Window Swap - Givemas Day Twelve

2020 has been all about trying to find the light in the darkness. One platform that has been working hard to offer comfort to those around the globe is Window Swap: a website that allows viewers to open a window anywhere in the world. We chatted to co-founders Sonali Ranjit and Vaishnav Balasubramaniam to learn more about this new comforting phenomenon.

Thanks so much for telling us all about your wonderful online experience. Could you tell us what Window Swap is and how was it conceived?

Our website (window-swap.com), a video carousel of views from windows around the world, provides an escape for those stuck in lockdown during coronavirus.

It’s a very simple website with one giant button that reads ‘Open a new window somewhere in the world’. Click the button, and a new window opens up, with a full screen video of the view through somebody’s window in a random part of the world.

Sometimes you get a glimpse of the person’s room, or backyard, and hear the sounds of their life. Sometimes the focus is on the view outside the window - a picture-perfect landscape, a bustling street or a well-tended backyard. It’s a very personal experience, where strangers share what they’ve been looking at everyday during the lockdown, in the hopes that it helps someone, somewhere else in the world, in some way.

It’s definitely a great answer to the struggle of feeling trapped in your own home. What kind of responses have you had from users since discovering the website?

People seem to love it for various reasons - it soothes them, or gives them a sense of peace/ or it satisfies their inner voyeur. Some mentioned that it helps with their homesickness. A few mailed us saying that it helps with their anxiety, and helps them sleep. Others say it helps make up a little for their cancelled travel plans.

A lot simply let it play on their second screens as they work - they love having the almost ASMR ambient sounds playing in the background. We’ve also had a lot of emails from disabled people or senior citizens who say it helps give them peace and the feeling of being able to see exotic places around the world in some small way.

That’s really beautiful. You mentioned ambient sounds - in the videos we often hear things such as traffic, urban noise, nature and even animals. How important do you think sound is to the overall experience?

We love windows with ambient sounds. And if there’s music playing along with the ambience it’s good. Some of them did send in views with just music. But the music was too good for us to drop those videos. But ambient sounds are a huge part of the idea.

The goal was to make people feel like they’ve swapped places with someone, somewhere in the world. The sounds play a huge role in transporting you somewhere else. And of course the sound of rain, waves, birdsong, or even a conversation in a language you don’t know is so soothing.

Window Swap seems to be something that’s grown so quickly in such a short time. Have you seen your online community develop from what it first started as earlier this year, and how has it changed?

Yes, we never expected it to take off in such a big way! It started off with just 16 views from our friends who lived around the world. Since then we seem to have built a very lovely and appreciative community!

People who come back every day or a few times a week and really feel a genuine sense of connection and appreciation with those who have shared their windows on the site. We’ve noticed a lot of teachers using it with their classes to teach creative writing, geography or as an ice breaker. Artists use it as an art study.

And of course we’ve realised that so many people are using it as a way to relax, zone out or just swap the daily mundane of their lives, with the mundane of someone else’s!

You must have many videos sent to you on a day to day basis, and there must be so many in your system. How are the videos on your site selected and what are you looking for in a submission?

We are not just about happy and breath-taking views of vistas and oceans. We post views with character. And we try to have a good mix of urban views and views of nature, as well as a good jumble of places every week.

We try not to filter out views. We just make sure the videos are long enough to give you a sense of ‘being there’ and horizontal. We’ve realised that windows that we don’t find very remarkable, end up charming someone or the other.

All we do is screen the videos to make sure it doesn’t contain anything offensive. For now, it’s still just the two of us spending 2-3 hours a day downloading the videos.

We've lost count of the number of countries we've received submissions from - we have thousands of submissions from all over the world. We definitely need to figure out a more sophisticated system to track all the videos.

The site itself is built to host only 150 videos, so right now we are slowly cycling through all the videos we have, swapping out 75 old ones with fresh views every week.

The concept of the site seems simple, but it’s possible there are deeper ideas at play here. One of those seems to be the idea of perspectives, and how refreshing it is to see the world from another person’s view. How important do you think this is in today’s fractured social and political climate?

Window Swap is all about gaining a fresh perspective. About living life in another country, in someone else's shoes, or just about seeing your own life with fresh eyes.

We think it really does help build more empathy for others, understanding and a sense of connection. And the sudden realisation that we are all more alike than we are different.

