. I have not resolved a "stable" opinion on this for like long term. But I am sure it will bring fun, relief, good time, etc. to many :-)

Cheers,
B.
brooster, Nov 17, 06 10:32

I had a similar feeling---thinking that the worth of a hug diminishes when they are given out so readily. BUT, I'm willing to give out some 100 hugs or whatever, IF within that 100, I'm able to touch 1 person's life. Thing is, you'll never know. You can never know the affect you have on a person. For me, that's where the real worth is.

-sherri
sherri, Nov 17, 06 14:09

We just know that giving free hugs sounds like a nice thing to do. We'll try it out, and see how it works out best...

Nir Ofek, Nov 17, 06 15:39

...you two, Sherri & Nir.

It has to be a warm hug though... not simply a 'let's get it over with' sort of thing...

...and then it'll most probably generate a conversation ...and I'm sure that for quite a few people (especially the oldies) you guys will be the first or even the only people that they'll be really chatting to that day - such is life (and November is quite a shitty month for a lot people anyway) ...so seeing you lot, with your welcoming smiles(!), energy & enthusiasm... wow(!)... GE's going to experience an unforgettable & unexpected warm micro-climate tomorrow! 8-)

It's a lovely idea...! Have a great time everyone - I'm sure you will! :-)

J.
JulianT, Nov 17, 06 18:32

Free Hugs was a great success and after convincing TSI the swiss italian chanel to do a story on our event the other swiss chanels have decided to use the footage and air the subject. So there will be a 30 second on TSR on the 19h30 news. The story will be aired on SF DRS at 19h30 (a 1:40 min piece) and at 20h on RTSI. you can also see the story on the web on www.rtsi.ch www.sf.tv and www.tsr.ch I will put some direct liks to them as soon as they are on the web an we will try to rip the files and put them on GOL. So a big thanks to Massimo Isotta from TSI who beleived in Iolly and me and did the story. Yeahh

Laurent
Laurent_68, Nov 18, 06 18:30

filming us. TV? We couldn't have wished for more!

I would like to give a HUGE HUG to all GoLers who came to be huggers and to be hugged. Loved the experience!!!!!!! Geneva reached a high level of warmth today thanks to you! More, more, please!
Iolly, Nov 18, 06 18:46

Italian Swiss channels and today's FREE HUGS were on!!!! TSI covered it for longer, really worth seeing the video tomorrow on their website! rtsi.ch
Iolly, Nov 18, 06 21:27

Hey, just added a line about the GOL free hugs on the wikipedia free hugs entry...

Well done GOL. It was a priceless moment to watch this happening... And getting on the news in all 3 languges... Way to go!
kayhec, Nov 19, 06 01:08

Well done you lot! :-D

LoLers (& 'BoLers' & 'ZoLers'!) are probably feeling a bit left out now(!)... so next time lets go national - and not just on TV...
Wow - If only the guy in the original video could know what he's started... and in CH of all places! :-)

J.
JulianT, Nov 19, 06 02:18

Too bad! Although not a volunteer this time, I was there to witness this wonderful and touching event and I got to hug some people as well. Isn't that great!

Cheers to GOL!!!!
CeeBee, Nov 19, 06 04:21

Thanks to everybody...

this experience was great and as a pure Geneva citizen I can say that I was so surprised to discover so many people ready to hug each otehr... :-)

so thank you again...

your little angel... :-)

Gaby...
Angel_Gaby, Nov 19, 06 05:41

Here it is for those who can see it it's in real media (sorry Mac users!)

TSI 450K
http://real.xobix.ch/ramgen/tsi/tg/160k/tg_11182006-160k.rm?start=0:21:28.942&end=0:23:33.178

TSI 56K
http://real.xobix.ch/ramgen/tsi/tg/2006/tg_11182006.rm?start=0:21:28.942&end=0:23:33.178

TSR
http://www.tsr.ch/tsr/index.html?siteSect=501930#
Then select the last story on Claude Ponti it's right after.

Have fun!
Laurent
Laurent_68, Nov 19, 06 13:33

Hi All,

So when is the next hug date that we can do nationwide? :o)

If it's on a Saturday, I will do it in Lucern!

There are only 4 weekends before Christmas in December and doing it Saturday 23 December MIGHT be an idea, but then maybe lots of people are too hectic doing last minute shopping, or already off on holiday, etc. So maybe a weekend earlier... or two?

Looking forward to it.

Roberta.


Roberta, Nov 20, 06 10:58

... is this event missing the point of it's original purpose?

Ok...at this risk of being Mr Unpopular here...

