If you have a Facebook, you’ve probably heard about the Algonquin Compliments page. The idea is simple and the impact is enormous: hundreds of students have been complimented anonymously through the page with a following of almost 800.
And the masterminds behind the positive online force? They prefer to remain anonymous, just like their compliments, but for the sake of a less complicated read, the two students have adopted the unisex pseudonyms “Sam” and “Jordan.”
Together they have created an easy way for students to compliment each other and spread positivity: something that for many incites nervousness or awkwardness in person.
“I feel like technology is used so negatively with all the cyberbullying and everything, and I personally get embarrassed to compliment people, because I don’t want them to think I’m weird, so having something like this to make people happier [is great],” Jordan said.
“And a lot of bad things have happened this year, especially to the Sophomore class, so we kind of felt it would be appropriate to start something that would spread positive energy,” Sam continued.
Sam and Jordan created the page with a specific goal in mind: to lighten the high school experience and build a community where people can spread positive ideas without pasting their name on them.
“People just feel scared sending in a compliment when they think that anyone could find out who they are,” Sam said. “They feel embarrassed.”
“And I think that a lot of the compliments are for people that you might not be the best of friends with, who you wouldn’t just compliment normally but secretly admire,” Jordan said.
“And for some reason, we feel like we can’t say it to their face, because they’ll think we’re weird, or obsessed with them,” Sam offered.
For the enthusiastic pair, running the page refreshes their faith in the school and keeps their days bright.
“Reading the compliments that people have sent in for others is nice, because you’re seeing people being kind to one another, but my favorite part is when you post the compliments and you see people responding with things like, ‘This made my day!” Jordan said. “It’s so cute.”
“Knowing that you made someone’s day is better than anything else,” Sam said.
Sam and Jordan’s message has diffused itself throughout the entire school; every class and gender has been represented completely anonymously, and because anyone can send in a compliment, every social group can be represented. The pair agree that a lot of what makes the online compliments so easy and exciting is the anonymity.
“The beauty of it being anonymous is that it almost makes you feel like it means more, because you don’t know who this is from but you can just imagine all the people that it could be from and it makes you really excited,” Jordan said. “Compliments in person are great, don’t get me wrong. But I think people just tend to not give them.”
Another part of what makes Algonquin Compliments unique in the positive comments it delivers to the community is the anonymous, seemingly random way they are distributed.
“When you don’t see the direct cause of the compliment, when it’s just relating to you as a person and not something you did, it means a lot,” Sam said.
“If it’s out-of-the-blue, there’s really no way you can downgrade it in your mind, make yourself feel like it was not as meaningful as it really was,” Jordan said.
Sam and Jordan will continue to deliver all well-intentioned compliments that are sent in through their Google form through the summer.
“Regardless of whether or not you’ve gotten a compliment,” Sam said, “there’s someone out there who cares about you, and who appreciates you.”
“I think compliments are one of the most powerful things that we can send out,” Sam said. “I feel like it’s definitely given people more confidence in our school, in the kindness of the people in our school, and in themselves.”
If you would like to send in a compliment, you can reach the anonymous Google form at http://goo.gl/forms/GuwRmURYIT.

Response to criticism that Algonquin Compliments posts so many compliments per post now! It’s not as important as when it was just a couple per post.

S: I think the fact that we compliment so many people does not detract from the compliment; it still means a lot… I think that no matter how many people we’re complimenting, it does not take away from how much it means.

J: It meant a lot for one person to say that about you, and it’s not like one person was saying thirty compliments, it was one person saying that specific one about you. That’s what makes it meaningful.

Do you have any advice for your fellow students?

J: Every time we receive a compliment for someone that has a Facebook, we want to make sure that they see it, so we want to be able to tag them. We can only do that if we’re Friends with the person, so we send a Friend Request to all of the recipients right away… It makes it easy to keep expanding the number of people we’re Friends with and that we can post compliments about. Unfortunately, there are some people that have gotten compliments sent in about them two months ago and they’re still not Friends with us but they have a Facebook, and I don’t want to post it because then they’re not going to see it!

J: But if they don’t have a Facebook at all, then we’ll post it as soon as we can. We encourage you to tell your Facebook-less friends if they’ve had a compliment posted about them!

Do you have any advice for your fellow students?

S: I would encourage everyone to take a little time out of your day and think about the people who you came into contact with and what you like about them, how they positively impact you, and let them know because there is nothing more meaningful to a person than knowing that someone appreciates what they do and appreciates who they are.

Response to criticism that not everyone is represented with compliments, just the popular kids.

S: The important thing is that with Algonquin Compliments, we’re trying to reach everyone in the school. Not just popular people or people who have a lot of friends or people who are different get appreciated. And we did get a comment one time that said, “This is stupid. No one actually means what they say. It’s only about the people that matter in the school, never about the nobodies.” I think that’s opposite of what it is!

J: There’s nothing restricting it. We won’t know who sent it in, and the people who are receiving the compliments certainly don’t have power over who’s receiving it. That’s what great about it. It’s anybody and it’s everybody.