In today’s world where we sadly are building more walls than bridges, we hope we can play a small role in fostering a bit of understanding.

What interesting commonalities (and differences) have you found amongst windows people have submitted?

It’s really nice to see a lot of individualism in all the views we see - so different from the homogenous ‘Instagram/Airbnb’ aesthetic that’s taking over the world, so that’s great.

But beneath the superficial stylistic differences, you can see that we’re all so similar - just human beings coping with this pandemic with music, art, food plant therapy, books - and pets.

Faith and Brian’s window in Taipel, Taiwan

Susan and Duncan’s window in Somerville MA, USA

Right! We’re not so different. Just on the ‘Instagram aesthetic’, to me this website feels like a nice pushback against social media, where we filter and reshape everything.

Definitely - I think people are really responding to the fact that this is a real, unfiltered look into someone’s personal life. Perhaps they tidied up a bit, but it’s an invitation into their personal spaces.

And the small details you see around a room can reveal so much into the person’s personality and character, that it’s easy to spin a story about the life of the person whose window you are looking at.

Mindfulness and the idea of being present has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. The form of this website - a live-stream type video - feels very present. In what ways do you think Window Swap has tapped into this phenomenon?

The long-form slow content seems to be a draw for people in these stressful times. It’s calm and peaceful, allowing you to slow down and be quiet with your thoughts for 10 minutes. You are looking out of a window but also, in a sense, into your own mind.

It’s a break from the fast-paced Tiktok-style content train, and the endless clamouring for attention and action that has become the internet today.

I saw a recent window from South Korea that showed some men enthusiastically cleaning the windows of a skyscraper. It felt very funny and almost meta. Have any specific windows left a lasting impression on you, and why?

It changes every day - so hard to pick a favourite. Vaishnav loves this video from Hawaii that looks through a window to a bunch of happy chickens clucking around.

I love one from Shanghai where you can peek at an old man hanging up his laundry in a little alleyway. We lived in Shanghai for five years and miss the city a lot, so that brings up such warm feelings of nostalgia. And all the lovely pets!

What’s the most powerful thing you’ve learnt through this venture?

We think the realisation that someone has taken the time to record 10 minutes of their window view (not the easiest thing to do) in the hope that it will brighten someone’s day somewhere in the world - that realisation is a lovely thing.

There’s a sense of community and connectedness that really is very wholesome. It’s taught us that we are all more similar than we are different. And we will get through this together!

To find out more about Window Swap, you can head to their website or check them out on instagram @windowswap.

This interview was part of our 12 Days of Givemas – our Christmas series that focuses on small businesses, charities and changemakers doing amazing work this festive season.

Thanks so much for sticking with us through 2020 dear readers and we hope you’ve enjoyed our 12 Days of Givemas. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season! Take care and stay safe everybody!

Love KOS xx

Copyright © 2019

Dec 24 Window Swap - Givemas Day Twelve

Thanks so much for telling us all about your wonderful online experience. Could you tell us what Window Swap is and how was it conceived?

Our website (window-swap.com), a video carousel of views from windows around the world, provides an escape for those stuck in lockdown during coronavirus.

The goal was to make people feel like they’ve swapped places with someone, somewhere in the world. The sounds play a huge role in transporting you somewhere else. And of course the sound of rain, waves, birdsong, or even a conversation in a language you don’t know is so soothing.

And of course we’ve realised that so many people are using it as a way to relax, zone out or just swap the daily mundane of their lives, with the mundane of someone else’s!

We try not to filter out views. We just make sure the videos are long enough to give you a sense of ‘being there’ and horizontal. We’ve realised that windows that we don’t find very remarkable, end up charming someone or the other.

All we do is screen the videos to make sure it doesn’t contain anything offensive. For now, it’s still just the two of us spending 2-3 hours a day downloading the videos.

We've lost count of the number of countries we've received submissions from - we have thousands of submissions from all over the world. We definitely need to figure out a more sophisticated system to track all the videos.

The site itself is built to host only 150 videos, so right now we are slowly cycling through all the videos we have, swapping out 75 old ones with fresh views every week.

We think it really does help build more empathy for others, understanding and a sense of connection. And the sudden realisation that we are all more alike than we are different.

In today’s world where we sadly are building more walls than bridges, we hope we can play a small role in fostering a bit of understanding.

What interesting commonalities (and differences) have you found amongst windows people have submitted?

