Introducing the Sea Monkey Ambassador Program

edited January 2014 in JoCo Cruise

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Every year JoCo Cruise Crazy gets more popular, and it is great to see all the new Sea Monkeys! But as we get bigger, the feeling that we are all friends who know each other diminishes. A large proportion of Sea Monkeys describe themselves as shy or introverted, and every year a few people come away feeling like they missed out because they were too intimidated to start conversations or find dinner companions. The Sea Monkey Ambassador Program aims to change that.

Who are the Sea Monkey Ambassadors?

You are! If you want to be, that is. This is an unofficial, entirely voluntary assignment, open to anyone who wants to take on the mantle. You will receive a button and the following mandate:

Ambassadors are Sea Monkeys who make a conscious effort to talk to and include people they don't already know. Ambassadors will:

  • ...go out of their way to meet new people. Suggestions include:
    • Start conversations with unfamiliar people while in line
    • Invite new friends to sit with you at dinner
    • Look out for people who are sitting alone and ask if they want to join you
  • ...be friendly and willing to explain if non-Sea Monkeys ask what we're about
  • ...understand that every monkey needs alone time, and respect other people's boundaries if they don't want to be social.

But I hate approaching strangers!

Some people are never going to enjoy walking up to someone they don't know, and that is ok. Ambassador is not a role that suits everyone, so relax and enjoy your cruise!

I want to talk to people, but I'm no good at starting conversations!

If you don't know how to say hi, let a Hello button do it for you. The Ambassador program will also be supplying Hello buttons, which simply say "Hi". Wearing this button indicates that you want people to approach you for conversation. Of course, you don't NEED a button to be approachable, but some of us are shy and will hesitate to approach a stranger if we're not sure they want to be bothered. Make it easy for Ambassadors to find you with a Hello button!

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Remember to bring your passport!

For JCCC3, Sea Monkey @kate designed a beautiful Sea Monkey Passport, with space to write contact information of new friends. The only downside was that only people who printed a copy before the cruise got to use them. This year, the Ambassador program is giving out an miniature version of the Passport to every Sea Monkey, free of charge. Use this booklet to keep track of your new friends, make dinner plans, and keep as a souvenir!

But isn't this what Sea Monkeys do anyway?

We pride ourselves on being friendly and welcoming, don't we? Why would we even need an Ambassador Program?

The truth of it is, if you have a ton of friends on the cruise, it's easy to go all week talking only to people you know, and still feel like you didn't spend enough time with them. And if you hardly know anyone it can be overwhelming to be surrounded by groups who already seem to be friends. It's not that Sea Monkeys don't talk to strangers or invite others to join in—many of us do! Putting it in writing just reminds us to be on the lookout for ways we can improve the cruise for others.

How do I participate?

1. Be an Ambassador

All it takes to be an Ambassador is to make a conscious effort to talk to people you don't know! If you want to feel official, Ambassador buttons will be available in the game room on the ship, along with a list of suggested tasks. There is no minimum time commitment.

2. Wear a Hello button

Whether or not you feel up to approaching strangers, be crystal clear that you're feeling approachable by wearing a Hello button! Hello buttons will also be available in the game room.

3. Use your passport 

Keep your Sea Monkey Passport on hand (we hope to find a way to attach them to your badge) and share contact information with new friends so you can stay in touch. Consider making adhesive labels with your contact information so you don't have to write it out a thousand times. Include your cabin number if you want friends to be able to contact you on the ship!

4. Tell others about the Ambassadors

Not everyone reads the forums before the cruise, so some people will have no idea what all these buttons and passports are about. Spread the word!

5. Be a tour guide

This year we will be running unofficial social ship tours at the start of the cruise, to help people find popular Sea Monkey destinations and meet a few other Sea Monkeys on the way. Tour guides should be very comfortable with talking to strangers (you are probably enthusiastic about being an Ambassador!) It is highly recommended, though not required, that you attended JCCC3 and are familiar with the layout of the Independence of the Seas. Volunteer to be a tour guide here!

