A Spooky Blender Event in Downtown Manhattan
There is a monster with huge teeth and an open mouth, devouring airplanes and the skyline as we speak, while witches look on across the way and trees grow out of the concrete. Just a typical Monday morning, you know. The team at Swift Kick works out of a space called LMHQ in the Financial […]
4 Techniques to Turn Your Next Event into an Endorphin Party of Happiness
Photo Credit: Premasagar Rose[/caption] A group of 15 adults awkwardly stood in a circle waiting for the instructor’s command to start. I nervously looked over at my mom as this was nothing I’d ever done before…especially with my mom. “Ready? Go!” The whole circle exploded into a rumble of laughter. We started off with a […]
Jabs and Right Hooks for Gaining and Retaining Student Engagement
Recently, I read a really awesome social marketing book called Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook* by Gary Vaynerchuck. He talks about the fact that on social media, you have to engage your brand’s fans with share-able, interesting content (jabs) before switching to the “sell” posts (right hooks). For example, a cat food company might share a […]
Using Micro-Actions to Create a Strong Campus Culture
I didn’t know anyone at the school, so I patiently waited in the lobby for the student life advisor to show up. When at first, I thought I was alone, the janitor turned the corner and saw me. He smiled and said, “Hi.” I smiled back. Then a group of two students walked past me […]
How One College Uses Poetry and a Tree to Build Community
The legend of the Poetry Tree at Randolph College dates back to the 1960’s, its protagonist an English professor named Margaret Raynal. Every Spring, Margaret would write out the poem, ‘Loveliest of Trees’ by A.E. Housman, and hang it on a cherry blossom tree near the front of the school as an homage to both the […]
A Look at This Year’s Random Acts of Kindness Day #RAK15
Thank you all so much for your incredible contributions to Random Acts of Kindness Day 2015. We loved seeing everyone from students to professionals get in the spirit of giving and sharing. Your random acts left us all inspired to continue spreading the love and living for and with others, and that’s what RAK Day is all about. Take […]
A Blender Event from Birch Coffee Shop
The typical solo coffee shop experience involves you ordering something with a fancy name, them messing up the spelling of your name on a cup, and then finding a seat by yourself to get lost in something to read or listen to. While many people find no issue with repeating this process of isolation, others […]
Student Engagement Through A Communal Refrigerator
As more residence halls cater to the luxury demands of their students by offering private rooms, private bathrooms and private kitchens, the opportunities for informal moments of engagement and/or learning can decline. Research done by Donald Markwell, George Kuh and Vincent Tinto back up this claim by revealing that… “Opportunities for students to come together outside formal […]
Winter is Coming – Duracell Builds Communities at Bus Stops
As you know from Dance Floor Theory, we are all about building communities and making connections. This marketing stunt by Duracell last year definitely does both of those things. At this bus stop, in order to create heat, the people have to make a human chain to connect the two ends of the stop. This leads to: Strangers […]
Hold Hands, Get Chocolate – No, not from your boyfriend
Milka, an Argentina chocolate company, set up a nifty vending machine with a catch, to promote “tenderness” between strangers. Bear with us… You see, in order to dispense the free chocolate, people need to hold hands, one on one end touching the button on the machine, the other on the other end touching the button on […]