Firstly, it's a great idea...everyone seems to have enjoyed it, but... the ozzie guy that started this in Sydney was showing the 'power of one' - And because of this the public's interpretation is that one man can be brave enough to get across a message of togetherness, peace, etc...etc... However, when 20 people stand at the top of the ramp ambushing lone stragglers into a hug, the interpretation is different...it's still good but different. So personally I think that you should just be aware that you've taken a unique idea and commercialised it a bit and by doing so you've inadvertantly changed the point of why this guy started this.

So...if you want to relay the message, don't cap the numbers at 20...cap it at 1...and go into Geneva and show the 'Power of one!'...oh and I'm not volunteering... but minor critique aside...good luck... but be conscious of the real message you give, as oppose to the one you think you're giving.

Hey, love to all... hope I've not upset anyone.... feedback is always good, pos or neg, right?
Deano1uk, Nov 22, 06 15:37

How is it comercialised?
Spikey, Nov 22, 06 17:27

...a wrong choice of words but I don't want to disect this argument to much and open a new thread of discussion on whether this is commercialised, re-invented or mass produced...I'm just giving an honest point of view. It's not necessarily correct. Thanks.
Deano1uk, Nov 22, 06 17:38

I must agree with Deano on one thing, it's much more interesting to see the power of one spreading. For the rest, I beleive you are all giving to much thought and importance about this. There is no marketing or advertising purpose in all of this. It's just about spreading the concept to a place that realy needs it like Geneva. GOL is not a super big company that thinks in terms of market shares and advertisement. Swiss Italian TV was interested in the concept, not GOL! As far as I know we dont have anything to sell?
Laurent_68, Nov 23, 06 13:44

WHEN'S THE NEXT OOOOOOOONE????!!! :-)

I'm all set and ready to hug! Alone or not! Ha haaaaaa!

An eager Roberta
Roberta, Nov 23, 06 14:16

I've been following this thread with some amusment, thinking how much better GoL would be if some of the folks involved in this thread would switch just 10% of the energy they put into this thread, into organising activities...(-;

But I see now some threads are getting emotional (and misleading), so let me answer some of the questions floating around:

Why we did the Free Hugs
To spread hugs and friendly spirit, have fun, and spread the GoL word. Spreading a 'power of one' idea was never our intention. Spearding hugs was.

Why we set up GoL
Cos the need is there, and cos it improves lives (including our own). If one day we manage to turn it into a real business that generates money, even better. Not sure where Bob's (and I quoute from memory here) idea of "they set it up to sell it and strike gold' came from.

Voila, now back to thinking about how to make the community better.

Nir Ofek, Nov 23, 06 15:53

None of the signs said "Free hugs from GOL". Yes some people were wearing GOL tshirts, since GOL got it together that just makes sense. But what was out there and seen and experienced by the public was hugs, not GOL.

The event wasn't commercialised to push GOL - the point was to spread joy, not GOL, and although GOL was mentioned (including by me on the radio) it was as the vehicle to achieve the goal of spreading some love around Geneva.

Kiriel
Kiriel, Nov 24, 06 10:26

...you crack me up! Brilliant! ;-D

Anyway, stuff all this negativity and nit-picking(!)... it was a brilliant idea, no matter how it was done - and as my friend Roberta says 'When's that next one?' ! ! ! ...LoLers & ZoLers are ready & waiting! ...All systems are GO! :-D ...Making a reference to something previously; it would be great if we could all do it on the same day! Wow! :-)

*****************
My two pennies re: making money: I certainly hope that Oded & Nir do make some cash out of their brilliant GoL-site one day... they deserve it! They are almost always logged-on... I only organise things and I can tell you that it takes a bloody long time (sending emails back & forth as people don't read postings properly!). These two can be seen late at night or even early on Sunday mornings... making sure that everything is running smoothly... and for who? For us...!
If the site were to become a paying one - say, 25Sfr each p.a. once we hit 10, 000 - Well, GOOD for them!!! They have truly deserved it! ...and for those that get lost in the transition, well, GoL obviously wasn't that important for them in the first place...

Well done guys! :-)
JT.
JulianT, Nov 24, 06 19:21

Most probably, LOL ! ;-P
Hobbes, Nov 28, 06 14:36

Guys - Girls.... I'm WAITiiiiiiiiiing!

Now we all go bye byes on holiday.... Ok, ok.... BUT - in 2007... I AM GOING TO HUG SOMEbody! LOL! :-)
Roberta, Dec 15, 06 10:24

take off with me and Mirta starting things up in Zurich and Bern, I certainly hope in 2007 we will be able to organise a nationwide (CH) HUG event again :-)
Roberta, Jan 16, 07 15:11