Specktacular Specktackular: How an iOS Glitch Turned a Giraffe into a Movement
Department of Giraffe Affairs
There comes a point in every completely normal workplace initiative when you realize things may have gotten slightly out of hand.
That point was somewhere between the first documented decoy sighting and the establishment of a dedicated Decoy Pond.
Or perhaps it was the creation of a Serengeti Sanctuary.
Or the magnetized girafflings.
Or the official Department of Giraffe Affairs seal.
Or the binder of giraffes currently up for adoption.
Honestly, it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment.
To answer that, we have to go back to the beginning.
Estimated read time: 5 minutes
Time covered: 10(?) years
The Glitch and the Recurring Giraffe Algorithm
This origin story begins with a software update.
About ten years ago, I ran my iOS update overnight and woke up to a new profile picture of a giraffe on my phone.
The Instigator photographed by Nicholas Free
Not just any giraffe.
A giraffe with an attitude and absolutely no desire to explain how it got there.
And I loved him.
So much that I began to fear another software glitch might kidnap him under the cover of night.
So I did what any reasonable person would do.
I saved him to the cloud.
This, of course, was interpreted by the internet as a request for more giraffes.
A photobombing giraffe appeared.
Then a mother giraffe kissing her baby.
And a downward shot of a baby giraffe whose head was so large it obscured the rest of its body.
I saved them all and told no one.
The Thanksgiving Giraffe
What’s for dinner?
Fast forward several years.
During a casual conversation with a colleague, I asked about his Thanksgiving plans.
He responded by sending a picture of a dapper giraffe contemplating dinner.
As one does when the opportunity arises, I shared my giraffe archive.
There was a chuckle and the conversation ended, but the story did not.
As I confessed my deepening love of giraffes to another colleague, she shared that giraffes were her favorite animal because they occupied a rare position in nature:
At the top of the food chain.
But not as predators.
I respected that.
Spotting Uncle Speckles
Two years later, during one of our daily morning meetings, one colleague casually asked another whether he had received the latest picture of Uncle Speckles.
I froze.
Uncle Speckles?
As soon as the meeting ended, I called my colleague.
He explained that whenever he sees a giraffe, he takes a picture of it and sends it to our other colleague.
Years earlier, he had asked that colleague whether he had any pets.
He did not.
Just this giraffe.
The same dapper giraffe.
Apparently, Uncle Speckles had been living a whole other life.
And we wanted more.
First sighting at Innovo Kitchen in Latham, NY
Uncle Speckles
Initial Game Launch: Spot Uncle Speckles
The first version of the game was simple:
If you see a giraffe, take a picture and send it to our colleague.
That was it.
No points.
No prizes.
Just a workplace-wide invitation to notice giraffes in the wild and report back.
I created a flyer using the giraffe pictures collected so far and shared it with another colleague.
He said, “You know everyone’s going to want this to be a game, right?”
There was a glimmer of gold in his eyes, a remnant from our unexpectedly competitive Gold Rush coin hunt.
He was not wrong.
Girafflings and Decoy Ducks
By Lil’ Keep Gallery
The game evolved into a search-and-rescue program. It required wildlife.
I found tiny resin giraffes and ducks disguised as giraffes. To make them easier to hide throughout the building, they would need to be magnetized.
I showed a picture of the giraffes, now known as “girafflings,” to my colleague, and he approved.
When another colleague saw them, he paused and asked if they had already been hidden.
They had not.
A few hours later, the same colleague told me that while he was in someone’s office, he caught something yellow on her bookshelf.
It was a duck. Run-of-the-mill yellow rubber duck.
His hope and disappointment revealed that decoys would need to be part of the search-and-rescue game.
A game that had apparently launched before the pieces had even been hidden.
Nobody knew what a giraffling was. Participation rates remained high.
Compliance improved. Understanding remained optional.
Continue the Adventure → Gold Rush Chronicles
Serengeti Sanctuary and Decoy Pond
Our Gold Rush coin hunt taught us that people wanted visible evidence of participation.
Scoreboards highlighting leaders.
Prize tables.
The gold coins from the Gold Rush had lived in a small cardboard box in a desk drawer.
The girafflings and decoy ducks deserved better.
Girafflings return to their herd at the Serengeti Sanctuary.
Ducks return to Decoy Pond.
Both serve as scoreboards: a watering hole and a sanctuary for the collective.
Rules and Prizes
We developed just enough structure to make the nonsense official:
Girafflings: 5 points
Decoy ducks: 1 point
Uncle Speckles sighting: 25 points
Real giraffe sighting: automatic first place, subject to Board review
All wildlife must be returned to the appropriate preserve with official headcounts conducted by the Director of Giraffe Affairs.
Top Spotters choose prizes from the treasure chest first. The First Place Spotter also has the honor of selecting a giraffe for adoption.
The Board of Giraffe Affairs regularly hosts public comment periods and issues rulings.
Because even nonsense needs paperwork.
Launch Your Own Specktacular Movement
Organized by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation
The rules do not have to be complicated.
Pick a creature.
Invite people to notice it.
Create a place where discoveries can accumulate.
And let the games begin.
Let people surprise you.
We launched on World Giraffe Day, because of course.
The best workplace traditions are not always planned.
Sometimes they begin with a glitch.
Sometimes with a gold coin.
Sometimes with a tiny giraffe.
And sometimes, if you’re lucky, they become a shared story worth retelling for years to come.
~ The Village Sisters
(P.S. We adopted Ninja,)
Spot Uncle Speckles Photobomb
Uncle Speckles Knows
Adopt a Giraffe
UNCLE SPECKLES HAS FAMILY.
Learn about giraffe adoption and the conservation work behind the fun at GiraffeConservation.org.
DON’T WAIT ON THE ALGORITHM…
To remind you of the state of the herd.
Subscribe to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation’s newsletter to schedule your regular giraffe check-in.
Schedule Your Giraffes
Celebrate World Giraffe Day
CELEBRATE UNCLE SPECKLE’S BIRTHDAY ON WORLD GIRAFFE DAY
June 21 is World Giraffe Day: the longest day of the year, celebrating the world’s tallest animal.
Help grant Uncle Speckle’s wish and share World Giraffe Day with a loved one.
Disclaimer: Uncle Speckles and the Department of Giraffe Affairs are enthusiastic, unofficial, and unaffiliated supporters of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, founder and organizer of World Giraffe Day. Snaps from Spot Uncle Speckles
