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March 19, 2005
SxSW and Success
I gave out about a hundred I BUY LOCAL stickers at SxSW, and had several really good conversations come out of people asking me about (or for) them. I got to re-express the thoughts I put down in the original post, and I don't think they've changed a whole lot. I still feel that if people think just a little bit about how the money they spend affects their neighborhood, they'll change where they spend their money. I don't think that people have to make giant changes in order for us to make a difference. All it takes is small course corrections. It means buying less fast food, less stuff from super stores, looking at the businesses we throw our money at, and seeing where it goes to.
The thing I realized in all this re-expression is this: this is not a radical idea. When I told people about it, to a person, they all nodded and said, "that's a really good idea... why haven't I heard that before?" I just have to shrug and tell them that I don't know. It's not crazy. It's not out there. It's not a fringe thing, which actually bothers me a little. People love crazy ideas. Activists seem to go for the radical thing. This whole site, my whole goal is not to put an end to big companies. It's not to bring an end to corporate America. My goal is to help out my neighbors, for people to help out their neighbors. My goal is small change to help small businesses, and get people to think just a little bit more.
This morning, Max and I went to Linda's Cafe wearing one of the shirts. I had a couple stickers in the notebook I took for Max to doodle in. The people behind the counter (the owner's kids, apparently), asked me what the deal was with my shirt, and when I explained it, they said "Hey, we own this place! We're local!" I smiled, laughed, and said, "I know, and you're on the site already." They thought this was really cool, so I handed them the stickers from my notebook, and walked out with a huge smile on my face. As we made it to the door, one of the girls came to the front, and slapped the sticker up on the flowerpot that's at eye level as you come in the door. My smile didn't leave until long after I told Jen about it.
I want to open this thing up to more people, and I'm not quite sure how to go about it. The original plan was to eventually move to something like Drupal. If we get there, and we have so much content it warrants it, we'll do it. For now, if you have a local story, send them in!! Drop an e-mail to lawver-at-gmail.com with your story, and make sure you include the place's address so we can post it (you know, so people can find it).
Posted by Kevin Lawver at March 19, 2005 9:37 PM
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Comments
Stating the obvious: you posted the same entry 3 times.
Posted by: Brent at March 23, 2005 5:07 PM
Hey Kevin,
My name is Mayada and i am one of the waitresses at Linda's Cafe. I read your entry on the day you gave us the stickers and looked at my friend and kept pointing at the screen saying "he's talking about me, he's talking about me!" I really admire you for making this website and supporting local non chain buissnesses, especially since i grew up with my dad owning his own little restaurants. i think at the end of the day we could use more guys like you. After you left the day you handed out the stickers alot of customers asked about it and we explained it to them, and later to our families. Thanks for having us on your site. Hope to see you soon, oh and say hi to max :-)
Posted by: Mayada Elian at April 11, 2005 7:38 AM
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