Dunnhumby, the company behind Tesco’s Clubcard and a number of other loyalty programs all over the world, has started an interesting initiative which received the name What I See Project. The project is not exactly commercial in nature; however, it offers considerable rewards to those who would like to participate in it.
The idea behind the project is simple – the creator and ideologist of the project, Edwina Dunn, is interested in studying the differences and similarities between individuals, the way their surroundings influence their personalities, the way different people behave in similar situations and so on. In order to satisfy this interest – and, in addition, to perform some commercial studies – she has started this project. Its potential participants are encouraged to submit their observations of women they encounter during their travels around the world (of course, after acquiring their consent).
Although these contributions may come in any form, be it text, photo, video or any other format one may think about, the news about What I See Project will probably be the most interesting for writers of all kinds. The awards are quite considerable for such a small piece of work: a £500 for the winner, £250 for the two runners-up and the possibility to visit a networking event in London for top-10 finalists.
What can be an object of an observation? Almost anything. What I See Project is dedicated to studying personalities – which means that one can write about anything interesting or peculiar about this or that particular woman. You may use any angle you like: you can study a person from the point of view of nation, race, ethnicity, age, religion, anything – just as long as this point of view allows you and the readers to understand the way this woman perceives the world.
For example, as the project organizers say, the British prefer buying ready meals while the French usually buy ready-to-cook ones. People in Thailand don’t use trolleys when visiting malls because almost everyone rides motorbikes. In Europe saltcellars have a lot of holes in them while pepper pots only a few ones, while in East Asia it is vice versa. Life consists of such little things, but they are usually left unnoticed by the people who live with them every day, and only by going international this project may allow people all over the world to see how different, peculiar, interesting and at the same time similar we all are.
In other words, What I See Project is excellent news for any writer – both in terms of having an opportunity to take part in it and probably win and in terms of widening one’s outlook on life.
