21st Century Public Relations, Business, And Islam

Lowe's Holds Ground With Weak Spin On TLC Ad Pull

2011-12-22T11:58:00.000-08:00

Lowe's stands by its ad pull even as a North Carolina-based interfaith group collects 200,000 signatures expressing concern over the company's action. Lowe's is based in Mooresville, N.C. According to the Charlotte Observer,

On Tuesday morning, Revs. James Leach and Russ Dean, of the Unitarian Universalist Church and Park Road Baptist congregations in Charlotte, drove to Lowe's Mooresville headquarters. They were accompanied by other representatives from the interfaith Mecklenburg Ministries, bearing more than 200,000 signatures from petitioners. The petitions asked Lowe's to apologize and to reinstate its advertising.

But the petition did not achieve the desired outcome, and Lowe's held firm with a weak backpedal attempt after the meeting. Per Entertainment Weekly's "Inside TV" page,

"The decision was absolutely not, despite what's been reported in the media, influenced by any one group," said Lowe's vice president of marketing, Tom Lamb.

He said that the decision to stop advertising on the show had been made before the Florida Family Association emailed Lowe's CEO, Robert Niblock. ...

Lamb told the Observer he was "surprised" that the Christian group was credited with pressuring Lowe's, which made the "routine" decision to pull the ad.

A spokesman says the first spot aired Dec. 4 as part of a bulk buy. (TLC didn't specify which shows the ad would appear in). Within 24 hours, negative feedback about the TLC show had appeared on the company's social media sites, so the decision to pull the ad was made shortly thereafter. "We're surprised at how much happened and how quickly it happened in the context of an advertising decision," Lamb said.

The Hollywood Reporter adds this:

According to the company, the All-American Muslim promo time was part of a bulk ad buy, though they understood the show following Muslim residents of Dearborn, Mich. could be included. He also says the decision to pull the ads was made on Dec. 5 shortly after their social media team identified negative comments on the show that morning.

The company says Lowe's CEO Robert Niblock received the initial email from the FFA later that same afternoon.

Lowe's spokesperson Chris Ahearn says that the company responded to the FFA with a form letter explaining the ads had already been pulled. She also says that decisions to pull commercial spots from shows that are considered controversial are made perhaps 8-10 times a year. The company declined to name other shows it has pulled its advertising from.

I'm not buying the Lowe's spin (and I'm wishing that Mecklenburg reps hadn't bought it either: "'We respect their business decision,' said Dean," states the Observer).

I'd like to see the kinds of comments and the volume the company alleges on its social media channels on Dec. 4 - 5. It's likely less than the 28,000 Facebook comments it received (and even dividing that evenly pro and con, that leaves 14,000), and it's likely less than the 200,000 signatures gathered by Mecklenburg.

That leaves content as the driving factor from that early feedback, if you want to follow their argument. Anti-Islamic rhetoric (such as we saw left unchecked on FB) would be the likely major tone.

Given the numbers as described above, along with the company's actions throughout this brouhaha, I'm left with only one conclusion:

1. Lowe's believes that a financially significant core of its consumer base holds an anti-Muslim view. That demo analysis may or may not be true, but Lowe's is acting as if it is.

2. Lowe's is willing to publicly cater to that constituency to preserve its business at the expense of public image, social corporate responsibility best practices, and a broader consumer base.

And the form letter to FFA? Here's the letter as it appears on FFA's site:

Hello David,

Thank you for contacting Lowe's. We work hard to listen to our customers and respond to their concerns. Lowe's has strict guidelines that govern the placement of our advertising. Our company advertises primarily in national, network prime-time television programs and on a variety of cable outlets. Lowe's constantly reviews advertising buys to make certain they are consistent with its policy guidelines.

While we continue to advertise on various cable networks, including TLC, there are certain programs that do not meet Lowe's advertising guidelines, including the show you brought to our attention. Lowe's will no longer be advertising on that program.

Our goal is to provide the best service, products and shopping environment in the home improvement industry. We appreciate your feedback and will share your comments with our advertising department as they evaluate future advertising opportunities.

