Social Media and Civic Engagement: An Oxymoron?

In spite of the numbers showing that not only is social media here to stay but that it will continue to shape the face of politics, there are still many skeptics out there--particularly those in the upper echelons of the political institutions we aim to address.  Personally, I don't blame their apprehension.  These days, with scandals like Weinergate and chatty cathy Blagojevich dominating the news cycle, from a politician's POV it seems better to play safe than sorrily have your career destroyed by a mere 140 characters.  After all, we have the same qualms in our personal lives; we are constantly building privacy firewalls in our Facebook settings and Twitter accounts so that strangers, potential employers, and colleagues can never find out who we really are outside the workplace.

However, when you dig deeper than the surface, this is absolutely the wrong attitude and an even more dysfunctional way to approach the social media phenomenon.  It can be argued that when cultivated and used strategically, social media has tremendous potential to spur democratic participation from the groundswell.  Not only can it be used to engage citizens from all over the social, geographic, racial, and economic spectrum, it can also provide a platform for smart, targeted debate on the issues that really matter.  When you think about it, the social media controversy is largely based on misunderstanding and close-minded attitudes.  The emergence of social networking does not have to mean that there is too much white noise and useless egotistical information out there, but it can also portray important lessons based on the increasing level of civic participation in the online sphere.

 

The White House White Board Initiative, a great example of marrying social media and political education

Earlier today, I had the privilege of watching a Brookings Institution panel set up by the Governance Studies Program entitled, "How Social Networking Can Reinvigorate American Democracy and Civic Participation."  Not only was it moderated by Darrell West, one of the prominent thinkers on the relationship between technology and democratic institutions, but it also featured a fascinating panel of people from a variety of industries: Macon Phillips, one of Obama's digital strategists in the '08 campaign and now a White House official, Diana Owen, a political science professor from Georgetown University, Lee Rainie from the prestigious PEW Research Institute, and Mindy Finn, a brilliant social media political consultant.  I found the conversation invigorating, extremely relevant, and forward-thinking, as it ranged from themes such as social media and journalism, foreseeing the role of new media in the '12 elections, and the digital divide with in the U.S. and around the world.

The panel from today's discussion (L-R):
Owen, Rainie, Phillips, and West (not pictured: Finn)

Some interesting themes that I found from this panel were:

• The level of civic education in early years of schooling is parallel to the use of social media for political and electoral purposes;
• Journalism is at the crossroads of attempting to incorporate new media in their traditional broadcasting archetypes while dealing with the tightening of belts in the newsroom;
• Social media is now equally representative of politicians shaking hands with constituents and kissing babies, as they will have to address the public more transparently and directly;
• Campaigns are going to be more decentralized and chaotic as once viral, civic discussions in the online sphere cannot be ignored by political officials and have the potential to drive agenda;
• Social media and civility are not antithetical, but rather compatible as it drives debate and important discourse;
• Participating in politics through social networking is not slacktivism, but rather drives engagement in various parts of the spectrum (passive/indifferent -> observer -> reader -> commenter -> broadcaster/sharer -> participant -> leader)
• In the near future, a Unified Theory of Communications that combine new and traditional media will need to be developed and assimilated into political communication studies.

All in all, it was extremely interesting and refreshing to hear people who have established careers and prominent academic backgrounds praise social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter for what they represent (democratic participation), rather than the typical contemptuous outlook that some self-deem they are "too sophisticated" for this phenomenon.

To read more about the event and Darrell West's conclusions from the panel discussion and Q&A, visit the Brookings Governance site here.

The Future of the News Industry = ???

According to the American Society of News Editors (ASNE), over 34,800 journalists, editors, columnists, and other newspaper-related professionals have been laid off since the height of the recession in 2008.  More and more Americans believe that print news is a less important source of information than the internet and television, and thousands of people are discontinuing their pricey subscriptions to newspapers and magazines by the day.  Now that the news industry is migrating to the web, it is no longer ludicrous to claim that a majority of print journalism will be obsolete by the end of the next decade.  This should be great news (no pun intended), shouldn't it?  After all, getting your news online is cheaper, greener, and more accessible than those flimsy newspapers that can never fold the way you want them to.  However, at second glance, there are some significant societal problems that can emerge if we don't pay attention to the evolution of the news and fail to adhere to the facets of responsible journalism.

