Share Or Die Storytelling Contest

The Share or Die Storytelling Contest ran from late May through July 2012. We believe that stories can help catalyze a movement for sharing. The contest was a way to gather as many stories as possible about sharing and raise awareness about our new book, Share or Die.

After two months, 41 sharing stories, 1,158 votes, an intense round of judging, and over 10,000 views on our contest pages, the results of our Share or Die Storytelling Contest are below. While we honor the winning stories with prizes and recognition, it’s the entire collection that’s important to Shareable.

• Top Prize, Video: Shira Golding Evergreen for, “For Barter or Worse: Adventures in Sharing,” the story of two pioneering women who make a new life together in Ithaca, New York by starting a vibrant barter community called Share Tompkins, which has hosted 25 local sharing events in the last three years.
   
• Top Prize, Writing: Annie Koh for, “Live Aloha in Your Neighborhood (or Making Friends with Mangoes),” about a social media adept who broke the isolation in her high-rise apartment complex by sharing fruit not tweets.
   
• Second Prize, Writing: Jen Abrams for, “sharing and Sharing,” about her life changing moment with a theater community which came through for her when she needed them the most -- forever putting a capital “S” in sharing.
   
• Third Prize, Writing: Heather Box for, “Sharing ‘I Love You’s’ in the Streets of Vietnam,” about getting comfortable with hearing and saying, “I love you.”

Honorable Mentions

The writing category had many impressive entries. The below were so good they deserve recognition alongside official winners. Our honorable mentions are the top stories according to the judges without considering readers' votes:

• Ry Soutar’s, “Every Little Bit Helps,” poignantly explains how she makes everyday life as a single mother work. In her words, “The life I lead and am able to provide for my daughter would not exist without sharing.”
   
• Gabriel Stempinski’s, “Building a Shareable Life Together.” Gabriel is a road warrior. Not only did Couchsurfing change his travels, but it introduced him to the love of his life.
   
• Sarah Choi’s, “Sharing to Feed the Homeless,” is her story about starting Share to Care SF with a friend to feed the homeless nutritious meals with the extra cash made from sharing rides on Zimride.

Sharing Their Winnings

The winners of Shareable's storytelling contest used their prize money to help others and build community. Read how the contest winners shared the wealth.

Thanks again to our sponsors TrustCloud and The Public Society.