If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to call 1-866-900-4650, or email execustservice@lowes.com. You may also contact us by mailing your correspondence to Lowe’s Companies, Mail Code CON8, 1605 Curtis Bridge Rd., Wilkesboro, North Carolina 28697.

Thank you,

Andrew

Lowe’s Executive Support

"Lowe's will no longer be advertising on that program", contrary to their spin, does not send a clear indicator that the ads were already pulled. In fact it lends the impression, though not explicitly stated, that the ads were pulled as a result of the inquiry.

They've also yet to publicly produce their "advertising guidelines," which could go a long way to help clarify their position. That they've yet to do so indicates just how weak their spin is.

Whether caving to FFA or rhetoric on its social media, Lowe's has made a public decision to align with some very intolerant ideology. Which is their choice as a business, but it comes at a high cost to their brand -- and is an ugly insult to American pluralism.

(Also see previous post here).

PR Fail: Pressure Mounts On Lowe's For TLC Ad Pull, updated

2011-12-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

Some excerpts on my take Saturday on the Lowe's debacle as written up for Muslim matters.org:

From a professional public relations perspective, Lowe’s public response indicates a lack of a good crisis communications plan. Without detailing the chinks in their armour — as I have no desire to strengthen their strategy at this stage — that lack of planning does indicate a certain corporate vulnerability. Also noteworthy is the fact that the company succumbed easily to pressure from the Florida group, which indicates some corporate attention to consumer buying power and interests — so continued and increasing pressure should yield results.

The key will be in numbers: the objective will be to show Lowes management that those outraged over the company’s decision far exceed the constituency that called for the ad pull.

Some further thoughts:

Their decision aside, what's been astounding is their PR failure throughout in trying to backpedal and spin their decision.

The inadequate Facebook response -- which comes off as being written by an inexperienced social media intern with no corporate oversight and hastily approved by a lawyer not too happy to be bothered on a weekend -- is an inelegant (notice the typo) way of offering an apology of sorts, while spinning their original cave to pressure. It rallies those who support their position, but does little to indicate a sincere re-evaluation of the ethics behind their choice and shirks any responsibility to pull themselves out of the fray they created:

    It appears that we managed to step into a hotly contested debate with strong views from virtually every angle and perspective – social, political and otherwise – and we’ve managed to make some people very unhappy. We are sincerely sorry. We have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, across our workforce and our customers, and we’re proud of that longstanding commitment.

    Lowe’s has received a significant amount of communication on this program, from every perspective possible. Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lighting rod for many of those views. As a result we did pull our advertising on this program. We believe it is best to respectfully defer to communities, individuals and groups to discuss and consider such issues of importance.

    We strongly support and respect the right of our customers, the community at large, and our employees to have different views. If we have made anyone question that commitment, we apologize.

    Thank you for allowing us to further explain our position.

That they've let their Facebook comments go completely unchecked , allowing some truly repulsive and vulgar comments to appear (even from both camps), flies in the face of their alleged claim of "We have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, across our workforce and our customers."

Most corporations with a sound understanding of social media and community management will reign in the most egregious comments but allow a fairly wide berth. That Lowe's is unwilling or unable to do so -- and in the end, sending a signal that such customers are whom they wish to build their community around -- reveals either Lowe's true colors, its communications ineptitude, or both.

That's a shame, as a real opportunity to build some dialogue went unsupported, letting the most extreme voices control their page and tone (I personally participated on their page late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, and had good, genuine dialogue with some opposition that was respectful and open).

There is some odd logic in the FB response itself. In an email from a Lowe’s representative posted on the Florida group’s page, a Lowe’s rep states "there are certain programs that do not meet Lowe’s advertising guidelines, including the show you brought to our attention."

Without access to those guidelines -- which they've yet to produce -- it’s not possible to verify the "lighting [sic] rod" reason they offer up on Facebook. It also begs the question why they bought the ads in the first place if the show doesn't meet the mysterious "guidelines." A "buy ads now, review show later" doesn't seem to be good business practice.

