A Social Experiment

The best part about having an anonymous blog is the ability to write about things around me, and no one knows I'm the perpetrator of such things. In this instance, the Queen decided to make me do something in my office that I would, under every other circumstance, never do or participate in. At her workplace, she got this "Boo" thing for Halloween, and was instructed to pass it on, as it were. She decided that I should place one in my workplace too to see what happens. I initially balked at the idea since I just work at work, and don't care about "spirit" nonsense. My motivation is the 2 week paycheck and that's all I need.

However, after some thought, being the progenitor of the action, I figured it would be amusing to see how it plays out, so I gave considerable thought to who I should give this little seed to in order to have the best chance of it taking off. Since I get there very early in the morning, I can pretty much choose who I want. I made my selection of someone I think will actually do it, and has the added bonus of being within earshot (but not eyeshot) of my cubical. I don't normally associate with this person at all - not in the same department or running circles or anything. Hence, the chances that I will be a suspect (besides the fact that I never participate in anything) is so ridiculously low, it's almost amusing.

I made the delivery, and the person arrived about 45 minutes later. They talked to the person in the cube next to them (which I knew they would, since they converse often) who, of course, took no credit for the placement of the item. They pondered who might, but weren't certain since they had no idea when it arrived.

They returned to the topic maybe an hour later, again, kind of wondering where it came from and what the purpose was. Now, the item is little more than a cup of candy, but it has a note that says to do the same for someone else and place it without getting caught. Not only is the conversation amusing, but the overall experiment will be fascinating to track.

We seeded this with one item and instructions to keep it going. How far will it go? Will it take off at all? Will I actually get one myself at some point? What will be the overall results of breaking up the monotony with one random element from what amounts to a random source? They suggested it might be a "spirit thing," and that's not a bad idea, after all, but we all know that I would never be on a spirit committee (insert shudder here).

As the day went on, I gathered from the tone of voice I heard and such that this person was actually a little freaked out by the existence of this random element, and declared they had no idea what to do with it (despite the fact that it contained instructions to "Boo" someone else). They asked people on the spirit committee continuing to declare she didn't know what to do, and of course, they weren't aware of it.

What this means is that my clever choice was probably the worst one I could have made. Rather than the leader I took this person for, they appear to be a total follower unable to make an independent decision. It may not go anywhere. Oh well. I will simply sit back and watch to see how and if it unfolds at all.