Making a name for himself

Young man has a plan, which he willingly shares, to make the world a friendlier place

By Jill Spitznass

The Portland Tribune, Dec 31, 2002, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Scott Ginsberg’s plan to change the world is tough on suede. “I ruined a couple of jackets with these things,” he says, tapping the name tag on the lapel of his wool coat.

Every day for the last two years, Ginsberg has worn a tag that simply says, “Scott.” It isn’t part of a uniform but rather an attempt to connect with people and, ultimately, to make the world a better place.

“We all need to be friendlier, and this is just the way I do it,” he says, likening a name tag to an architectural feature. “A name tag is like a front porch; they’re inviting and they encourage people to approach.”

With a puppylike energy that makes him seem younger than his 22 years, Ginsberg dismisses the suggestion that the name tags are just a way to call attention to himself.

“I’m not doing this to get attention Ñ I’m doing this as an outlet for other people to communicate,” he says, noting that the technique isn’t for everybody. “Everyone needs to find their own method to connect.”

Ginsberg shares his views on social interaction and stories about his name-tag-related experiences in his new book, “Hello, My Name Is Scott.” The self-published work is available via his Web site, www.hellomynameisscott.com.

Watching the lanky, 6-foot-3 Ginsberg go about his business, observers can see that he chose the right method to turn strangers into friends. Alternately self-effacing and self-confident, Ginsberg has an easy charm that makes it easy for people to approach him.

As a recent encounter on the streetcar shows, he needs to do very little to get the ball rolling.

“I’m very interested in why you’re wearing a name tag,” says Blue, a young man who boards at Portland State University with several friends.

“I always wear one,” Ginsberg replies. “I find that they make people friendlier, more sociable. Do you want one?”

“Sure,” Blue says.

Ginsberg offers blank tags and a pen to the group so everyone can create his or her own social experiment. (He orders his own preprinted tags by the thousands.) They chat good-naturedly as the streetcar proceeds to Northwest 23rd Avenue, at which point Ginsberg disembarks with his new friends to have coffee together.

He says that while most people are friendly and interested in his cause, he’s encountered a fair share of naysayers.

“Sure, a lot of people are jerks, but I like to think I’ve made a lot of jerks friendlier,” Ginsberg says.

Nevertheless, it seems there are those who are immune to his charms.

“I’ve had my ass kicked five times,” he deadpans.

A life plan

Ironically, Ginsberg’s lofty ambition began at a time when his peers were in full-on party mode.

“It started in my sophomore year of college,” says Ginsberg, who doesn’t smoke or drink. “We all wore name tags for a seminar, and then a friend and I decided to leave them on. We couldn’t believe how friendly and willing to communicate everyone was.”

Nevertheless, it took about a year for it to dawn on Ginsberg: “I thought: ‘This is how I’m going to change the world.’”

After earning his marketing degree from Miami University in Ohio last spring, Ginsberg moved to Portland, where he knew no one. It didn’t take long for that to change.

“When I saw the name tag the first day, I thought he’d been at a convention or something,” says Laszlo Kiraly, who lives across the hall from Ginsberg in a Northwest Portland apartment building. “But then I noticed it the second and the third day, too, so I asked him about it.”

Kiraly, a surgical intern, appreciates his neighbor’s efforts to connect with strangers.

“Scott’s done a lot of thinking about it, obviously,” Kiraly says. “He says it makes people more friendly, and I think it definitely does; he meets a lot of people based on the name tag alone. He’s even has his own following Ñ convenience store clerks know him.”

Although there’s not a special woman in his life right now, Ginsberg says that one thing’s certain: Ms. Right will have to accept the fact that the name tag stays.

“I won’t expect her to wear one, of course, but everyone will wear them at the wedding,” he says.

Despite his youth and good health, Ginsberg’s made one very long-term decision:

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