Which all points to a frantic, ill-conceived scramble to cover up a poor ethical choice. But consumers also have a choice where to shop.

With high-profile influencers such as California Sen. Ted Lieu, Russell Simmons and Kal Penn calling out the company for their decision and mainstream media coverage on the debacle increasing, Lowe's will need to make their next decisions with much better business skill (and hopefully ethics) than they've shown to date.

UPDATE, Friday 12/16. Lowe's continued to opt for the silent option for most of the week - a bewildering choice from a business point of view. Hoping your crisis will just go away is an elementary faux - pas in crisis communications, especially when it's reached this level.

They did kill their Facebook page on Wednesday after 28,000 comments went unchecked. However, by then the damage had been done. As stated above, but better put here by Ed Cone at Bottom Line :

Didn't anyone at Lowe's HQ consider the possibility that the namby-pamby verbiage of the official statement would be shouted down by its own supporters, and that those supporters would, fairly or not, be heard as a de facto voice of the corporation on this matter?

While you need to let your customer online community have its autonomy, never forget that by affiliating with your brand, your online community is an extension of it -- and no business wants to lose control of their brand.

Here, the other long term consequence is that the extreme nature of some of the comments prvided enough impetus for them to be screen grabbed and reposted (AdWeek, Global Bearings , and others) - meaning there is now a permanent record of bigotry and racism linked to the brand.

The only other visible action to date was the deletion of their 'we never stop Tweeting" blurb -- appropriate since they haven't tweeted since Dec. 10.

These measures are bandages late in the game, but could hardly be construed as aggressively getting out in front of a crisis.

I can determine at least 10 personnel listed as having PR positions with Lowe's . So I'm wondering, what did this 10 member PR team do all week? Killing a FB thread and taking out a slogan should not take 10 people three days.

Other PR and marketing folk are taking stock of what I think will be one of the biggest PR corporate failures of the year. Sulemaan Ahmed at the Canadian Marketing Blog sums up the implications nicely:

But the bigger issue for marketers and brands is this - if this can happen to Lowe's could it happen to you? Are you or your agency prepared for this kind of situation? Do you have contingency/engagement/crisis plans in place? If so, are they good enough? If you make decisions, is digital and social media considered as it relates to them? Can you be held hostage to the agenda of a specific interest group? If you were Lowe's what would you have done differently to avoid being caught in the midst of a public relations firestorm? If you make a decision are you prepared to stand by it and not backtrack even when it impacts your reputation/bottom line?

Greg Sargent offers an interesting way out for Lowe's on Washington Post:

the company can say something like: “In light of the news that the Florida Family Association has apparently misled people about whether other companies are boycotting the show, we have decided that we no longer need to honor its objections, and we will resume advertising.”

but it sidesteps the issue of their moral choice to 'honor its objections' in the first place -- which is the core of the whole debacle. Without a forceful , clear apology and turnaround on this point, it will still feel like weak spin. It won't be enough at this stage.

Meanwhile, public pressure and media attention mounts daily and Lowe's remains quiet. I guess they are busy building poor ethical decisions and communications incompetence.

Update, Tuesday, 12/20. As the debacle enters its second week, Lowe's continues its silent treatment. Meanwhile, demonstrations at various Lowe's stores over the weekend made national news on several major outlets. With plenty of newsreel footage of the demonstrations to go with their brand, I'm not sure the 'any publicity is good publicity' concept applies here.

Mainstream media aren't the only ones providing video. Here are some creative takes on the issue:

Updated Lowe's Customer care line spoof
by: measmeil

Spoofs aside, here's something no company wants to see go viral -- a video of a customer returning $2,600.00 worth of merchandise:

See my follow up post here.

Weird, Ugly Toyota Prius Ad: Channeling Zozobra?

2011-09-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Have to agree with Motorward.com's take on the new Toyota Prius ad. Creepy, surreal, and just plan unattractive -- especially, as they point out, the human-butt-as-monster-nose thing (insert any number of bad brown-nosing jokes here).

