Man has coffee with each of his 1,000+ Facebook friends to get to know them better
Any Facebook user is used to the annoyance of seeing some unfamiliar or unknown person pop up in their newsfeed. It might have been a classmate from 10 years ago, or a friend-of-a-friend that you don't even like that much. But it's hard for social media users to distinguish digital acquaintances from their actual, you know, friends.
28-year-old Matt Kulesza of Melbourne, Australia though, is aiming to make a friend out of everyone on his Facebook list.
In September 2014, Matt started the project 1000+ Coffees. According to his blog, Kuleza plans "to have a one-on-one coffee with every single one of my 1000+ Facebook 'friends' over the space of the next three years, or as long as it takes to complete."
Kulesza posts images of meeting up with his digital friends in real life. He informs his audience how long he's been Facebook friends with the person and how many mutual friends they have. Then Kulesza goes into further detail on each of his friend's lives, how he used to remember them, how they've changed and what they've experienced through the years. And of course what beverages they ordered.
The posts are very well written, and offer an insightful glimpse onto how a person changes over the course of time. One of Kulesza's recent posts focuses on his friend Verity, a woman who Kulesza went to primary school with and one he remembered as being an alternative kid.
Since then, Verity had converted to Islam, and Kulesza states "We talked about the importance of remaining open-minded and respectful of everyone you meet and the value of seeking connections with people you otherwise maybe wouldn't connect with." Kulesza's other coffee subjects include musicians, chefs, and other art and media types, each of them unique and thought-provoking in their own way.
The project is ambitious and also very noble, as Kulesza attempts to bridge the large gap between interpersonal relationships and digital acquaintanceship. But there are some speed bumps that may occur in Kulesza's sweeping project, such as Facebook friends who may live overseas, or those who are just too preoccupied to meet up in person. As of October 3, Kulesza has posted 26 of his coffee meet ups, and doesn't look like he'll be slowing down anytime soon.
You can follow Matt's coffee adventures at the links below.