As a Communications major, understanding the culture of media and the news is an extremely interesting theme for me.  Isn't it fascinating that journalists have such an important role in society--after all, they tell us what is going on in the world around us--but they are not held to as high a standard as other professions?  Why can a doctor have his MD revoked, or a lawyer his license disbanded if they conduct malpractice, but a journalist is only accountable to the vague ethics of objectivity?  How can right- and left-wing news sources claim they are committing to responsible journalism when they are owned by very partisan conglomerates, and thus, gatekeepers of information?  Although these questions draw very complex answers, the emergence of social media and the blogosphere in the news just makes things a lot more confusing.  By examining the major trends in social media and understanding the effects they have on the news (and democracy as a whole), I'm hoping to several predictions about the future of the news and what we need to do to preserve the values of the industry.

Check out my presentation, which I created through this amazing online software called Prezi, and I look forward to talking about this with you all on Wednesday!

Oh those TED talks, they never fail to inspire!

 

If you're a big news buff like me, you'll probably like this TED Talk by Clay Shirky on how social media is making history and changing the face of the news.  I know it's a not too revolutionary a concept these days with all this social media buzz going around, but I think it sums up the whole news-versus-social media dynamic really well and opens doors to a number of other issues that I wanted to address in my final project. Through my research I'm hoping to answer questions like:

•  What does the future of the news look like with the growing ubiquity of social media?  
• Does the partnership between social media and the news industry increase the objectivity and professionalism of the news, or lower its standards?  
• How can we better enhance this new wave of citizen journalism for the sake of preserving the quality of news, as well as the ability to obtain information from even the most oppressed societies around the world?

I'm still trying to hone the topic down a little better, but if you guys have any thoughts or suggestions on this I would greatly appreciate it.  Thanks! :)

"In a world where media is global, social, ubiquitous and cheap, in a world of media where the former audience are now increasingly full participants, in that world, media is less and less often about crafting a single message to be consumed by individuals... The question we all face now is, 'How can we make best use of this media? Even though it means changing the way we've always done it.'" - Clay Shirky

Auditing of STAND Now! Part II

Anti-Qaddafi Libyan rebels wave their national flag

The face of the world has greatly changed since my last post on STAND's social media presence just a few weeks ago.  An international coalition led by the U.S. and NATO forces militarily intervened in Libya to enforce the UN Security Council Resolution of a no-fly zone.  A new rebel movement grew momentum in the recently seceded Southern Sudan, further complicating its short and fragile history.  Members of U.S. Congress continue to debate the controversial details of the federal budget, increasing the looming possibility of a government shutdown.  All of these events, which have dominated the news cycles for weeks, have also impacted the operations of STAND and their social media campaigns.

Because of these developments around the world, it has been extremely interesting to follow STAND's social media presence throughout the past few weeks.  The impact of these events have not only proven that STAND utilizes their online tools to promote themselves as an organization, but that they also use social media to empower their members to help accomplish STAND's main agenda.  This, my friends, is groundswell in action!  For example, when accounts from Libya regarding violent government crackdown on anti-Qaddafi civilians were growing, STAND decided to use its social media presence to help their members advocate government action that would stop these atrocities against innocent civilians.  Through their Facebook, Twitter, and blog pages, they were able to take action by providing downloadable talking points for UpSTANDers to "Call the State Department now at (202) 647-5291 and ask for a no-fly zone over Libya."

Not only were STAND's efforts unique in this way, but they were also fruitful.  When the UN Security Council Resolution was passed on March 17th implementing a no-fly zone over Libya to reduce attacks against civilians, STAND was ecstatic and wanted to congratulate its fellow activists on their call to action.  This further portrayed their use of social media to empower their own groundswell:

Another example of how STAND's presence has been impacted by current events was when their annual Pledge2Protect campaign (which I discussed in my previous post) was disrupted due to the failure of Congress to introduce the genocide prevention bill in time for STAND to advocate during this event.  This is in part due to the government standoff regarding the budget and calls to reduce U.S. expenditures on foreign assistance (which, FYI accounts to less than 1% of the entire budget).  In spite of this, STAND decided to remain flexible and through its social media sources, shift the focus of their campaign from advocating this genocide prevention bill to providing invaluable training through a genocide prevention and activism boot camp.  Through suggestions from their members via online platforms, they were able to announce these changes and even decided to waive the $25 registration fee if those who already registered wanted to attend.  Talk about handling a crisis situation well!

Throughout this entire monitoring process, I have come to believe that STAND is unique in not only utilizing social media for marketing extremely well, but also for introducing never-seen-before initiatives that combine traditional and contemporary tactics of activism.  Because of this, it has been such a great and exceptional organization to monitor. 

