Improv Everywhere's "Say Something Nice" megaphone

Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere says:

Our latest project has a bit of "maker" flair to it, and I thought you'd enjoy. We custom-built a lectern with a megaphone holster and then placed it in public places around New York. We put a placard on it that read, "Say Something Nice." The resulting video was posted this morning.

Say Something Nice

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

More at Boing Boing

Eurovision 2013: An American in London

The technology that links taxonomy and Star Trek

millie fink

How nice!

I’m trying to figure out now why it brings tears to my eyes.
- irksome
  
  Every moment of life is full of potential.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=607675355 Brent Kirkham

Snuck behind my (previously) impervious mantle of cynicism too.
milkman

I really tried to find something wrong here, but oddly, there should probably be more of these…especially in NY.
https://plus.google.com/110351916304126121516/about Sébastien Pérot

People not realising that a megaphone shouts for you.
vonbobo

waiting for someone to explain how these marketing monkeys got paid for this. Is it that the “public places” all hapened to be in front of Whole Foods?
- stumo
  
  Maybe they were just doing it to be nice? The website says they had 3 different places, 2 of which were in the same square; I doubt they cared much about what was behind.
  - vonbobo
    
    Improv Everywhere is a business which has made their owner into a minor celebrity. Their motivation is to be noticed, sell corporate gigs, and to sell books… underneath a veil of pop art.
    
    More power to them- American dream and all that. There is just something that I don’t really care for about the whole thing, I can’t figure it out. Maybe it’s the jealously clouding my thoughts.
    - wrybread
      
      I think your main objection is probably that they’re doing good work and getting noticed, which would make most artists “businesses” I think.
      
      Also, I came to the comments thinking that maybe just maybe this would be the one Improv Everywhere skit that noone finds something to criticize, but apparently there’s always at least one person who’s cynicism knows no bounds.
      
      For my part I think this is fantastically awesome. But I hope they’re not being all super nice because of the Vonbobos of the world. I like when their pranks have a bit of an edge to them. Maybe they need to start a shadow group offshoot that can still do things that embarrass people…
MDwebguy

“Would the gentleman in the Brooks Brothers suit and Republican haircut please reconsider your party affiliation?”
http://www.facebook.com/tanya.grove1 Tanya Grove

Lovely idea. I would be interested in finding out if (though not listening to) any negative or inappropriate comments were made. It would be wonderful if everyone truly said only things that were nice. I hope that’s the case. I think I’ll choose to believe that the best in people won out.
http://twitter.com/Listener43 Listener43

When will a different placard be tested? Or a control installation with no placard at all?
This kind of “science” is all well and good in the soft sciences, but with no control group, why would we think this represents any more “nice things” said than would have been the case otherwise?
- millie fink
  
  lol. that’s some fine high-comedy right there!
- MDwebguy
  
  It’s not really science at all, Listener. Just like the ImprovEverywhere flash mobs on YouTube, it’s low-budget performance art. They’re giving people a public space in which to express themselves, and then stepping back to see what the participants will do with the opportunity and how the statements they make will reverberate off the cultural and social contexts. All in good fun.
  - millie fink
    
    Oh. I assumed Listener43 knew that.
    
    Sigh. Online irony and sincerity can be so interchangeable.
    - Gulliver
      
      I too thought he was being sarcastic.
      
      I prefer to assume irony in the absence of evidence one way or the other. Life’s better with comedy.
Remy Porter

Here’s the real question: before editing, how many minutes of the video were someone shouting “PENIS!”?
- http://www.alwayssababa.com/ lishevita
  
  Are you suggesting that “PENIS” is not something nice?
Paool

Wish there were subtitles, have no speakers at work. did anyone actually say “something nice?” verbatem?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Vincent-Maldia/100001023048460 Vincent Maldia

how nice!
wylkyn

It’s nice to be nice to the nice!