#YEG SWAP

This weekend myself along with a bunch of friends and Terra Informa correspondents went to the ARTery to check out the first annual #YEG SWAP. This event is basically what you get when you combined Freecycle, a swap meet, spring cleaning and new social media into a night out with live music. The idea was that you would take something perfectly fine, but a silent space filler in your life, to a bar where upon entrance you hand over this perfectly fine but unwanted item to one of the volunteers who in exchange give you some tickets to the swapping table where your item will find the loving relationship it truly deserves (with another swapper in attendance).

Where does the social media come in? That’s the best part, this event wasn’t put on by a group of devoted thrift seekers but the League of Extraordinary Media, a group which is seeking to integrate social media and technology into the Edmonton’s social and cultural landscape.  The promotion for the event was driven by efforts on the social media front, which framed its presentation, leaving its strong environmental message as a more passive under tone.

The combination of these dynamics produced an excellent event, it was amazing seeing the reaction between people when swaps were made.  My friend brought a popcorn bowl which had been in her possession for a significant amount of time and never been used, and its possession was regarded with indifference. That popcorn bowl did not last long on the swapping table. For another swapper it was love at first sight with that popcorn bowl and I’m sure that witnessing the glee and excitement of this persons find provided my friend with a sense of enjoyment that would never have been attainable for her from its intended use.

There were countless moments and exchanges like this all night, it wasnt so much the existence of these moments but the public and shared nature of them which was so rewarding.  The three R’s are taught to us in strongly individualistic terms and that comes off in the sense of moral responsibility a lot of us have towards waste diversion, but I believe that a more community focus is also beneficial. This entails an understanding that yes we all should recycle, reuse and reduce but when we do it as a community we do it much better and its way more fun. These sort of practices already exists in our communities but #YEG SWAP brought it into the online community, helping make recycling and reusing a more cultural practice amongst youth.

The League of Extraordinary Media’s inaugural event was a success in my opinion for the way in which it intentional structured the event to break down barriers of conventional interaction (a social media-centric event that brings people together in person, a recycling event that largely focuses on socializing and the arts). After putting on this event there is some substantive validity building behind the leagues chosen name. Here are some pictures of the event by blogger Master Maq.