What happens when you are down? This was a super special game for us as we decided to invite the entire Hashtagging community to join us [so many did] and we unofficially partnered with the #BellLetsTalk focus on Mental Health issues, helping to raise both focus and support.

[The Story So Far: Every Wednesday at 12 noon South African time [6am EDT] an inspired and growing number of brilliant, creative and absolutely fun people from all around the world take part in what is called a Hashtag game. @AFrikkinHashtag [say it out loud] is South Africa’s #1 Hashtag game and is always a lot of fun. The F.L.O.P. [or Fish List Of Prizeworthyness] is the collection of some of the best tweets from each week’s game and is what all seriously comedic Hashtaggers aspire to…]

John aka @RealStirfryguy asked me if we could be part of the #BellLetsTalk promotion which raises money per every tweet sent with the hashtag for research into mental health issues. i thought it was an amazing idea but also decided that we could go one better and focus our game thematically on the day as well as inviting the entire Hashtagging Community to become a part of it. Many of the other Hashtaggers had already decided to include it in their games but a whole lot of them agreed to jump on with us and so we gave them the tag early so they could prepare. And it was a most excellent game. Easily the most significant one we have done.

So we sent out invites early to hopefully build some excitement and momentum…

Hashtag Game ad

And got the ball rolling:

#WhenIAmDown i am not afraid to ask for help, knowing that is a sign of great strength and not weakness. #BellLetsTalk

Hashtag game starter

And gave people an idea of how it works:

And some customary examples to, you know, get the ball rolling:

#WhenIAmDown i am reminded of so many people, past and present, offline and online who have been and are good friends to me.

#BellLetsTalk

Hashtag game friends

And of course we had to leave space for a little bit of fun and misdirection:

#WhenIAmDown…….under, I always try to remember to Throw a Little Shrimp on the Barbie

#BellLetsTalk

Hashtag game australia

This wasn’t a game where we cared at all about trending or anything like that although it was great to see #BellLetsTalk on the trend lists all day cos that was the point. The point was raising money and awareness and we definitely did the first, breaking the previous year’s record as “Bell has raised a record $6,585,250.50 for mental health initiatives.”

The Hashtag games were not the main reason the tag did so well, we really just jumped in to add our little bit and get the campaign in front of a different audience. But there were some big names who used their volumous followings to really get the message out:

And while this week it’s not so much a Fish List of Prizeworthyness [F.L.O.P.] in terms of tweets shared as this had a very different focus in mind, there were still a whole bunch of tweets that caught our attention and so this week we will have a:

FISH LIST OF PARTICIPATION

Ross started us off with this very heart-felt tweet:

Marshall joined in with this sound advice:

Amy focused on the new day approaching:

Geoff was all about companionship:

John got down with nature:

Gretel focused on the light at the end:

Ross spoke about gaining strength from past victories:

Toya curled up:

While Dave had other things on his mind:

Billy looked outside of himself:

Christine brought the real:

Jeff reminded us about having a good focus:

Math Man was the first to go there:

Dan reminded us what is key:

Jane glanced back:

John took out his toys:

Ben knew where to look:

Helen turned to snacks [we like Helen!]:

Mo went musical on us:

Martini called us to be community:

Who gave some sound advice:

https://twitter.com/WhoBrannigan/status/824210878430003200

Finch pushed pause:

Mikeala knew what was good for her:

While Grendel may need to get out less:

Reesie knows where her strength lies:

As does Nadine:

Dubzzz let the waterface fly:

Tamara resorts to misdirection:

Mikeala got very specific:

Christine sometimes takes a step away:

Jimish knows a good place to hang out:

Silent K knows where his strength lies:

Craig has a hurdle or two to jump before he finds his connection:

Aricka found some rhyme to express her feelings:

Tamara got real with us:

Martini gave some solid advice:

As did Darren:

Sambo turns to words:

John has a special special place:

Kellie seems to have it down:

Jane’s is a very different tactic:

Geoff has his special someone:

Patch knows:

Kelly has a process:

Hermione was reflective:

Abed keeps heading towards the light:

Snark looks to shift perspective:

Finch whipped out his puns:

And Mandy was right behind him:

Ramona brought out the hoop:

While D’s words were personal:


There are no TOP TWEETS this week, but it really was a super special ‘game’ which is not the right word. More a sense of a community [and communities – was really great having so many other game crews on board] uniting behind an amazing cause. We had some people accusing us of jumping on the #BellLetsTalk bandwagon to try make our game trend [ironic as AFH games trend in the USA pretty much every week and this one didn’t] but there will always be haters.

What was incredible for me was seeing so many people i am used to see being funny and clever and misdirectional and random [but related] and punny [the AFH five pillars of tweets we look out for] taking things to a whole new level and opening up and being themselves. That was super powerful. i want to really thank everyone for opening up. A few people shared how they wished they were dead or wanted to kill themselves and we had an opportunity to let them know we saw them and heard them and appreciated them and called them to life and encouraged them towards community. Each person’s journey is so completely different but a huge part of it seems to be being seen and acknowledged and having safe spaces to speak and also opportunity to withdraw and be alone.

We all hope that by letting our little game be a part of that much bigger picture for one week, we were able to draw a little focus on what so many people are struggling with and just let people know they are loved and important.

i end off with four tweets that really stood out for me [although so many of the above ones did]. It is incredible to be able to deal with something so sensitive and still maintain a sense of humour, and in the midst of such deeply touching tweets, these two certainly reminded me of that:

This one from Jerry was the most beautiful piece of misdirection and perspective shift:

While i absolutely loved this phrase from our friend Ross:

So thank you everyone. Read an article today that said that ‘Bell has raised over $86 million for over 700 mental health organizations with Let’s Talk Day since its debut in 2010.’ So we will no doubt be back next year. Thanks to everyone who was a part of that.

For us it will be back to the business of gaming as we do every Wednesday at 1pm South African time and 6am EST. Hope to see you there.
love brett Fish anderson and The UnNamed Crew

i leave you with another one of my tweets from this event:

#WhenIAmDown I cling to one of the most powerful promises made by God in the Bible remembering a Higher Power has my back.

#BellLetsTalk

psalm 34.18