However, through this monitoring process I have also come to understand that STAND still faces challenges that they will need to overcome in order to maximize their social media potential.  For instance, as it is an extremely large and decentralized organization with over 800 chapters all over the world, it has been difficult for social media auditors (like me) to analyze its large-scale impact.  Although STAND does have major social media outlets for its central headquarters, I would suggest further building their database to not only include a list of STAND chapters all over the world, but also links to the individual chapters' social media pages as well.  This way fellow UpSTANDers can see what the other chapters have been doing, and STAND officials can also keep a virtual eye on their different branches to make sure that the groundswell does not turn against them.

An Google map of STAND's different locations

Furthermore, as I mentioned in my last report, STAND is currently going through an "identity crisis," as they have recently changed their official name and main mission due to an expansion of their efforts.  For the sake of being able to monitor their social media impact, I believe it is important for STAND to be able to find an efficient title that is unique and able to track.  Although the word "STAND" is indeed clever, it is just not distinct enough to distinguish itself in this information-laden social media world.  Even their slogan, "Don't stand by, stand up!" is a phrase that is used in PSAs for anti-bullying campaigns.  Thus, although STAND has accomplished so much, I believe that they still need to find cohesion within their organizational identity and overall mission.  This issue will probably arise as STAND continues to grow as an organization, as they will confront the need to find an identity that will remain constant throughout their expansion.

In conclusion, I believe that everything STAND stands for (no pun intended) makes it such a unique organization to represent.  Its ability to empower the youth to not only be aware of ongoing injustices around the world, but also refuse to stand idly by as they occur, is completely consistent with their strategic use of novel social media tactics.  I believe that in their short history, STAND's actions have really impacted the discourse on U.S. foreign policy and a large part of their success has been accomplished with the assistance of social media tools.  It will be interesting to keep an eye on this organization and see how much they can grow--and how much they can shape anti-genocide policy--in the coming years.

What do YOU stand for?

Where Do We Go From Here? Reading Reflection #3

 
As we reach the end of the book, I found the last few chapters of Li and Bernoff's Groundswell optimistic, and their prediction future of companies continuing to improve due to the groundswell phenomenon rather reassuring.  After all, the main moral of this book is that the opinions of individuals affiliated with a company will be more and more valued with the growth of social media, whether its their customers or their employees.  This is great news, as the tools we have practically grown up with are going to be more pivotal in measuring the quality of a service or product as well as expressing ourselves as consumers.  Although it is still an ongoing evolution, it is safe to agree with Li and Bernoff that companies will soon be increasingly utilizing social media, rather than relying completely on creative departments of their own, to improve their products and services.

Standards are continuing to reshape itself even at this very moment.  Thanks to Groundswell, I know that if I someday end up working for a mid- to large-sized company that does not have social media outlets that they use to listen, empower, and respect their employees, it is an indicator of how little they care about their workers.  Same goes with a small company that does not have social media pages available to market themselves and listen to their groundswell: it shows that they are not thinking strategically and not committing that minimal effort to exploit social media to expand.  Reading Groundswell and knowing what is ideal and vital to success helps raise the bar on the quality of a company's work as well as their customer relations.

In addition, I found Chapter 11 on the employee groundswell extremely interesting, as it is now an increasing imperative to give all your employees the proper tools to be social media ambassadors.  In other words, not only should there be a centralized online site where employees can communicate with each other and throughout the hierarchy of the company ladder, but there should also be a top-down discourse that ensures company members that they are being listened to.  Furthermore, there should be regulations as to what is appropriate within each employee's individual social media sites and what they post in the company's main comment boards or pages.  After all, one company who divulges too much or too inaccurately could destroy a company's reputation in minutes.  It seems as though the dynamics of a company's future will be interesting, as younger people will continue to have more of a say in how a social media campaign should be approached, but guidance from senior officials about what is appropriate should still exist.

As Li and Bernoff seem extremely positive about the Groundswell phenomenon, I have to agree with them that this is the future of how businesses are run, how marketing is structured, and how shareholders and consumers will become increasingly important.  Hopefully as time goes on, social media standards (in other words, what is appropriate in personal and corporate social media use) will become more concrete in order preserve this valuable social communication phenomenon that is currently leading to better products and easier lives.

Social Media 101

For those of you who are still a bit confused....

Courtesy of vanished-omen.

