SoMe is a concept that brings people together in conversation about a specific topic. For the Time to Change campaign, SoMe would be used to facilitate conversations aimed at challenging mental health stigma.

The SoMe concept is straightforward. It uses elements that work well to connect people on social media to bring people together for face-to-face interactions at public events.

At a SoMe event, there are three spaces: The Wall, The Chat Room and the Message Board. Champions use their personal experiences to create a profile, which includes a statement in a maximum of 140 characters about the issue they are prepared to talk about.

Champions also include a few details to let people know their interests, such as where they come from, their favourite books, films and interests. This is printed, laminated then added to The Wall. People at the event are encouraged to browse The Wall and choose someone to talk to.

Conversations then take place in The Chat Room – this is a space where people have 1-to-1 interactions. The person who has chosen a profile takes this from The Wall so they have prompts.

This means that conversations can start around shared interests, making subsequent discussions about mental health more comfortable.

Finally, once a conversation ends, the person who chose a profile is encouraged to sum up what they took away from the experience in a maximum of 140 characters. This is then added to The Message Board, which becomes a live evaluation of what is going on throughout the day.

SoMe was created by The Outsiders CIC. Hear how Time to Change Champions organise an event easily with SoMe resources available free to download from The Outsiders website.  

Please remember to register your event with The Outsiders.