While I admire the physical skill to contort and cuddle all those humans, it's an idea that falls squarely into he "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should" camp, at least for an ad. I saw the ad run on CNN and had a true WTF moment:

The weird thing if you live in northern New Mexico is how much the figure resembles our very own Zozobra, the iconic autumn Santa Fe paganesque ritual (image linked from the official Zozobra site; all rights theirs. I did not download this image).

It was in fact my first reaction when I saw the ad from a few feet away; resemblance is just too uncanny.

I love my Toyota RAV4, but this ad is a bad idea. Fail.

My Throwdown to Muslim Institutions: The Speed Meet Event

2011-09-08T23:44:00.000-07:00

If you haven't signed up for the Ummah Relations "Muslim Media Points" PR newsletter, please consider doing so. It's been on hiatus over the summer, but I'll be resuming a monthly schedule for it. Hopefully I can ramp it back up to a weekly rate -- which I did at first, but found it too hectic to sustain.

The newsletter is primarily a short white paper designed to help communications staff at Muslim institutions, community centers, NGOs and local masaajid (who may not even have a full-time communications staff) save valuable time in the ever-shortening news cycle by offering context, analysis and starting points to help frame their individual responses.

The idea is to help communications professionals or directors get “jump started” on the PR implications of current issues (think of it as a cup of strategic chai).

I won't post too often content from the newsletter here -- its content is fairly niche and specific to PR and media professionals -- but for this week's version, I'm making an exception, because I want to cast the net a bit wider:

I've been formulating this concept for a while, and I'd like to offer this up as a challenge and see who'll take me up on it (I'll even throw in a small incentive at the end of the post).

I'm proposing a group or masjid host a Muslim Speed Meet event.

Similar to Speed Networking, the event would pair Muslims with non-Muslims in a timed round-robin series of meetups. Here's some detail from a networking business model:

Speed networking programs generally involve people meeting each other one at a time for a short interval and then moving on to the next person in line. They are fairly structured in the way people queue up to meet. For example, one variation is to have two concentric circles of people. The individuals sit across from one another and after the set time period--generally one or two minutes--the outside circle of people gets up and moves in one direction around the circle until everyone has met.

The one key to making this a success for Muslim groups will be an inviolate ground rule that religion is not to be discussed. The objective here is to get to know one another as people first.

Other pointers to consider:

1) Most Muslim groups will naturally want to keep this gender specific, at least initially. Divide the evening into gender times, or have a separate men's and women's night.

2) Start small by enlisting the cooperation of one of your stronger interfaith partners to tap their constituents to participate. If the event is successful, then expand the call to the public at large.

3) In any case, neutral ground ( i.e., not at the masjid) may be preferable. It will make non - Muslims feel more comfortable as well as sending the signal that we're willing and eager to be part of the community and step outside of our own enclave.

4) Make sure to invite the press, but document the event yourselves.

So here's the throwdown: For the first group or masjid that lets me know they'll take this on, I'll help with promotion, press, organization, etc and will waive the regular consulting or project fees (less any travel expenses/per diem and event costs) if you want me there in person). If you factor usual consulting rates for media outreach and event planning, that's quite a substantial savings.

OK - so where in the ummah is a group bold enough, open enough and ready to really step up to the plate? Looking for some forward -looking brothers and sisters.

Who's on?

Assessing American Perception of Muslims Since Sept. 11

2011-09-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

I've been asked to share perspective on the ten years since Sept. 11, 2001, so I've offered this interview-formatted statement, much of it covering what's been posted here previously.

I'll only add that I hope I can offer a very different answer ten years hence.

I'll be doing a TV interview tomorrow morning for KRQE that will air sometime Sunday.

Also keep an eye out for my interview next week on MuslimMatters.org with Wajahat Ali on the work he did for Center for American Progess's report tracing the funding and key players in America's Islamophobia network. I'll have my own take, too.

Taking A Dictator's Wife Out For A Spin: Asma al-Assad and Vogue

2011-02-28T09:46:00.000-08:00

At least three pieces are out on the blogosphere putting heat on Vogue for its profile of Syrian 1st lady Asma al-Assad: ForeignPolicy.com chimes in, and there's a great take by Rahat Kurd on Wajahat Ali's Goatmilk blog. Over at the Atlantic, Max Fisher does a good de-spinning and tries to hold Vogue senior editor Chris Knutsen's feet to the fire.