STAND Now! Through the Social Media Microscope

The American Revolution had the Boston Tea Party and anti-colonist paraphernalia like Common Sense.  The Civil Rights Movement had influential "sit-ins," marches, and heroes like MLK and Rosa Parks.  The Vietnam War Protests had iconic student demonstrations and underground music and newspapers.  All today's activists need to be heard are the following: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and access to the rest of the internet.

The iconic "Flower Power" photograph of the '60s

The organization that I chose to monitor is called STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition.  Formerly known as Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, STAND is a student-based political organization founded in 2004 with the mission to advocate genocide prevention policy and legislation.  Initially meant to spread awareness of the devastating Darfur conflict in Western Sudan, STAND's rapid growth throughout the years has led them to advocate for political action to end all genocidal violence around the world.  To this day, STAND has established over 850 college chapters in 25 countries all over the world, raised over $650,000 in funds, and has been recognized by global organizations like the United Nations and Amnesty International.  The most amazing part of all this?  It was all done by college students not so different from you and I.

I chose this organization because I wanted to see how the face of activism has evolved with the use of the internet and social media networking.  In my opinion, part of the reason why STAND has become so successful in spreading their cause is because their founders, part of the web-2.0-savvy generation, knew exactly what was occurring with these changes and rode the wave of this technological revolution.  By utilizing the proper tools, they were able to hone the power of social media to complement traditional practices of political activism such as writing petitions, holding peaceful demonstrations, organizing conferences, and approaching influential leaders for help.

The way STAND operates is that they provide local university and high school chapters the tools needed to raise awareness against genocide: fundraising, media materials, lessons about lobbying, and background information about the ongoing conflicts.  Because their various chapters are located all over the world, most of these tools are accessible online through their website, Facebook page, and YouTube.  Although the different chapters hold their own demonstrations and events, STAND also holds nation-wide conferences and lobbying events to help unite their hundreds of thousands of members from all over the world.  For example, this April STAND will be holding their Third Pledge2Protect campaign, which is an opportunity for STAND members to donate funds, upload YouTube videos which would be presented to members of Congress, as well as visit the STAND headquarters in Washington, DC for a lobbying day and march on the Washington Mall.  As it has become the largest lobbying event in genocide prevention history, what is particularly remarkable about this event is how it defines 21st century activism--the ability to mobilize and advocate through a combination of traditional tactics and social media strategy.

Worcester's own Congressman McGovern speaking
in the Pledge2Protect Campaign in 2009

Like Clark University's chapter of STAND, most STAND schools have their own social media pages to help advertise their events, organize their ideas, and increase membership.  This is a unique take on the Groundswell phenomenon, where members of an organization use social media to act on their own without the need of top-down direction from leadership.  It allows the organization to continue growing and taking on new chapters all over the world without running short on manpower and resources to handle all of its members.  For instance, through Facebook Pages individual STAND chapters can tag photos, videos, and events to the main STAND Facebook page and let everyone know what each chapter is doing.

STAND's main Facebook Page

What I also found interesting was that through a simple monitoring of their social media presence, it is immediately obvious how passionate STAND's different chapters were about organizing their events and advocating their main cause.  For example, during the Southern Sudanese independence referendum in the end of January, which was a pivotal step to ending the civil conflict in Sudan, a Social Mention search of STAND within that month led to their positive to negative mentions ratio to grow almost 4 to 1.  An IceRocket search of the last week of January, which was when the results of the referendum came out, saw an extreme peak in blog posts mentioning STAND (see graph below).

That same week also commenced STAND's official "Tweet to the White House" week, where STAND users all over the world used hashtags and RT functions to President Obama, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, and Vice President Joe Biden's Facebook and Twitter pages to raise the Sudan question in the president's foreign policy agenda and hopefully include it in the latest State of the Union Address.  Although the Darfur issue was cut out of final draft, this only displayed the power Twitter has to not only allow students and ordinary people to address powerful officials, but to also get a response from them.  In @StandNOW's Twitter page, their tweets show an almost immediate reply from President Obama's account:

 

After monitoring STAND's social media presence, I believe that they are a great example of how social media is utilized in an organizational level and how the proper tools are used to empower a group's groundswell to help them achieve their goals.  Furthermore, when social media is applied to activism, it is extremely easy for an advocacy group like STAND to monitor how much they impact policy and how successfully they advocate their cause.  Although there is more they can do to increase membership, organize the social media pages of their existing chapters, and expand the reach of their social media presence, I find that the novel things that this organization has accomplished with social media shows the potential they have to really make a bottom-up political impact on a global level.  I believe this organization will continue to make headway in making activism and social media an indelible partnership.