The fine print

The Sea Monkey Ambassador Program is by Sea Monkeys, for Sea Monkeys, and is not affiliated with Home Office, Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, or any other entity. Questions, suggestions or complaints can be directed at @chicazul. Sea Monkey Ambassador logo by @jadegordon.

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Comments

  • Ooo. an idea about trading info for passports.  Make a little printable sheet of name/email addy and instead of having to write, you just can stick!  Or you can get a custom stamp for 15 bucks  :) 
  • Thanks @chicazul This is fantastic!
  • This is cool! I will definitely wear a hello button. I like talking to people, but suck at starting up conversations.
  • @Pawluh That's exactly what I hope the buttons will help with!

    Full disclosure: the buttons are quite small (1" diameter) both because they're less expensive that way and because I personally don't like wearing large buttons! I still hope they will be sufficiently visible when worn on a lanyard or lapel. I for sure will be on the lookout for them, and will be sure to say hi!
  • Such a great idea!
  • Now that the cruise is over, I would love to hear feedback on the Ambassador Program! Did you like it? How can we improve it for next year?

    I definitely dropped the ball on a few things (wrong paper stock for table cards, never got around to putting up signage) but I saw a lot of people wearing buttons and I hope people found some value even with the incomplete implementation.

    If you have any ideas for improvement, please share!
  • From an Ambassador standpoint, no real complaints. It took me a bit to find the buttons, but that didn't really stop me from Ambassadoring. Ambassading? And Melanie got some Sea Ponies (I like that better than Snorks, even if it never sticks) to sign up for the next cruise, which is what Paul's comment before the last concert was about.  I don't know how effective I was overall, but I hope the new Monkeys and the Sea Ponies felt properly welcomed.
  • I don't know that the buttons helped anyone reach out to me, but I know that the buttons made me feel like I should reach out to other people.  I made sure to invite new people to eat with me whenever possible.  I was even told at the end of the cruise by some new monkeys that they felt like they had a better cruise because of chatting with an "old vet" early on.  I was immediately tackled by the Warm Fuzzies at that point.
  • @stitchinthyme and I grabbed the first table inside Romeo and Juliet on the first night with the intent of hosting new seamonkeys. We ended up with people we knew instead. I think it was a good idea, but might be better with a "New Seamonkeys sit here" sign or something.
  • Maybe "New Seamonkeys *invited* to sit here".  Don't want to give someone new the misapprehension that segregated seating is mandatory. :)

    Along those lines, there were numerous times I found myself reassuring someone that it was perfectly fine to not have or want a fez/tiara/moustache/whatever. I thought there was an already decent job done reassuring everyone that none of this was mandatory or exclusionary, but a few people at least still seemed a little apprehensive about it.


  • I think the buttons were too small to be readily visible, especially as the design wasn't particularly eye-catching.  From a distance, they just look like typical nerd-gasm buttons (and indeed I saw quite a few people sporting multiple buttons on their lanyards).  I kept a button attached to my lanyard, but can't really say that anyone ever really directly approached me because of it.

    Maybe a better solution (depending on the design and material of next year's JCCC5 badge) would be something that attaches semi-permanently to your badge?  I remember getting a Parsely Muffins ribbon from Andy Looney with some really strong glue on JCCC3 that attached to the side of the badge.  If the next badge design goes back to the plastic of past cruises, perhaps we can get something that glues to the bottom of the badge and hangs below with more visible lettering / coloring?

    I table-hopped extensively during the whole cruise at meal times in an attempt to find newer Sea Monkeys and help them get oriented and answer their questions, but due to the difficulty of determining who was actually new vs. people I just hadn't met yet from previous cruises, it didn't always work.
  • As a shy new sea monkey, I thought the idea if the buttons were great but it was difficult to see them if I wanted to try to find someone to ask a question.

    I think new monkey optional seating would have helped us a great deal. As a group of three, (me, husband, 4 y/o) we ended up eating by ourselves the entire cruise. It was too intimidating for me to approach tables of people chatting away.
  • To clarify, everyone was very welcoming and these are observations not complaints
  • We didn't sit with any returning monkeys until the final night because every time we asked to join, we were told they were expecting friends to join them. We even ate in the Windjammer one night because I wasn't up to finding a table. Maybe a "join us, new monkeys!" card or a "sorry, we're full" card would be helpful.

