Have you ever got on the Tube in the morning and been confronted by a crowd of  stressed people, all trying to barge their way through the gates, all stairing into space and desperately trying not to make any eye contact with the other commuters (even on a crowded train when everyone is squashed against each other)? Have you had enough of people looking at the floor or the ceiling while listening to their iPod’s? Or just reading their newspapers and books not looking at each other, not talking to each other and in fact not addressing at least a smile or a frown to each other? Have you ever tried to start a conversation with a fellow commuter who just gave you a weird look and moved down the other side of the carriage, leaving you feeling awkward even though you only asked about the latest rugby scores?

• This is why icantalk.me was created — it is supposed to be a social experiment aimed at restoring that bit of communication and normality during our daily commute. So if you would rather not avoid the other commuters and prefer to actually have a chat with some of them on the way to work rather than listen to your iPod then simply print out one of our badges and wear it and when you spot another commuter with an icantalk.me badge just walk to them and start chatting away — they won’t say no to a friendly chat, after all that’s why they wear our badge! And all of a sudden, all that waiting on the Central Line due to signal failures in Liverpool Street won’t seem that long and dull and grey anymore! And if one day you don’t feel like talking as you have some work to get on with on your commute, simply don’t display our badge — our badges are free for download, you can print as many as you want and you can display them wherever you want: stick them to your coat, your handbag or your hat! Others will see it and they’ll know you’re in a chatty mood and in seconds you will be probably working your ways through the weather, the latest news or what’s a good movie to see nowadays in London. To help you going we will be even suggesting a subject each day — that does not mean that you are limited to that, it’s merely a help for those mornings when the brain hasn’t quite kicked in yet and as such the latest gossips and news haven’t registered with you yet

So that’s it in a nutshell: our badge is meant to be a “trademark” for commuters who feel like chattering their way to and from work. There’s no point in going on about this for too much — after all, just like you, we like chatting face to face, not writing to you via a webpage — so if you fancy a chat, print the badge! Happy commuting!