To conclude, I wanted to show this video which shows how STAND members participated in a Tweet the White House Day (very much like the one described above) and gets President Obama to start talking about what his administration is planning to do with Sudan:

More to come!

A 140-Character Story to Warm Your Heart

A few days ago as I was browsing the news, a New York Times article caught my eye and as many things around me have been doing recently, reminded me about this class and the social media phenomenon that we have been trying to make sense of.  The short article, entitled "A Life on the Streets, Captured by Twitter" featured 44-year old Derrick Wiggins who is not only a native Brooklyn-ite and Giants fan, but has also been part of the homeless community for many years now.  It told the tale of how Derrick was given a pre-paid flipphone to tweet regularly about the challenges he overcomes on a day-to-day basis--many of these things we take for granted such as eating a hearty meal, taking a warm shower and sleeping with heat and thick blankets.  To this day, Derrick has garnered over 5,500 followers and still tries to respond to most of his followers who wish him a good luck and send their prayers day by day.

Derrick Wiggins, @awitness2011

Through Underheard in New York, a non-profit organization that focuses on homelessness awareness, Derrick and a few other select individuals (Danny, Albert, and Carlos) were provided pre-paid cellphones to regularly tweet from anywhere in the city about their life without a home.  The organization was founded a month ago by three graduate students interning at a NYC PR firm who have always wanted to do something to help the homeless community in their city, but had limited resources of their own to do so.  In spite of this, they honed the power of social media and decided to take this unorthodox approach at activism by helping homeless residents of the city gain a voice of their own.  Their mission: "...use their social media presence to create real interaction and make them a part of our global community."

Since reading the NYT article about a week ago, I have been following the UnderheardinNY website and checking to see how their Twitter stars are doing.   Lately, I've started to notice that I wasn't the only one in my circle of friends doing this--a friend of mine on Facebook recently posted a link to the site on his own profile, and some Tweeters on my network who I told about this also started following Danny (who, personally is my favorite) with me.  What a great example of how word of mouth really spreads like wildfire!  And that's not all--as the buzz about this organization continued to grow, so did the opportunities for these men: a few days ago I noticed they were starting to get invites to job interviews, people were tweeting to welcome them to their homes for a meal, and Derrick was even given a ticket to see the NY Giants from the money raised by his Facebook and Twitter followers.  However, the most incredible story happened a few days ago when Danny was finally reunited with his daughter and his two grandchildren for the first time after losing contact with them ELEVEN years ago.  (DISCLAIMER: Get ready to shed a tear or two...)

Celina blogged a few weeks ago about Spent, a great interactive website that also features homelessness awareness, and I believe this is another wonderful example of how social media can be used to greatly advocate a cause and tackle an entrenched societal problem.  Although critics argue that social media tools have made us lazy activists (or rather, slacktivists), I believe that allowing Danny, Derrick, Carlos and Albert to speak for themselves through  Twitter and thus rebuild their lives on their own is worth much more than giving them $1 on the street.  Don't you?  If you agree, I invite you all to spread this story and revel in the power 140 characters has in restoring someone's life and opening many windows of opportunities.

"It's a great moment," said Danny Morales when asked about meeting his daughter.  "I feel rejoiced.  I never thought it would be this way... It's so beautiful."

*Keep up to date on what's going on in UnderheardInNY through their Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages.*

Energizing the Groundswell -> Better Online Shopping Experience

Whether you're a Adult Lego fanatic, a confused pre-teen girl, or just a penny pinching college student like me, I guarantee you this: there is a place for you in the internet.  I'm sure even the most anti-mainstream, non-conformist, couch-surfing of hipsters can find a place where they love to post their musings to a online community of followers (even though they probably won't admit it).  In other words (or rather, Li and Bernoff's words), the Groundswell has swelled enough to reach anyone, anywhere, at any time--and it's only continuing to grow.

Although this is great news from a marketing perspective, Chapters 7 through 10 of Groundswell show why many approach this phenomenon with cautious optimism--and righteously so.  On the bright side, the opinion of customers, which would often fall between the cracks of company bureaucracy, can now be directly read and interpreted according to what they have to say on your website's comment board.  Furthermore, if your customers like what you're doing, they will easily--rather, willingly--do the marketing for you, which is arguably one of the most persuasive channels of communication out there.  By executing traditional PR and marketing techniques via social media, you can easily help your Groundswell help you, and Li and Bernoff argue that all you need to do is this: 1) Give your customers what they want or something that can help them, 2) Create a community to get energized about your product, and 3) Innovate with the help of your consumer base.  It really is that easy!

