Public-to-Public Message Conveying

Have you been watching the TV recently? Did the “Look Out For Me” advertisement catch your attention for a split second? For me, it did and I love it. I am not sure how this came about but it’s fantastic to see such an advertisement adopt this tactic again. Enough of statistics, enough of celebrities endorsement or even some gruesome pictures on the cigarettes packaging.

Statutory boards traditionally use death statistics or the scare factor in most of their campaigns. In this instance, the Singapore Traffic Police has a glorious history of those. Remember how we used to see a man being hit and flipped over a speeding car? Does the sight of a puddle of blood beside a toppled motorcycle seemed familiar to you? Maybe, the cracking beerglass similar to that of a shattered windscreen rings a bell? Scary images, all used to send that important message to viewers.

Did any of those truly scare us?

Well, the answer is crisp clear. Not even public disclosure of drink-drivers statistics dipped this fatal habit. No amount of gruesome pictures can make smokers quit if they do not wish to. Therefore, the scare tactic is dead before the viewers are.

What I like about this advertisement is the passive mode of conveying that critical message. Is this an import of social media principles into traditional advertisement? We’re always price consumer interaction above the one-way message dissemination by corporations. No bloodied scene, no dead bodies, no crashed cars. Simply, from members of public to YOU.

True, they’re all actors. But, they’re actors from all ages just like anyone else you see on the roads. I believe this passive approach will be more fruitful because it is just like your friends asking a favour from you. If your friend is seeking your help to look out for him while he changed his flat tyre with his back facing the traffic, would you say no? If your sibling request that you look out for her child while backing your car into the porch, would you reject her? So now, someone’s asking if you could drive safe and look out for him/her, would you turn your back?

One message - many applications. Drink-driving, speeding, beating the red light etc.

June 30, 2008 | Filed Under Advertising, Traditional Media

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FriendFeed Franctic Attack

I signed up for FriendFeed last night, and had been toying with it for a couple of hours. That few hours were enough for me. What’s the big buzz I have been reading from various social media “gurus” in Singapore’s blogosphere? It seemed to be consistent with my insignificant view that some “experts” we read here are nothing more than just hypebeasts.

It looked cool to have 41 services available in FriendFeed, but how practical is that? All these social applications are really running out of of ideas in my opinion. In social media, my favourite quote is “anybody and everybody is anywhere and everywhere”. I’ve lost count of how many people I have served this quote in my entire blogging lifespan and private discussions.

My view isn’t here to trash anybody in particular, but seriously, why do we need to create multiple sites all equipped with the same function? Will a new entity in terms of name make any difference or improvement to conversations that are already ongoing presently?

Everyone is everywhere. The split second I gained access into my account, I see the same old folks again. As I went through the profiles, there are even people listing 10 to 15 other services from Youtube to Facebook etc. If I am able to track them elsewhere, why do I need to track them here? What difference would that make?

Building a new conversation, not. Some sites I have read proudly proclaimed the ability to hold discussions in FriendFeed. Granted, you can leave comments. Is that something not in process on Twitter? Is that not possible in Del.icio.us or Stumbleupon comment section? Or are our blogs incapable of holding a conversation that we need another replica to do so? Most of the postings are integrated from Twitter anyway.

Great that I see one or two real conversations that went beyond the 20 comments mark, but if only Forrester Research wasn’t “attacked”, Jeremiah wouldn’t have “retorted”. If only Robert Scoble didn’t “complained” about another person of attacking his friend… if only this and that. The conversations were still very much between the “Silicon IValleY League”, just like anywhere else. If not for the A-list bloggers, will there even be a conversation I wonder.

Duplicate Mill. If you’re one of those like me using both Del.icio.us and Stumbleupon, it is likely you will submit interesting sites to both. Hence, the submission of both will appear in your FriendFeed - one of it as a duplicate obviously. If you submit to FriendFeed, no existing followers in your networks elsewhere can see that article.

How do we overcome this duplicate problem? It’s fairly simple. Don’t submit any articles to Del.icio.us and Stumbleupon. Or if you do, you will have to drop either one when importing feeds. Better still, quit all the networks you have painstakingly work on in other sites and start afresh in FriendFeed. Yes, I hear you going… OMG!