    That said, every day got easier and I got more confident in starting conversations. I will definitely be an ambassador next year.
  • I'll upvote the idea of making the "I'm friendly! Talk to me!" signaling maybe more overt -- a different color lanyard, maybe? 
  • Different colored badges?

    @squinner we had the same experience.

    Would definitely be interested in helping next year.
  • At the origami convention we go to, they add little badge ribbons to the bottom of the badges that say if you're willing to help other folders, or if you're a first timer; maybe we could do something similar.  They look like this:

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  • I think first timers are less likely to want a big visible flag marking them as first-timers. Partly because they're new and don't know what the implications of being called out as a first-timer are.  ("...I said...are you...a VIRGIN?")

    But having helpers/staff/ambassadors/etc have such things is definitely a good idea.

  • edited March 2014
    I would have welcomed a ribbon or other thing signaling I was new tho other newbies might not. I suspect others might have approached me more or help when I seemed confused say in game room. A stick-on ribbon such as proposed by @RangerRick could be removed (or not attached) for those who do not wish to be identified as newbies.
  • Thank you everyone for the comments so far! Keep it coming!

    In my experience the ribbons are not designed to be removable/reusable, which is one reason I shied away from them. (Many people told me they planned to remove the buttons when they didn't feel social.) Definitely worth reconsidering though!
  • We could probably get a fold-out badge sticky made, so you could fold it back when you're going incognito. 
  • I recently read an article about a kid who started a "buddy bench" at his school, where lonely kids could sit if they wanted to be invited to play. Maybe a couple of buddy tables where returning monkeys could sit to encourage newbies to sit with them? Also, I demand @RangerRick make me some origami next time. :)
  • I definitely talked to a lot of New Monkeys, and I think we integrated first-timers into our dinner tables for nearly every meal, but I sort of forgot that I was doing it under the auspices of the Ambassador Program. 

    So although I may have behaved in the Ambassador spirit, both during dinners and throughout the cruise, I don't know if I really contributed to the program as it was envisioned. :(

  • @Blue The Ambassador program was always more about providing a gentle reminder to be welcoming than any specific course of action. I think you did great. (:
  • The stick in ribbons coukd be provided? (The ones I have seen have a peel off in the back like bandaids). Then one can decide whther to add to badge ir not. Info on it could be in one of the precruise emails.
  • I really liked the buttons. I'm a returning monkey, but was only on the first cruise, so I sorta felt new, too. I really liked wearing the Hi button, but I also found that I wasn't that shy and was able to say hi to lots of people as well. I never really encountered anyone who wasn't willing to act as an ambassador. I just asked any random person questions and everyone seemed willing to help or just guess what was going on. It seemed like everyone was pretty much willing to be an ambassador. I think maybe just the existence of the ambassador program made it so that people felt like they could and should help out other monkeys. 

    I feel bad that some people didn't feel welcome at dinner or weren't able to find a place to sit. We had a group of three and i think nearly every night we sat down at at empty table and then invited others to join us. We ended up meeting new first timers nearly every night at dinner, which was super great. 

    I'd be willing to make some big JOIN US signs and put them on big sticks that could be held up at tables with empty seats during dinner. I know it can be a little overwhelming to wander the entire dining room looking for tables with empty seats, so that might make it easier for people to make a bee line to a table. I don't really know how that could be executed though. 
  • edited March 2014
    On JCCC3, as a married man cruising without my wife (who couldn't get away from school for the cruise), I decided I would try to meet and eat with new people at every meal. But a lot of folks -- even some I already knew -- had settled into fixed tables rather than welcoming newcomers. I persisted, though, and did manage to sit with a different group every night I ate in the main dining room. (This occurred on all of the nights but one... when they had an incredibly good Indian curry, redolent of anise, with freshly made roti upstairs. I just HAD to defect and have some. Tastiest meal of the cruise.) Yes, signs inviting those who wanted a variety of dinner companions would have helped; I had to go through 3 or 4 or 5 tables most nights before I found one with a free spot.
  • I only felt comfortable committing to the Hi badge but I did happen to find myself imparting my JCCC wisdom on first timers if we happened to strike up a conversation as well as any snores and staff the had questions
  • I was sorry to never give a tour! Especially after all that time thinking about the best way to do it. With registration and Speed Meeting, there just wasn't time. 

