Free Hugs Anyone??
You’re walking down a busy downtown street and you see someone walking towards you with a sign. This isn’t a sign arguing against any political movements or people, stating religious beliefs or protesting for higher wages; it is a simple sign that has two very important words on it.. ‘Free Hugs’.
The Free Hugs Campaign is a social movement that was commenced by a man in Australia who goes by the pseudonym of Juan Mann. His campaign was a result of the utter joy he experienced from receiving a hug from a random person one night out on the town. After that, he started carrying around the iconic ‘Free Hugs’ sign and giving people free hugs in an attempt to spread the joy.
This campaign was made famous however not by newscast or interviews, but by a simple music video posted on YouTube. (Wikipedia – Free Hugs Campaign – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Hugs_Campaign). You can see by just the sheer number of views how many people it has reached. The original music video has close to 41 million views. The social movement that followed this video has been far reaching. I myself have witnessed a number of ‘Free Hug Campaigns’ while walking in both downtown Ottawa and Toronto. You can also find Free Hug Campaign videos that have sprung up from places such as South Korea, Poland and Tel Aviv to name a few. (World Peace Society – Free Hugs Campaign – http://worldpeace.org.au/freehugs.asp)
Through the use of YouTube, one man in Australia has been able to create a social movement that has spread across the globe to a point that the ‘Free Hug’ signs are deemed iconic. This just shows the power that YouTube actually has in giving the everyday person the ablity to have a voice that can not only be heard but replicated by a mass audience.
