One Million Giraffes - A chance to make your giraffe one in a million
You like bets? Then check out: www.onemilliongiraffes.com. This is a project resulting from a bet between two friends which tried to collect 1 million giraffes - and the whole world joined in the fun! You don't believe that? See for yourself!
Project
This project is run by Ola, a 25-year-old Norwegian, who just adores giraffes, his favourite animals. One of his hobbies is travelling and meeting people all around the world, but because it is not easy to remember all their names he began to ask people to draw giraffes for him in order not to forget them.
He and his friend Jørgen love to bet . So one day, talking about the possibilities offered by the internet, Ola says: "Why don't we collect 1 million giraffes? It can't be that hard." That's how the project started. His goal was to collect 1 Million Giraffes by the end of 2010. And he succeeded! In fact, the project is still going on and he has collected over 1 015 763 giraffes to date!
The Rules
Giraffes can be created in any way, shape or form, but cannot be made on a computer or by photographs of real or stuffed animals. They have to be handmade.
Interview
We interviewed Ola back in May 2010 while he was still trying to reach his goal of 1 million giraffes...
Bulb in Blue: What does the project means to you?
Ola: Right now the project means a lot to me. Not only is it a great source of laughter and fun, but I've met lot's of great people because of the project. I love the thought of the world getting together to make giraffes. Everyone is putting their computers away, turning off their TVs and making something real. I love that. I have gotten over 8000 emails since I started (that's 24 emails EVERY day) with really positive feedback. People from all over the world are really doing this and it makes me the happiest man alive!
BIB: How can you devote all the time necessary to run this project?
Ola: It's very hard, but I've perfected the whole process. The only really big job is answering emails. Everything else is very smooth and easy. So there are days where I spend just a few minutes on the project and others where I sit for hours answering emails. And I'd love to have more time to make more stuff for the website, but I just don't have any time left over for it... I have to live my normal life too!
BIB: How does your friend Jorgen feels about the project, has anything changed between you and him?
Ola: Nothing has changed between me and Jørgen. We are still good friends. We have a long history of silly bets and this is just one of them. It's just *a little bit* bigger than the others! Jørgen hates the project and he HATES that he is actually gonna lose this bet! But I love it. When we made the bet in June last year it really did seem impossible, but now it actually seems possible. I haven't made it yet, but things are looking good!
BIB: What has changed for you, in your everyday life?
Ola: Well. To be honest: My life is ruined. I haven't had a normal conversation since June! Everyone wants to talk about giraffes with me. Even strangers I pass on the streets in town!! The giraffes are everywhere and I can't seem to get away from them. But that's fine as long as I get that million in the end. It will all be worth it if I win.
BIB: Do you still ask people you meet on your trips to draw a giraffe to memorise their names?
Ola: No. I stoped doing that when I realized that I wouldn't be able to remember to ask everyone. I don't think it's as cool when I only have giraffes from a few people. I want all of them or none of them. I still like to meet people though!
BIB: Have you found real friendships during this project or is there no deeper contact to the drawers?
Ola: Well. Most of the drawers for the project come from other places than my home town (Stavanger, Norway) so I can't really meet up with them. But I have had long email conversations with many of the contributors and over time I do consider us as friends, even though we haven't actually met or really know a lot about each other. In fact, I would argue that anyone who comes to my website and likes the project so much that they decide to send me a few giraffes is my friend. It's impossible for me to thank every single one of them for helping me out, but it certainly is nice of them! I did spend some time with some "giraffe fans" from Brazil when I was in San Francisco last week and whenever I meet people who know about the project they are always great people! I love meeting new people and the giraffes are a perfect icebreaker!
BIB: Would you do it again?
Ola: Absolutely! It's been an amazing experience and I've learned A LOT about life, myself, my friends, the internet and the world. I wouldn't do it any way different!
BIB: Thanks Ola!
Get started and create your own giraffes! Let's prove Jørgen wrong!
Sina
May 2010
