12 August 2010 will be a day that is remembered even if nothing particularly remarkable or memorable happens on the day. This is due to an initiative by the Mass Observation Communities Online (MOCO) project. The MOCO project are inviting members of community groups to send in a one-day diary recording their August 12 day in text, photo, or video form.

With participation across the country, we are aiming to create a national archive of written and photographic accounts that will reflect a day in the life, not only of individuals across the UK, but also of the members of your specific communities. [description on MOCO website]

The material that is collected on the day will be made available to the participating communities. It will also be displayed as part of the MOCO online archive (see some examples) and donated to the historic Mass Observation Archive.

How does it work?

For the August 12 collection, MOCO is targeting community groups. Groups can register their interest in participating and MOCO will create a webpage for them. The groups then invite their members to participate by submitting six photographs or a written account of their day via a form on the MOCO website.

Can I take part even if I am not member of a participating community group?

Although the August 12 collection is targeted at community groups, you can submit a diary even if you do not belong to a group or if your group is not participating. There are also other ways that you can get involved (more information below and on the MOCO website).

Mass Observation – not only on August 12.

If you would like to participate in a Mass Observation collection, there are a number options open to you via the MOCO website:

• Answer a questionnaire – submit your answers to a 1939 questionnaire on ‘class’.
• Keep a diary for a day – write as much or as little as you would like about a normal or special day in your life.
• Observe life in a café – soak up the atmosphere and describe what you see and how you feel about it (can be any scene or activity, not only cafés).
• Photograph a street – take six photos or make a five minute video of a street or neighbourhood of your choice.

The collections that MOCO are doing are similar work that has been done before. To see descriptions of the research techniques and explore examples of the material that has been collected now and before, please visit the MOCO website.

Mass Observation has always been concerned with documenting the social, political and economic conditions of British life, through the lens of individual experience. [from the MOCO website]