…:::jamieleigh:::…

ever walked through the streets of our fair city and thought, “why do i feel so alone?”. i have.

in 2000, i moved to montreal by myself. with the exception of a friends’ older brother who lived on the other side of the city, i did not know a soul. immediately i was shocked at how many people were interested in striking up a conversation in the city, and i am not talking about people whose job it is to be friendly because van city wins that category, hands down. anywhere i went (cafe, bar, restaurant, book store, etc) people were ready to chat, invite me to their table to join a game of chess, ask me questions about myself, etc. and this was not a fake, temporary kindness. if i returned to an establishment a second time, i was greeted as if i had become a friend.

i never thought that vancouver was a cold city (and seriously, i do not believe it is now), but upon my return from montreal, i noticed that there is a strange aloofness to the social scene here. its almost as if people do not want to be so rude as to impose friendship on another person… as if speaking to someone that you do not know is somehow inappropriate.
enter oksocial

some ingenious local graphic designer decided to change this vancouver epidemic and decided to create buttons that people could wear: these buttons would signify to other vancouverites that the wearer is “not only great to talk to, but you like the idea of a warmer and more open city”.

hmmmm. i think i’ll have to get a couple.
Want to help?

1) Wear a button. Get one at info@oksocial.org
2) Give out a bunch of buttons to your friends to wear. Request a bunch of buttons… they’ll give them to you. It’s free.
3) Visit their MySpace profile and be a friend.
4) Download this simple printable poster and post it somewhere.
5) Send us your suggestions. info@oksocial.org
6) Blog about oksocial! This really helps to spread the word.
7) Steward OK in your city, school, neighbourhood, etc. Ask oksocial how…