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how 5 letters can change the world: swishism

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A swishpering campaign

I am someone.who.is.still.hoping.
Hoping that our words can mean more. Hoping that they are the shadows of our actions in a new day.

The 00's have been good to us, they have given us online tools and status updates, and huge leverage to reach people with our words. At the same time some 774 million people in the developing world are unable to read or write.

I believe that the right combination of words can unlock whole worlds for all of us, whether we're literate yet or not. How? Enter the swishism.

What is a swishism?

and why you should write one

For a definition I couldn't do better than this from my editor and friend, James Crooke:

swishism n. a unique acrostic or acronym using the letters s,w,i,s and h, exclusively and in that order, to capture, concisely, tremendous truth, and/or wisdom, in no more than five words e.g.


swishisms (the plural) are also sometimes called swishes. They matter because anybody literate can write them, quite easily and at no cost to encourage some else. They matter because they can raise money and awareness for those who can't. Simple.

The most popular swishes of '09 will be put into an anthology, at the end of 2009. All proceeds from the book will go to Room to Read, a charity commited to improving literacy in the developing world.

How do I write a swishism?

It's easy, just remember these 5 tips

A swishism ...

  1. has 5 words, no more, no less. It must make sense, no lists.

  2. is punctuated with full stops between the 5 words e.g simple.wisdom.is.seldom.heeded

  3. can be punctuated with commas, colons, ellipsis (...) if they help you communicate in a clearer way

  4. is valuable, keep it clean, kids may read these

  5. is a message or a meme, it is meant to be shared, so be clear

swishing through the status quo

The status quo for me, would be to continue coming up with these sayings for their own sake, as I did when it all got started; it sounds fruitful, but I sense that it only leaves seeds.wrestling.in.stifling.husks - That's why I'm giving them to you, I'm casting them into the good ground of a community, so that they can multiply.

OK, I've got one, what now?

Fantastic, now post it online

Register on the swishism blog and post it there.

You can post it on your blog, with a trackback to the swishism blog

Post it on twitter, with a tinyurl link back to the swishism blog

Post it as a status update on your facebook page, with a link back to the swishism blog

Recite your swish on video, and upload it as a vlog

Write it on the beach, put a ribbon in the sky, it's completely up to you how you swishper the campaign.

Duel

I think we ought to listen.

so.what.if.silence.hums?

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why can't I hear it?

Shhhhhhhh!

 

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swishism blog

the place to post your swishisms

This is where I post my swishisms in blogs or vlogs. Just sign up to become a contributor, and you can begin posting!
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5 top tips for writing your swishisms


  1. Relax, think of the idea you want to convey, wait for the words to show up, they will!
    Keep it simple and pithy... poetic even.

  2. Pay attention, you'll never look at a word starting with 's' again!

  3. carry something to write with, the swish will run up on you when you least expect!

  4. Have fun and share your ideas!

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richardsmartt

My name is Richard Smartt, I am a school teacher, technologist, and lyricist from London, England. I started to write, record and perform under the ps... more »

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