It’s really nice to see a lot of individualism in all the views we see - so different from the homogenous ‘Instagram/Airbnb’ aesthetic that’s taking over the world, so that’s great.

But beneath the superficial stylistic differences, you can see that we’re all so similar - just human beings coping with this pandemic with music, art, food plant therapy, books - and pets.

And the small details you see around a room can reveal so much into the person’s personality and character, that it’s easy to spin a story about the life of the person whose window you are looking at.

It’s a break from the fast-paced Tiktok-style content train, and the endless clamouring for attention and action that has become the internet today.

I love one from Shanghai where you can peek at an old man hanging up his laundry in a little alleyway. We lived in Shanghai for five years and miss the city a lot, so that brings up such warm feelings of nostalgia. And all the lovely pets!

There’s a sense of community and connectedness that really is very wholesome. It’s taught us that we are all more similar than we are different. And we will get through this together!

WORDS: DOMINIC HONE AND NATALIE WILLIAMS
PHOTOGRAPHY: WINDOW SWAP

Ask us Questions

Post Archive

Acknowledgement of Country

Copyright © 2019

Dec 24 Window Swap - Givemas Day Twelve

Thanks so much for telling us all about your wonderful online experience. Could you tell us what Window Swap is and how was it conceived?Our website (window-swap.com), a video carousel of views from windows around the world, provides an escape for those stuck in lockdown during coronavirus.

The goal was to make people feel like they’ve swapped places with someone, somewhere in the world. The sounds play a huge role in transporting you somewhere else. And of course the sound of rain, waves, birdsong, or even a conversation in a language you don’t know is so soothing.

And of course we’ve realised that so many people are using it as a way to relax, zone out or just swap the daily mundane of their lives, with the mundane of someone else’s!

We try not to filter out views. We just make sure the videos are long enough to give you a sense of ‘being there’ and horizontal. We’ve realised that windows that we don’t find very remarkable, end up charming someone or the other.

All we do is screen the videos to make sure it doesn’t contain anything offensive. For now, it’s still just the two of us spending 2-3 hours a day downloading the videos.

We've lost count of the number of countries we've received submissions from - we have thousands of submissions from all over the world. We definitely need to figure out a more sophisticated system to track all the videos.

The site itself is built to host only 150 videos, so right now we are slowly cycling through all the videos we have, swapping out 75 old ones with fresh views every week.

We think it really does help build more empathy for others, understanding and a sense of connection. And the sudden realisation that we are all more alike than we are different.

In today’s world where we sadly are building more walls than bridges, we hope we can play a small role in fostering a bit of understanding.

What interesting commonalities (and differences) have you found amongst windows people have submitted?It’s really nice to see a lot of individualism in all the views we see - so different from the homogenous ‘Instagram/Airbnb’ aesthetic that’s taking over the world, so that’s great.

But beneath the superficial stylistic differences, you can see that we’re all so similar - just human beings coping with this pandemic with music, art, food plant therapy, books - and pets.

And the small details you see around a room can reveal so much into the person’s personality and character, that it’s easy to spin a story about the life of the person whose window you are looking at.

It’s a break from the fast-paced Tiktok-style content train, and the endless clamouring for attention and action that has become the internet today.

I love one from Shanghai where you can peek at an old man hanging up his laundry in a little alleyway. We lived in Shanghai for five years and miss the city a lot, so that brings up such warm feelings of nostalgia. And all the lovely pets!

There’s a sense of community and connectedness that really is very wholesome. It’s taught us that we are all more similar than we are different. And we will get through this together!

WORDS: DOMINIC HONE AND NATALIE WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHY: WINDOW SWAP

Jan 13 The Lab Network

Dec 23 SisterWorks - Givemas Day Eleven

Thanks so much for telling us all about your wonderful online experience. Could you tell us what Window Swap is and how was it conceived?

Our website (window-swap.com), a video carousel of views from windows around the world, provides an escape for those stuck in lockdown during coronavirus.

What interesting commonalities (and differences) have you found amongst windows people have submitted?

It’s really nice to see a lot of individualism in all the views we see - so different from the homogenous ‘Instagram/Airbnb’ aesthetic that’s taking over the world, so that’s great.

WORDS: DOMINIC HONE AND NATALIE WILLIAMS
PHOTOGRAPHY: WINDOW SWAP