Join Me
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Join Me is the name given to a movement started in London by English writer Danny Wallace in 2002, and to the book which documents the movement's formation[1]. Members of the movement are called Joinees. Collectively they are sometimes referred to as the Karma Army.
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[edit] Movement
[edit] Origin
On an impulse—and inspired by a similar project attempted by a relative who had recently died—Wallace put a classified advertisement in Loot magazine asking readers to "Join me. Send one passport-sized photograph to..." (followed by his address). The advertisement contained no other details nor any reason. Wallace claims he had no plans as to what he would do when people sent their photos. He originally hoped he could reach and improve upon the number of people who joined his great uncle Gallus: three. According to Wallace:
| It was a piece of whimsy. A silly half-project. But thanks to a huge and diverse group of perfect strangers, it became something much bigger. I'm still trying to work out how. |
[edit] Good Fridays
The Join Me movement soon took shape. It now has over 10,000 members. As the group grew in number Wallace was put under pressure by its members to explain its purpose. Having had no reason in mind when he first asked people to join, Wallace sought a purpose for his Joinees. Ultimately he presented the idea of performing random acts of kindness ("RAoK"s), preferably to a stranger, every Friday. Fridays thus came to called Good Fridays. Over time it has become accepted that the day of the week is not important, and that random acts of kindness may be performed whenever the opportunity presents itself.
[edit] Increased Popularity
Join Me found many new members in 2005 thanks to Wallace's BBC television series, How to Start Your Own Country, in which he founded the micronation of Lovely and attempted to gain United Nations membership.
[edit] Join Meets
Joinees regularly meet at Join MEets (sic), which provide a comfortable environment for performing random acts of kindness with other people, and where the Joinees can perform acts of kindness which might be less well received if performed by a lone individual. The meetings are also an important social aspect of the collective.
On December 6, 2003, Joinees gathered for their biggest meeting up to then: Karmageddon. It began at London's Tottenham Court Road tube station. Participants then travelled along Oxford Street, distributing leaflets and gifts. At the end of the day they retired to a pub. Subsequently many Joinees have organised smaller meetings in their own areas, and several large, annual meets have become traditions; in December 2006 large numbers of Joinees gathered for Karmageddon IV.
A regular meet takes place at The Cock public house, Great Portland Street, London, every Thursday evening.
[edit] Book
In 2003, Wallace wrote the book Join Me about how he started the movement. The popular quote is that, "It's not a cult; it's a collective," because Danny didn't want to associate Join Me with the negative connotations of the word cult – however, he has grudgingly admitted that it has distinct similarities to one. The book's sub-title is, "The true story of a man who started a cult by accident."
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Join Me - the official Join Me site
- Join Me Wiki
- An extract from the book, Join Me
- Join Me Forum - a discussion forum for Joinees and prospective Joinees
- Join me and be good on Friday - an article in Melbourne's The Age
[edit] References
- ^ Wallace, Danny (2004). Join Me: The True Story of a Man Who Started a Cult by Accident. Ebury Press. ISBN 0091895820.
