Frequently Asked Questions
Following are some questions I have been asked throughout the course of the project that might be helpfu for you too :)
- Why 12 August?
- Can I send more than 1 piece of news?
- What format should I send the news?
- Where to send my news?
- Can I send the news all day long? When is the best time?
- How should the story itself look?
- Should the things just happen or do I need to generate them myself?
12 August was picked for 2 reasons; it is just another ordinary day (and I wanted to prove there is enough beauty in just another ordinary day :) and it is 2 days before the end of my course (all the projects need to be complete by then).
Yes, if there are 10 inspiring things happening in your day we will be happy to hear about them :) They might not all apear in the broadcast but still we would be happy to receive them as they are something nice that happened to you and that is precious...
We expect majority of the news to be email and mobile text messages, However if your conditions allow you can also send a video or a picture. We will be taking all the diverse media and will be putting them together into a youtube video for the broadcast. Please consider this when choosing a format, we will be using Windows Movie Maker.
The official email for the news is inspiringnews@googlemail.com. My mobile numbers are +420777328712 for my Czech mobile and +447872190178 for my UK number.
We encourage you to send the news from 0-24.00 CET. We don't want to miss any story of this precious day. However, as we will be making the broadcast in the evening of the day itself, we also encourage you to report to us as soon as the event happens and do so all throughout the day as we would not be able to manage if we receive all the 100 news within the last 30 minutes of the day. Also, right when it happens is the best time to report as you are most present to the beauty of the moment.
Our original intention was to gather short stories (mobile text, 1 paragraph email, etc.) of the one inspiring thing that will happen to you during the day. The stress is on you and the impact the event had on you. Please describe briefly what happened and what was the impact on you.
For example: I was coming on a tube late night in London and when I entered the train I have entered also into a conversation of 10 people talking to each other. Unusual for London tube. They said "We have decided to talk to each other on a tube this time... This is... Who are you?" Amazing...
We chatted and laughed for a minute then some people left. Slowly, people came back to normal and there was silence again. I could feel how we all wanted it to continue, yet the moment was gone. We returned to our thoughts/newspapers. It was amazing, refreshing and powerful reminder of the possibility of connection between unknown people. It made me feel belonging, joyful and present to the moment...
This event happened to me couple of weeks ago while returing home after long day. Your story can be anything, sunrise, beauty of nature and how it made you feel, looking into the eyes of someone you love, achieving success in something you worked on really hard to get... It can be anything that makes you feel beautiful inside :)
Our answer would be both. When you go through 12 August knowing what is your intention (i.e. to experience something beautiful) things will be happening that will fulfill this intention. At the same time, you can also generate a beautiful moment towards others (or yourself), that you will then report on.