Ruth Kaiser can always find something to smile about.
What others see as mundane, “The Smile Captain” sees as art.
Kaiser’s an artist from California who embraces social media, spreading the word about the Spontaneous Smiley Project around the world using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.
Armed with a camera and an almost infectious positive attitude, Kaiser, 50, acts like a giddy teenager when she talks about effortlessly finding smiles in places you’d never expect — on a sink, in an onion or on the side of a cheese grater.
And you thought Jesus on a piece of toast was exciting.
Kaiser is quick to point out that she’s not obsessed with smiles, she just enjoys sharing one of her hobbies with the world.
The smiles are there, even if a little imagination and creativity is needed to connect the dots.
For me, the key to using social media successfully is interaction — put yourself in the other person’s shoes. So I went out onto the streets of downtown Chicago with my camera and Kaiser’s mindset in search of smileys. She says that once you find one, finding another becomes second nature.
She’s right, although it took me a little while to find my groove. See for yourself. Kaiser sent me photos of the onion and flowers, while mine’s on top. (See http://tr.im/hXJO for the rest of my gallery.)
How do you think I did? Tweet me, poke me — just tell me.
