How to leave something worth going for
Seven small rules for Drops people will happily cross town for.
Field guide2 min read
A Drop is a photo, a video, a voice note or a few words, left at a real place for someone. Making one that someone remembers takes a little more thought.
1. Pick the place that makes it make sense
A photo of your first date is nice. The same photo waiting at the table where it happened is a different thing entirely. Ask yourself: why here? If the answer is “because I was standing here”, try again.
2. Say it out loud
Voice notes beat paragraphs. You can hear someone smiling, or trying not to laugh, or saying “okay, okay” before the important bit. Nobody has ever been moved to tears by a perfectly punctuated text.
3. Give a clue, not an essay
“Where we got caught in the rain” is a clue. Three paragraphs of directions with street numbers is a subpoena. Leave room for the other person to remember.
4. Make it for someone
Public Drops are fun. But the ones people talk about for years are usually for one person, or a few. “For Lea” lands differently than “For everyone”.
5. Let it wait
Not everything has to open today. This summer’s beach photos can open when you’re all back next June. Something can open after 8, or only once everyone’s there. Waiting is part of the gift.
6. Pick somewhere people can actually get to
- Somewhere people can safely get to, at the time it opens.
- Not inside someone’s home. Togra keeps public Drops away from people’s homes anyway.
- Open when it needs to be. A Drop in a park that locks at six is a Drop for the morning.
7. Don’t overthink it
Your friend won’t grade you. The best Drops are usually made in about a minute, on the way somewhere, by someone who thought: they’d love this.
Made you want to go somewhere?