    I think the Ambassador Program basically worked -- reminding people to be welcoming and encouraging newcomers to engage -- but I suppose that's easy for me to think since I know a fair number of people and am comfortable meeting new people.

    As a bit of spillover from the feedback thread, for returning monkeys it might be useful to remind ourselves not only to be welcoming, but that there are people who haven't yet had years of doing all these things, so while we might be excitedly talking to old friends, maybe they'd like us to not distract from the show.


  • (As a frequent conferencegoer (ick), I'll offer that the sticky ribbons have an ugly habit of falling off after a day or two.)
  • I'll say that my Ambassador button did the trick to remind me to be more open, and was a handy prop when I spotted a lost-looking SeaMonkey and wanted to offer assistance.

    Now we just need to work on getting us diplomatic immunity...
  • I participated by wearing a button (both, actually), but otherwise don't feel like I did anything different than I normally do on JCCC. I approached and engaged people who seemed interesting or who seemed like they could use some company.

    I started out the week wearing only the Ambassador button, but after a couple of days I added the HI button because I wanted to encourage others to approach me. Also I think the HI button is pretty cute when taken out of the context of the boat.

    not sure if this is a crazy idea, but a nice addition to this next year could be a Leave Me Alone button. I think of myself as a highly social person, but every now and then I just want to sit alone, quietly. It might seem antithetical to the idea of the ambassador program, but given that there are probably several monkeys who just want to do their own thing sometimes, maybe not.
  • I do think my Hi button got more people to talk to me.  I met loads more people this year than last.  
  • I smiled my face off. :) I originally took an Ambassador badge, just to have a reason to say hi to as many people as possible. I feel incredibly lucky to have met so many NICE people!
  • I wore my buttons the whole cruise, but they weren't really hugely visible and, anyway, I'm someone who just talks reflexively anyway plus I was sort of highly visible around the ship. So I'm still very much in favor of the whole thing, but maybe some more visible badging for next year?
  • I thought things worked pretty well. The Hi buttons helped remind me to go start conversations, certainly.

    As an aside, I'm happy to donate to whatever incarnation this will have for JCCC5.
  • I think the HI buttons helped me a lot in feeling like it was OK for me to carry on a conversation with someone and that I wasn't bothering them. I guess I took it to mean "I probably won't start the conversation with you but if you carry one with me I won't mind it!"

    I also liked that I could take the ambassador button off when I wasn't feeling as extroverted as I normally am.

    I also think it's good to separate the concept of first time sea monkeys with people that would wear Hi buttons. I wore the ambassador button around proudly but it was my first cruise.
  • The idea of the Ambassador program definitely pushed me to look for new people more than I necessarily would have. I tried to invite new SeaMonkeys to eat with our group, and join us for concerts and such. I'm pretty outgoing anyway, but it did push this to the forefront for me. And it worked, I made new friends! YAY!

    I did find I had an easier time talking to people at dances, speed meeting, game room, etc. Trying to make friends AT dinner was not really feasible, as people are just hunting for tables. I think a lot of people were a little stressed at that point - it sounds like for new people, it was a little like trying to make sure not to be picked last for a game in gym class. I tried to invite people to join us for dinner before it was actually time to eat, and that seemed to work better.
  • I also made some comments on the debrief thread, but also wanted to throw in my $0.02 here as a newbie (I think I'll still consider myself that next year!).  I LOVE that the Ambassador program exists, and the fact that you care enough to want to engage new folks is incredibly encouraging to someone like me.  I know it's a tremendous effort

