Have you heard about impossible.com
yet? If not, you will soon. So, here is a brief snapshot of what you need to
know about this new and upcoming social networking website:
What is
Impossible.com?
Supermodel Lily Cole founded impossible.com and designed it to bring
people together to help each other in various ways for free. The site’s home
base is London, England; however, it has quickly expanded other cities and
countries around the world. The site just launched in the United States in
March 2014.
As to how the site works, the impossible.com about page
states:
“Impossible.com is a new website and app that encourages people to do things for others for free. People can post wishes of things that they want or need help with and offer what they can give – can be things or skills. Impossible shows these wishes and offers and people can connect with one another. You can also create thank you posts to send people.”
In other words, you have to ways to use the site. You can
post a “wish” for something that you want or need (For example, “I wish someone
would teach me how to speak Spanish.”) and then wait for someone to respond to
the request. Alternatively, you can post a “wish” offering a service or item
(for example, “I wish someone would let me teach him or her how to speak
Spanish.”) and then wait for someone to respond. The ideas for wishes are
endless and only limited to a person’s imagination.
What makes
impossible.com unique?
The way I see it, the premise of impossible.com is to
allow people to give back without looking for something in return, a way to pay
it forward, if you will. There are a lot of commerce websites, such as fiverr.com and etsy.com, or websites
where you give something in order to get something in return. Impossible.com is
the only website that I know of where people can find services or items without
having to reciprocate. People give of their time, talent or services because
they want to, not because they will get
something out of it. It’s not just for tangible items or services, either. In
perusing the website, I saw a lot of intangible wishes, such as “I wish
everyone peace and happiness” or Markwicked’s wish, “I wish for everybody to
#smile today and say #thanks for everything good that happens !”
What’s the catch?
At first glance, there isn’t one. But I can see one “catch”
hidden beneath the surface. The website offers users to share their services,
talents or whatever for free, not asking for anything in return. BUT, I know
from experience, whenever I give myself away in service to another, be it
volunteering or helping a person in need, I always get something out of it –
sometimes I get more out of it than the person I’ve helped. I get the
satisfaction and joy of knowing I helped someone out and I usually become
filled with gratitude. Therefore, the catch is, if you sign up and start
helping others, you too, may get more that you give. Not a bad catch if you ask
me. :)
Will it take off?
I hope so! It appears that many people have signed up
given the number of wishes already listed. I haven’t signed up yet, but I am
seriously considering it. And the potential for a lot of good being done
through the site is certainly there. I guess only time will tell if it takes
off or not; meanwhile, I encourage you to go take a look!
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Work Cited
"Impossible." Impossible. Web. 23 Apr.
2014. <http://www.impossible.com/>.
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