Humans of New York (HoNY), a photojournalistic initiative started by Brandon Stanton, has become one of the best examples of the true power of social media. Following the motto “One story at a time”, it provides viewers around the world with a glimpse into the daily life of the people captured in Stanton’s photographs. It has united people from all backgrounds, races, religions, and ages to appreciate the fact that everyone has a story to tell, something valuable to share. This project has inspired several organizations worldwide to form their own blogs of portrait photography, and blogs and Facebook pages sharing similar photos and stories can be found across the internet for everything from various countries to specific cities and schools. NYU is no different. Humans of New York University (HoNYU) was launched on October 25th, 2015, and with over 8,000 followers on Facebook plus subscribers on Tumblr and Instagram, has developed into one of the biggest NYU-based social media pages. On Century Avenue got an opportunity to catch up with Kanyon M Iwami, one of the founders of HoNYU to discuss the the foundations and workings of the organization. OCA: Tell us a little bit more about yourself.Kanyon Iwami (KI): Photography has always been one of my passions, and something I do not intend on pursuing as a career, but instead as a way for me to escape from the normal way of seeing. I am currently a junior studying Economics at the College of Arts and Science (CAS) and a minor in Media, Culture, and Communications at Steinhart. My interest in Economics is very unrelated to my photography, and I have a particular interest in the economics behind coffee. I do distance running in my free time, and am training for my second full marathon; i want to have a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon by the end of this year. OCA: How did HoNYU start out? KI: Freshman year my friend Anna and I decided to start Humans of New York University as a joke. We didn’t take it as a serious project at first, nor did we think the page would end up gaining any traction. A week later, the project was reaching thousands of viewers, and at this point, we realized that we had created an awesome micro-community on social media. We began to understand the power and potential of what we had created.OCA: How does the organization work?KI: The HoNYU Team consists of a handful of photographers that are passionate about photojournalism. They essentially have all rights to post on the page, and do not have to run their photos and quotes through Anna or myself. I think it would be dangerous for one or two people to be in full control of a campaign designed to visually represent the NYU community through storytelling. Multiple photographers means a diversity in interview methodology, and a diversity in representing NYU.OCA: How often do you post photos? Do you go to NYU events for specific crowds?KI: I try to stay consistent with my photos. Last semester I went abroad to Florence so I was not able to keep the page as active as it has been in the past. Now that I am back in New York, I am posting regularly again. If I am asked to attend an event for HoNYU, I usually go or have one of the photographers attend. I usually carry my camera around during the week, so some events I photograph are simply because I walked in.OCA: How do you pick the people you photograph? How do you know what questions to ask?KI: I don’t know what questions to ask, they are usually based on the circumstances in which I run into people I decide to photograph. The people I decide to ask are completely random and based on how busy they look. If you’re always walking fast with your headphones in, chances are I will never stop you. OCA: How do you approach the people you want to photograph? Have you had any specific good or bad experiences?KI: I almost gave up on HoNYU the first month of taking photographs. I specifically remember a day when I got turned down five times in a row. It really discouraged me, and I questioned the ability for HoNYU to ever successfully gain traction. Throughout the months, I began to test methods of approaching people for the highest success rates. I usually start out by asking the individual if they have heard of HoNYU or HONY, and that usually starts the conversation. Most of the time they have, and that makes the rest of the process really easy.OCA: Is HoNYU including any of the other NYU global sites?KI: As of now, HoNYU does not have representatives on other campuses. I have reached out to students in abroad sites to send over photos, but this is usually unsuccessful. I am still working on a way to change HoNYU to incorporate NYU’s global academic system, without creating an excessively structured system I believe would hurt the authenticity of the photographs and interviews on the page.OCA: How do you think this experience has helped you better integrate into the NYU community?KI: I wouldn’t necessarily say that this project has helped me integrate into the NYU community, but it has helped me understand the importance of listening. As cliche as that sounds, our society is becoming accustomed to seeing, and judging, rather than listening. It is very easy to judge someone you’ve never had a conversation with.OCA: How does one get recruited to “work” at HoNYU?KI: Simply reach out, and send your portfolio! We welcome a larger team, that means we can bring more content to our followers.OCA: How popular do you think this initiative is at NYU? Does the organization do any promotional activity?KI: HoNYU has no promotional activity, everything is on social media. I would say that half of the students here have heard of the HoNYU campaign, and it is one of the largest NYU orientated social media pages. It exists on Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr.The Facebook page states that the organization’s aim is to promote community at NYU: “We want to capture the vibrant culture and diversity on campus.” Kanyon added that he is trying his best to represent the NYU community from the most unbiased point of view, knowing that no person is completely free from bias. “This means allowing the photographers to post nearly whatever they want, free of any filter. Some posts on the page will be controversial, and spark outrage, and I will not shy away from any of that. It’s important to know that what the HoNYU campaign hopes to create is a medium for students, staff, and faculty to speak out on whatever their heart desires, and I have no intention of filtering any of it.”You can follow Humans of New York University on their Facebook page, their Tumblr, and their Instagram (@HumansofNewYorkUniversity). To contact the organization about joining the HoNYU team, you can send them a message through their Facebook page. This article was written by Lathika Chandra Mouli. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Humans of New York University via Facebook