However (and here is where the cautious optimism comes in), many refuse to accept is that their Groundswell community is no longer an idle consumer base, but rather an integral part of their sales, marketing, development and innovation initiatives.  And on top of that, some are terrified about the possibility that a simple viral video or a forum on a blog can destroy their company's reputation--after all, when it's online, it's there forever (do you remember the Domino's prank and how much it damaged Domino's credibility?  See below).  But see, crises happen all the time, and damage control (yes, even in the internet) is possible.  And, as Li and Bernoff reiterate many times in the book, there is no point fighting it--we just have to embrace this fact, and instead try to get a handle the uncontrollable viral power Groundswell contains.  It will be interesting to see if the book contains a chapter on what to do when the Groundswell starts to turn against you and your company.

While reading the book, I was reminded of a store that I frequently visit which has really embraced social media to create a symbiotic relationship with its customers.  As risque as this store's history has been, it seems as though those behind the American Apparel website have been living religiously by the Groundswell manual and have thus garnered an extremely positive reputation with their online customers.  From their blog, Twitter, Facebook, ebay pages, and even live-chat options, the American Apparel site contains multiple web 2.0 platforms where they can interact with their customers, listen to their feedback, and even give promotional discounts and giveaways.  Furthermore, through the use of social media they also make shopping online, which can usually be hit-or-miss, a very easy and interactive experience.

Not too long ago, I was looking to purchase the cotton spandex jersey leotard from AA (see above), but was a bit on the fence about it.  How would I wear it?  Is it worth the pricetag?  What was its functionality?  What was the best color to choose?  What size should I even get?  I knew the wisest move was to go to the store to try it on, but since the nearest store was all the way in Boston, I figured I'd first check the website to see if they had anything more to say about it.  What a pleasant surprise!  There were over 400 ratings for this item from all over the world, and people were saying everything they could about it.

Some really helpful comments sounded like this:

* Jen, USA - This is a very comfy piece. I got this as a bonus when I ordered a bunch of stuff. Its a medium but I wish it was a small. Im a 32a so the top was loose but the rest of it fit like a dream. I wonder if the small would be too tight on the bottom. I'm 5 feet and 100lbs but i am pear shaped. I pair this with the interlock high waist skirts and it looks great.

* Natalie, UK - Ari, because you're petite its best for you to buy an xs, because you're small in length as well as in width. Your likely to find that the small will be slightly too big -definitely in the shoulders and bottom half of the leotard (the crotch and bum area) as there is a considerable change in these two areas when going a size up or down in most of AA's clothing. xxx

 * Whitney, Australia - I am 5 foot 3 & 115lbs: I got it in a size Small in Black. I do ballet every week - it's a beautiful leotard & if you want, you can wear it under some nice jeans and go out. I totally recommend it!!

AA didn't stop there.  They even have picture gallery below the item description, where people who have purchased the item can submit a picture of how they incorporate it in an outfit.  This is actually the first time I have ever seen anything like this feature, and have actually visited the AA website several times after purchasing an item to get some outfit ideas.

After spending over an hour browsing their website, I ended up buying the leotard, and loved it so much I also gave it five stars, a positive comment, and on top of that, told all my friends about this easy online shopping experience.  It is now clear to me that AA followed the laws of Groundswell perfectly: they were able to give customers what they need to know, build a community and energize them through ratings and comments, and innovate itself through creative outfit ideas and submitted photos from users.  For a store that has such unique and eclectic designs like American Apparel, it just seems apt that they would also be as creative with their marketing techniques--but I still really enjoy reading Groundswell and finding Li and Bernoff's helpful guidelines being used in many of the successful social media players out there.

Wins All Around for Social Media

This week was definitely not for the social media faint of heart.

It all began with Kenneth Cole's untimely tweet.  On February 3, in a careless move, designer Kenneth Cole tied his Twitter update to the ongoing Egyptian revolution as a plug for his spring collection:

The 140-character tweet immediately went viral, leading thousands of tweeters to criticize Cole's  insensitivity and force him to withdraw his statement.  Caving from the pressure, he profusely apologized on his Facebook page the very next day.  As a designer who has had a history of tactless print ads such as post-9/11 "God Dress America" and "On Sept. 12th, families returned to the dining room table. TODAY IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL" (I'm not even kidding), this was an unprecedented moment as it was the first public apology from Mr. Cole himself.  Was it the change of medium (from print to Twitter) that allowed Cole's audience to show him the error of his ways?  Who knows.