As an ex-web journo and editor turned PR person, this raises a number of disturbing questions on the professional front, including the level of journalism in the article itself; the ethical decision to run it; and the PR-client relationship.

It's not clear --- but I'm trying to confirm -- whether the Syrian first family retains an external PR firm or just has an excellent in-house staff. I'd also be curious if Vogue dreamed up this idea on their own or they were pitched. I suspect the latter, considering the other Asma-as-fashionista pieces pointed out in Kurd's piece -- notably the dedicated slideshow on Huffington Post and a little glam poll on inrumor.com.

She was also named by French Fashion magazine Elle in 2008 as the most stylish woman of state ("les femmes d'état"), which in turn spawned a number of press pieces. PR people would have certainly capitalized on the Elle pronouncement(and perhaps pitched their client to Elle to be in the running in the first place). The post-Elle article that ran in the U.K.'s Sunday Times, "The London girl with a plan to save Syria," has a very similar tone and feel to the Vogue piece, right down to the cozy Christmas angle that Fisher brings out in his Vogue breakdown. That similarity in articles two years apart points to a consistent, long-term messaging and talking points strategy.

It all smacks of expert high-end PR prep and handling (and an all-too-compliant level of journalism),leaving PR practitioners in the bifurcated state of admiring the craft of a well-executed strategy and condemning the ethics of taking on families responsible for dictatorial regimes as clients.

When journos or editors migrate to the PR field, the switch is often jokingly referred to by both camps as "going over to the dark side." The Assad study is a good case in point.

Of course, Vogue may have to engage in a little damage control of its own, but I guess the Assads can recommend a good firm.

On Security And Journalism: An Interview With Robert Young Pelton

2011-02-27T00:19:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was triangulated by three assault rifle (Steyr AUG if I recall correctly)-wielding border guards in the middle of the night on the Austro-Hungarian border, I've had an interest around personal security scenarios, so seeing reports of journalists being attacked in Cairo during the Egyptian uprising raised some questions. The incidents concerning CBS reporter Lara Logan and CNN's Anderson Cooper are two of the more visible "star reporter" stories, but remember there are hundreds of other journalists estimated to have been roughed up and/or detained.

To get some perspective on security concerns for journalists, I tracked down Robert Young Pelton, a documentary filmmaker and enterprise journalist who's built a remarkable career almost exclusively on high-risk reportage from dangerous places. Pelton was kind enough to answer some questions and share his take via email. I won't disclose his exact current location, but he did go on record that he is working for a news web site that focuses on Somalia and piracy, http://somaliareport.com/.

Here's our complete Q and A:

MSD: Cooper getting punched in the streets of Cairo didn't seem like a very safe way to do journalism. Do you know what kind of security resources large news organizations such as CNN etc. provide at the ground level for their staff?

RYP: Security starts with how you enter the country, the hotel you stay in and the type of coverage you provide. The bigger profile you create, the more likely you are going to be targeted. The era of special privilege or exceptions for high profile/remote anchor journalism is long over. I don't think the major nets were predicting the direct targeting of their people but took appropriate action.

It was very clear that Mubarak felt that the unrest was due to instigators using the internet, texts and foreign media. The coordinated, government-directed attacks on Western journalists is something we have seem many times before in Latin American, Russia and even America but not on the American "stars." Unfortunately, American news relies on "celebrity" journalism and in order to get ratings feels they must have a very visible person on camera. Therefore they become the targets.

Is that a smart way to report on a story? No, because their very timid security rules result in reduced coverage or more restrictions for other journalists.

Most major news networks have insurance which requires a provider of personal security. British firms run by former SAS (Special Air Service, a special forces regiment of the British Army) are the most popular: Pilgrims Group, AKE and others provide single men who are supposed to balance the demands of security vs aggressive journalism. For example, when I worked for 60 Minutes in Iraq I was assigned Brian Tilley, a former SBS (Special Boat Service) member who I had met in Sierra Leone. His job was to watch my back, maintain situational awareness while I was working and make decisions during violent encounters. Tilley was later killed in Iraq.

