The Oprah Winfrey
Network have released a Facebook app allowing users to thank people
they know...
“Reach everyone in
the US and Canada... and another 153 million people worldwide!”
the utterly inane post reads
“That's half a
billion people in total.”
The aim of the game is
to say thank you to someone, apparently, for doing something
generous.
Can't we just skip to Author's View? No? Okay.
The math(ematics)
behind the revolutionary app is that “Acts of gratitude are
highly contagious” (much like syphilis) and your thank you spreads
to six people you know, then spreads to six people they know, before
finally spreading to another six people they know (much like
syphilis).
The total ladies and
gents is two-hundred and sixteen 'thanks.'
“The new science
of social networks reveals how it works!” 6 + 36 + 216 = 258
people who feel more grateful... just from YOUR one thank you!
I think Oprah may have
science mixed up with mathematics.
Author's View
I just died a little inside ...
In principle, getting
people to say thanks more often, is a noble sentiment. In practice,
this is sickeningly positive to the point of being highly
counterproductive.
The people who embrace
this, are the people who already say thanks and yes ma’am, so who's
this marketed at? The bitter, jaded and cynical gaming journalists
who speak their mind?
This makes me want to
say thank you less than I did five minutes ago.
My biggest gripe is
that it's not a game! A game doesn't consist of one button and a
singular screen with Oprah's mug printed on it.
Here's the deal Oprah,
want me to say thank you and mean it? For £100k I'll say thanks, for
£500k I'll say please, and for £1 million I'll not take the piss
out of of half-assed gaming ideas!