Next was Groupon's Superbowl commercial, which featured the Tibetan liberation movement to highlight all the deals Groupon has on Himalayan restaurants all over the country.  The gist of the ad was this: Sure, thousands of Tibetans continue to be violently oppressed because of their religious beliefs and cultural traditions, but at least you can get their amazing fish curry for $15 instead of $30 through Groupon!  If you haven't seen it yet (first of all, which rock have you been hiding under?), here it is:

Although meant to satirize a PSA and direct viewers to Groupon's website where they can donate to Tibet's cause, the commercial backfired terribly.  A social media firestorm erupted, where thousands of Tweeters and Facebookers used Groupon's message board to call for a boycott of its product and services.  Talk about social media irony.

Even then, Groupon's CEO Andrew Mason failed to apologize, instead defending his commercial and saying that the ad was meant as a nod to “the often trivial nature of stuff on Groupon when juxtaposed against bigger world issues.”  I guess Mr. Mason didn't get the memo: if you have to explain the joke, it's not really that funny.

The social media backlash has continued to grow, proving that Mason's point was moot and in spite of intent, the commercial was just made in bad taste.  People want an apology.  And when they don't get it, this is what happens:

This week has proven that because of social media, the line between what is effective and what is ethical in marketing is once again blurred.  Have we become too hyper-sensetized, as Mason said, to have a sense of humor?  Are we trying too hard to be politically correct to get a simple joke?  All I know is that when you fail to monitor your social media responses and then blatantly deny what people are saying, that's when you know you are taking two steps forward and one step back.  What we have seen this week is the power of social media to unite individuals who refuse to be manipulated by executives that trivialize and poke fun at legitimate causes for the purpose of their own profit.  What is even sadder is at this very minute, people in Egypt and all over the world are sacrificing their lives to attain the same fundamental freedoms that people like those in Kenneth Cole and Groupon irresponsibly exploit.

From Kenneth Cole's untimely tweet, Groupon's marketing mishap in the Superbowl to Egypt's Youth Revolution, the same message has reverberated across borders and timezones many times this week: Whether you like it or not Mr. Cole/Andrew Mason/Hosni Mubarak, the public is here to stay.

Yay social media! 

PS. Continue to stream live updates of what's going on in Egypt here.

Groundswell 101

A few days ago my roommate, her boyfriend and I were watching TV when a commercial for Match.com came on.  Anyone who has a television is familiar with the ad: raw footage of a rather attractive couple sitting in a dim-lit, intimate-looking restaurant, laughing over some witty inside joke, and (of course) exchanging the flirty-eyes and coy smiles.  Then, suddenly, cue the most loaded sentence that all single people dread to see:

According to studies, One in Five Relationships started online--and most of them start at Match.com.

"Online?"  I scoffed.  "That's ridiculous--what ever happened to locking eyes across a crowded room or meeting in a coffee shop, or even the concept of soulmates?  Meeting online takes all the romance out of it!"

"I don't know about that," my roommate said.  "Matchmakers have existed since the beginning of the practice of marriage--maybe this is just society's way of catching up with the times."

I quickly dismissed her defense as underlying gratitude that she didn't have to resort to online dating anytime soon, but later that night I found myself thinking about that disturbing statistic.  Was my roommate right, and was I just being old-fashioned?  Is Match.com just part of an ongoing evolution, and were we the guinea pig generation for internet dating? 

I thought of that conversation again as I started reading Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Ideologies, and suddenly found my sentiments petty compared to the PR and marketing industries whose worlds have been turned upside down because of the social media phenomenon.  Professionals who have spent their entire careers in these fields are now finding themselves in direct competition with Alpha Moms and cheap college students who are blogging, tweeting, tagging, hashing, and streaming anything and everything about the products they use.  A five-minute YouTube video, gone viral, can directly impact a product's success or failure.  People are no longer easily manipulated by conventional marketing techniques that are being used, and are in fact fed up with them.  Things are happening faster, from the bottom-up, and more chaotic than ever.  Bottom line is, when your career is dependent on the mysterious phenomenon that is the online world, well, that's a scary thought.