    @PokeyPuppy - you read my mind.  "it sounds like for new people, it was a little like trying to make sure not to be picked last for a game in gym class."  Such a careful dance between looking open enough for an invite, but not so clueless and sad to be pitied!  Perhaps the first couple of nights could include something like "orientation tables" with 1-2 veterans hosting a table full of newbies or folks just looking to meet new people?  I know this was the general/informal intent, but I found it a bit challenging to determine which tables would welcome strangers and which were waiting for friends.  In the two nights we ate in the dining room, we only had one couple invite us to their table.  Made the Windjammer a lot more attractive.  :)

    In general, for someone like me (socially anxious, Type A), I like having specific forums for specific purposes rather than waiting for someone to reach out (or figuring out who to reach out to).  I loved the Hi buttons, but it was often a bit daunting to approach in a crowd.  Maybe having newbie seating/gathering areas at dinner and events would help?  

    Would also suggest newbie orientation before the cruise, such as a forum for newbie questions and maybe some kind of Wiki explaining the sudden shift to a monarchy, and some of the inside jokes/references.  If I had known about this forum before the cruise, I would have wasted huge amounts of work time reading up and "studying."  :)

    (I'm sure you can all tell already that I'm big on structure and standardization... let me also say I am happy to help implement suggestions as well.  Little makes me happier than process improvement, lol.)
  • Maybe make some THIS SEAT RESERVED FOR FIRST-TIME SEA MONKEY signs for Ambassadors to put on their tables the first few nights? I'm not sure I sat with any first-time monkeys all week; as far as I can remember, the open seats at my tables either filled with people who knew me and/or my companions, or stayed empty. (I didn't even think about it being a problem, because I remember my experience as a first-timer, when it was incredibly easy to meet a different group of people at dinner each night. But that was the first cruise, and of course it's different now.)

  • Maybe we could have designated "Meet and Greet" tables, where people could choose to sit and be social with strangers?

    This way we could include people like me who didn't really have the chance to meet people this year but is no longer a new monkey?
  • Fair enough. MEET AND GREET is more concise anyway.
  • Thanks again for all the suggestions! Next year we'll definitely have more small group events for newbies, preferably on the printed schedule and with clear signage. Intro game tables, meet and greet dining, these are all great ideas!
  • I like the idea of new monkey tables. We try to leave seats open with us every night for new folks, but they often get filled quickly.
  • We intentionally got a table with more seats than we needed about half the nights in the main dining room and waved new people over.

    I think in at least one previous year, an official Home Office email has referenced the Facebook group and forums. I don't remember that happening this year, but it may have just slipped my mind since I've been in both places for so long.
  • Is it possible to mark these meet and greet tables in such a way that they remain that throughout the cruise? I know that by day three, (we missed 2 because we did not do the formal) the larger tables all seemed to have become fixed formally or not. 

    I think that this also allows ambassadors who do not feel up to being "on" the chance to retire to a non meet and greet table and have a less social night if they need it. 
  • Need to make ambassadors more visible (I guess I wasn't kidding about the diplomat sashes!). No one noticed my button, but it did remind me to talk to everybody.

    I think maybe a newbie event at the sail away cocktail party would help people more.

    And we just can't seem to solve the dinner table issues. I thought the green cards were a good idea but no one could see them. A "Join Us" sign on a stick seems to be the next step!
  • I'd like to get the Ambassador Program materials into the swag bags. The seat available/not available cards, the buttons/badge-flags, a book of lore about sea monkey culture and surviving on the ship: all that should be in the bags. It means we'd have to get a lot made, and we'd have to get them done early, and we'd have to have buy-in from the home office, but none of that seems terribly difficult.
  • I agree with @thefoodgeek.

    From my point of view, we have so many ideas for welcoming people and so many things that are already in place ... it seems like what we really need is wider adoption of the things we already have (which by nature needs some Home Office involvement) rather than adding more and more helpful things. They're all only going to be partially successful as long as the only people who know about them are the ones who are active on Facebook and the forums (who also already have a leg up on acclimation because of having been active on them).
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