“Du är bra” is a Swedish phrase meaning roughly “you are nice”. A lot gets lost in translation, since the word “bra” can mean good, well, great, fine, all right, useful and jolly. It can be used as a general compliment, or as a specific compliment where you explain what you think a person is good at: “du är bra resesällskap” = “you are good travel company” or “du är bra på att laga mat” = “you are good at cooking”

It’s about telling people you like that you like them and why you like them in a public way. It’s a way to spread kindness and love, and give credit where credit is due. It’s a collaborative effort to fill social platforms in general, and Twitter in particular, with positive messages. It’s a reminder to all of us that there are more decent humans than trolls out there. It’s also a neat and versatile compliment that spans from “you are nice” over “you are good at…” to “you are great” – all in one hashtag.

On a personal level, it’s also a reminder to give more compliments to people. My goal is to tell at least one person a day that #duarbra.

It can be hard to spot kindness on social platforms, especially when it occurs outside your filter bubbles. By adding the hashtag, you contribute to creating a visual feed of kindness and love. Whenever you are kind to someone, or give someone a compliment, you add drops to the invisible river of kindness that runs throughout our society. By adding the hashtag, you help make the river visible.

Simply start with #duarbra and then add your reasons: “#duarbra because you have a big heart” or “#duarbra because you always take time to listen”. If you don’t want to add a reason, you can just say “#duarbra” – it’s a compliment in itself. 

The site and the description is made by me, Michael @Kazarnowicz. The idea, just like any other idea in human history, is a collaborative effort. I built on an idea discovered by Micael Dahlén, a professor at the Stockholm School of Economics and one of the kindest persons I’ve met. I’m sure he, in turn, was influenced and guided to the idea by countless of people, most of whom will remain nameless heroes forever.