So, what’s the big deal?

There is no way I can understand how FriendFeed will rise up to the cohort of live conversational tools or social bookmarking giants. We have no lack of those now. Is there anything that I cannot do on other sites except in FriendFeed? Hardly any that I can think of. The Web 2.0 scene is sadly reduced to micmicking one another with no real substance at the end of it.

Even more so, our dear “gurus” in Singapore should really think twice and thrice before they start praising a new social site that comes along. The technology is meaningless without real values like all its predecessors.

June 29, 2008 | Filed Under Social Networking, Web 2.0

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Have bloggers become Social Media abusers?

I owe Monika a big apology for the delay in this article. For a long time, I was stringing my thoughts and also pondering if I should name the culprits. We know how bloggers are getting “powerful” gradually, so much so that they are often engaged for marketing and public relations activities. I believe this is good evidence that bloggers can indeed influence readers to a certain extent.

It is unfortunate that, not every blogger use their blogs for desirable purposes. Hidden under that smiley social composure, we discovered and witnessed bloggers using their blogs to inflict hurt, shame or even insult others. Monika once wrote about these abusers too, and her version was relatively mild. But, her article led me to think beyond just self-promotion.

How will these Social Media abusers impact the scene? Are they helping to lend more credibility to the blogosphere? Will other bloggers follow in their footsteps and unleash hell on others? I am sure it’s hard to imagine if that happens on a larger scale. While it’s easy to say “ignorance is bliss”, does that mean it’s ok to do so?

With advice from other bloggers whom I have discussed the below examples with, I will not name the culprits. I will present you with 3 factual case-studies. Give yourself some time to think through these events, and if you’d like, perhaps you can share with me if you think they fit into the categories of abusive bloggers?

Case 1: An eye for an eye
A landlord and blogger recently had a dispute in Singapore, and if memory served me well, the landlord posted up her phone number in a public forum. In retaliation, the popular blogger posted up the landlord’s number in her blog and actually challenged her readers with a “contest”. It was effective, another blogger took up the challenge and gave the landlord a prank call with a fictitious appointment. Both are abusers in my opinion.

The blogger had since removed her post. No cached copy can be recovered due to a possible script installed. Are bloggers exploiting these tools for self-beneficial purposes?

Case 2: Blogger bites the dust
Recently, senseless bashing and insults seemed to have taken a toll on a quite-highly-regarded blogger. Jakob Lodwick, founder of new music company Normative, has announced his closure of his blog with the post entitled - I’ve Had Enough - due to prolonged verbal attacks in his blog. His mom has announced her closure of her blog too, unable to accept the kind of abuse inflicted on her son. Which parents can?

Note, this is only one such higher profile blogger. We will never know how many more have left the blogging scene due to such incidents. Hundreds? Thousands? In an environment where it’s supposed to be “social”?

Case 3: Abusive bloggers face libel claims
Unhappy fans of Sheffield United Football Club published their rage in the comments section of an online site. Some comments were deemed to be libelous, such as “reasonably be understood to allege greed, selfishness, untrustworthiness and dishonest behaviour”. The site owner was ordered by the court to reveal the identities of these people who posted defamatory remarks.

This is a good read since British’s law is the foundation behind Singapore’s law. A disclaimer will not be enough to save the site owner, who allowed the comments to remain posted.

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Blogs have become an alternative platform for all of us to write about our interests and displeasure. It is important for us to be tactful with how we present these personal sentiments. Anonymity has also been a big issue with social media “gurus”. No doubt the full identity of a blogger was available in at least 1 of the 3 case-studies above, does this disclosure necessary indicate the integrity and credibility of a blogger?

Over my course of blogging, I came to learn that the art of blogging starts from the heart. If one possesses unkindly intentions, these intentions will eventually surface regardless of the mode of communication. It can be a blog, a forum, or even a social networking site. It’s not about the tool anymore, but the figure who is sitting behind the keyboard.

So, what do you feel? Have the culprits above become Social Media abusers? Hopefully, I will get to read some opinions. I like Monika’s version of Social Media involvement, so do read it.

Related Read:
Is Libel a rising issue for bloggers?
Plastic surgery storm erupts over blogger babe

June 28, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging, Social Media

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