Be Nice.

I have always been fascinated watching information spread across the Facebook world. When a celebrity dies, I feel like I am always one of the first to know. When a sports team snags an important win, I find out, whether I want to or not. When someone changes their status to say something that ends with, “Repost this in support of those with {insert ailment or disease here}”, I often find myself wondering what the point of all this social networking is.  Why do I feel the need to spend so much of my time checking in on Facebook, when it seems that so much of what I read there is unimportant to me?  Sure, a lot of the time I spend online is spent checking out my favorite photographers and finding inspiration in their work, but it’s more than that.  The power of the social network has always amazed me.

Then yesterday, an incredible thing happened. Julie Paisley Photography, after being the victim of a photographer who felt the need to be NOT nice, decided to do something about it. She did not “out” the photographer, and publicly humiliate them. Though, with more than 15,000 fans, she easily could have. She, along with her friend Spanki Mills Photography, decided to use their fan base for good. And, WOW! Their new campaign for “niceness” spread like wildfire!  In a matter of a couple of hours (at most), my feed was over run with one image.  This one.

It had been reposted by so many photographers whose work I admire.  Well, now I admire so much more than just their photography.  I admire their acknowledgement that this simple image, which represents a very simple idea, is VERY important.  It is one of the very first things we are taught as children.  BE NICE.  It is one of the most important things I have taught my own children.  BE NICE.  It is so basic, yet oftentimes, so easily overlooked.  In all the hustle and bustle of everyday life, I think we sometimes forget just how important it is to BE NICE.  It makes you feel good, and it makes others feel good.  There is really no reason not to.  So I am taking a stand, beside many others in this sometimes cut throat industry, and reminding everyone to BE NICE.  BE NICE to your neighbors.  BE NICE to your “competition”.  BE NICE to your friends, and even to your enemies.  BE NICE to the guy who cuts you off on the freeway.  BE NICE to your family.  BE NICE, even when you don’t want to.  You never know, you might make someone’s day.  Heck, it might even be your own!