Forget the Ice - how about a #VoteTOChallenge?

Three weeks ago, many of us had never heard of the "Ice Bucket Challenge." Today, it seems everyone's talking about it.  Who would have thought that homemade videos of ice water being dumped on the heads of our friends would help raise awareness for a little-known disease along with millions for charity?

 

 

We've seen our friends do it; we've seen celebrities do it.  There's something cool about this basic fact: it doesn't matter how famous you are or how much money you make - so long as you have access to a camera connected to the internet, you can be part of the Ice Bucket Challenge community (and poke your friends into joining, too).

 

Essentially, supporting a good cause has become a meme.  It's this charity's equivalent to the celebrity telethon.

 

Last Monday, I was at Why Should I Care's mayoralty candidate conversation and had a chat with Morgan Baskin about voter participation, especially among youth.  Morgan pointed out that in the States you get a sticker for voting - a gold star that provides an immediate return on your effort and puts you into the cool-kids club.

 

Which is essentially the same thing as the Ice Bucket challenge, except for the three-friend rule.

 

- The rules matter, because they incite action 

- The ice matters, because it's an ordeal you have to go through, a rite of passage

- The challenge matters because it's how you get to torment your friends, but also how you keep participation going - which leads to

- the donations matter, because they're what help further the cause.

 

All this got me thinking.  If low-voter turnout is the cause and a vote cast counts as the donation, what could be a stand-in for the ice? What should the rules be around participation?

 

 RULES:

 

- You vote, get a sticker for having done so (courtesy of Elections Services Toronto)

- You record + post a video displaying your sticker and challenging three friends to vote within 24 hours (perhaps Elections Services Toronto could host a Youtube channel or something to facilitate this, if it'd help)

- NO mention of who you voted for - this is about the community, not a given candidate

 

.... now, what's the challenge?  Ice has been done; to hook and maintain interest we'd need something fresh.  It'd still have to have an element of discomfort to count as a "hero's journey" - ideally, something with a Toronto theme, but it's got to be easily replicable.

 

What could that challenge be then?  An embarrassing dance move?  Record you singing verses from Have An Awesome Day, People of Toronto?  Bite into a locally-grown lemon, also provided at polling stations?

 

I'd love to hear some suggestions.  Heck, we get a good one and some support on the logistics side from the City around the stickers, I would vote as early as possible and start the challenge myself.

 

I already know who I'd challenge, too.

 

We've got one month, 29 days and 10 hours to think of something and get it rolling - are you in?

 

 UPDATE - Came across this video of Michael Rooker re-enacting the Baby Groot dance from Guardians of the Galaxy - this could be it, the challenge we're looking for!

 

Heck, imagine if Disney collaborated on a web page you could upload your video to that would automatically add the I Want You Back soundtrack - they'd be doing CSR, supporting democracy and getting all kinds of new fans through the wacky fun of it all.

 

Are you in, Disney?  :o)