However, the beauty of the chaos theory is finding the various conditions and factors that form predictable patterns in the midst of the chaos.  This is where Groundswell comes in.  Right off the bat Li and Bernoff say that the difference between successful businesses and those that are trailing behind are those who see social media not as a challenge, but an opportunity.  When you think about it, they do have a valid point: it is now easier to gather information about your customers, predict their next moves, and be more creative about it!  Marketing is no longer a one-way dissemination of information followed by a crossing of fingers hoping that your target audiences respond positively; now you can consistently check up on, support, and defend your product by using a variety of online tools, many of which are free or low-cost.  It is time for all of us to get over the intimidation of social media, and accept it for what it is with open arms.  Here is a helpful little chart I found on Forrester Research's blog on Groundswell about the different ways you can take advantage of social media for your business:

I am looking forward to reading the rest of Groundswell and seeing what guidelines they have regarding web 2.0 and marketing.  From the perspective of someone who uses social media for mainly personal reasons, it will be extremely interesting (and advantageous!) to see it in the eyes of a community that uses the same tools we do, but for different reasons.  Just as my roommate implied, this is a different game that requires the same basic rules.  Hopefully by the end of this book, I can be schooled in the art of social media jujitsu and be able to take these skills with me as I enter the job market.  Will keep you updated, fellow bloggers!

Oh, and in light of this post, Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Fashion 2.0

The days when zealous fashionistas can only get their inspiration from the runway or the latest Vogue or InStyle magazine are long gone.

Since the birth of online journals, fashion-centric bloggers have become editor-in-chiefs of their own, creating a grassroots genre of "fashion blogging" that features things such as what they believe are the latest trends, shopping tips and advice, and a unique lookbook of outfit ideas.  From blogs such as The Sartorialist, where photographer Scott Schuman has made a career taking inspirational street-style snaps throughout New York City, to more personal fashion blogs such as the famous Parisian blogger Betty who takes pictures of herself and lists down what she is wearing (sometimes even down to the brand of her nail polish), it is pretty remarkable how aspirant members of the fashion industry have taken advantage of the World Wide Web.

While fashion blogging may have its narcissistic roots (just like the industry itself), it is amazing how this phenomenon has revolutionized how the business operates today.  After all, from the vantage point of an up-and-coming fashion designer or retailer, what better way to get free publicity than through the eyes of a popular fashion blogger?  As a browser of fashion blogs myself, I have witnessed the ingenious evolution of fashion blogging and how the fields of PR, blogging and marketing have subtly formed a symbiotic relationship of their own.  Confused yet?  Let me explain how this works.

First, you take a prominent fashion blogger (as an example, let's feature popular San Franciscan architect/blogger Aimee Song of Song of Style):

Next, cross your fingers and hope that Aimee will someday purchase something from your store and feature them in one of her blog entries.  Once you've realized that your wishful thinking is probably in vain, approach her with some free samples of your products and have her put her own trendy spin on it.  If your clothes/shoes/accessories complement the blogger's personal style, it's *that* easy to forge a solid business relationship!  See retailer Bebe's work with Aimee below:

Another approach would be to have the blogger sponsor a free giveaway of your product to his/her loyal readers.  In the fashion blogging world, this is actually done quite frequently!  All you need to do is provide blogger with product and shipping costs, and presto!  Instant plug for your products AND her blog.

  

Another trick?  Invite said Blogger to your next fashion show, clad with front row seats located within an arm's reach to the hottest celebrities and fashion designers.  They will LOVE you forever, and will no doubt blog about how much they do!  It's reasons like this why bloggers have joined celebs, designers, journalists and photographers as a staple in the audiences of every fashion show.

Its easy to see why the benefits of the blogger-designer relationship are priceless.  1) It's low-cost (no need to hire a stylist, models or purchase a page-long advertisement in Vogue), 2) it's dynamic and interactive (users can comment on what they think of the product or the design), 3) in a world where we're inundated with too many ads, it's an extremely refreshing change of pace, 4) it can be done across borders within seconds, and 5) and its extremely viral--these girls get thousands of hits a day!  Furthermore, this simple equation (established blogger + PR team = free publicity!) can be applied to almost any industry that has a blogging community.  This innovative partnership has proven that the blogosphere is no longer about your daily rants and raves--in  many ways, it has become a fundamental way to get ahead in the marketing world.

So are you ready to be the next Anna Wintour or Heidi Klum?  Grab your camera and turn your blog into the next big fashion blog today!

Lost and Found

As an ode to this class, I am aptly dedicating my first blog entry (ever!) to a heartwarming YouTube video that shows how social media can be used to pay it forward. Enjoy!