Tried two different ways to organize the neighborhood cleanup signups and one was way better

I compared a Google Form to a paper clipboard at the community center for the Everett Spring Clean last month. The paper got 40 names in one afternoon because people actually stopped to chat, while the form had 12 signups in 3 days. Has anyone else had better luck with old school methods over digital?

3 comments

3 Comments

stella_murray1mo ago

Oh man, that's hilarious and not surprising at all! I swear the second you make people open a link or scan a QR code their brains just shut off like a computer. Paper is basically magic at this point because it forces people to actually stop and be human for two seconds. Plus it probably helped that standing there with a clipboard makes you look official and approachable, like a mall cop with a caddy. The form asking for your email and permission for follow up spam just feels like homework nobody wants to do.

sandrat241mo ago

stella_murray you nailed it with the "paper is magic" thing. I had the exact same thing happen at a farmers market once. I printed out a simple sign up sheet on neon green paper and left a pen on a table. People actually stopped and filled it out while they were waiting for their coffee. It was like the act of writing forced them to think for a second. But the second I pulled out my phone and tried to get them to scan a code, they'd walk away like I was trying to sell them something shady. Paper just feels less pushy and more like a favor you're doing for a friend.

sarah5311mo ago

My friend Steve runs a little community garden plot and he tried to collect donations for new soil bags last summer. He put a PayPal link in the neighborhood Facebook group and got maybe 15 bucks after two weeks. Then he taped a paper envelope to the garden gate with a sharpie and a note saying "drop a dollar in if you can." He checked it the next morning and there was 73 dollars and a handful of loose change inside. Someone even wrote "thanks for the tomatoes" on the envelope. He still talks about it like it was some kind of miracle.