Large news organizations also provide drivers, cars (some armored) and communications systems, but only in direct proportion to the salaries and visibility of their contract personnel.

MSD: What kind of services should news organizations deploy, and how would one go about obtaining them?

RYP: Although we see the well known faces on the screen, the best journalism is done using local sources run by local producers who are paid much less, deliver much better information and can be coordinated to check the validity of information. These days, technology allows normal people to become better reporters than many of their better paid anchors.

The recent protest coverage provides visually interesting footage -- the appearance of "bang bang" and human dynamics. The dangers are much different. Some of these sources have some protection, but very rarely. If a stringer produces a piece, he or she must live there and deal with the consequences long after the celebrity crew departs. As companies like CNN brag about their "IReporters," they neglect to provide any protection, security or guarantees and in many cases not even any payment for usage.

Even the people being interviewed on the street as content for the news organizations in the recent protests risk arrest, jail and brutality. With shrinking budgets and reduced international coverage, we are seeing the end of the celebrity journalist as the "news gatherer."

MSD: What would be your ideal security detail for a news street team such as in the Cooper scenario? How many, function of each, tactical suggestions for moving about?

RYP: I wouldn't put a celebrity journo on the streets with a crew. I would have dozens of locals coordinating with me and then when a critical event occurred, I would use a small camera, wireless transmission and generic appearance. Security would be from local security who understand the dynamics and subtlety of the situation.

MSD: For independent local bloggers who are participating in events, what are some tips to protect themselves on the street from getting picked up -- and, if they are detained, what are some safe tactics to engage with your detainors?

RYP: Bloggers need to understand how security forces can track them down via the internet, IPs and monitored communications. Although it's nice to be "known," a few weeks later they usually find themselves the direct target of local security. Skype is the best tool where available and having someone operate the blog in a safe country under an alias is important.

MSD: Getting in and getting there: reports from Bahrain were that journalists were being denied entry when they got to the airport. Any strategies around this?

RYP: Go as a tourist or better yet hire a local. Best advice is to get in BEFORE the event occurs.

MSD: Anything else you want to add? Your take or experiences of similar situations?

RYP: Safety and good enterprise journalism are diametrically opposed. :)

***

In a follow-up e-mail, Pelton felt that both Logan and Cooper would have had a security person. I have made an inquiry to CNN to confirm, and will be making a similar inquiry to CBS soon.

Social Media, Revolutions, Ties (And Nine Cross-Disciplines To Think About)

2011-02-26T17:43:00.000-08:00

Although I'm both a social media geek and a Muslim concerned with developments in the Middle East, I've actively resisted writing about the role of social media in the Arab push for democracy because there's plenty o' punditry on that front to go around.

However, some articles that seek to dismiss social media's role in events -- most notably Malcom Gladwell's two pieces (first in October and then a sniffy defense in early February) and Devin Caldeway's piece on TechCrunch -- display an incredible lack of understanding of the user behavior behind how social media is used.

I am a moderate on this debate. While I agree that social media in and of itself will not automagically win a revolution, it's crucial to understand its real role -- and hence its immense value and importance -- here as well.

MG's arguments are well refuted by many. Among those responses are Jessica Lipnack and her follow-up ; David Weinberger in two detailed deconstructions of MG's flawed argument, here and here; and Matthew Ingram's contextual rejoinder.

Greg Satell provides the best theoretical basis for why the detractors arguments fail, exposing via social network theory the real function of network behavior. Satell's other posts are equally important: he's one of the few social media thinkers out there who understand the crucial difference between social media and social networks. Gladwell and Caldeway could learn a thing or two from Satell's work and stop pretending to know about social media.

I've written before on what journalists need to be doing to prepare for 2.0, but it applies to anyone who wants to wrap their head around social media: to truly understand it, you need to be familiar with 1) sociology, 2) epistemology, 3) diktyology (network theory), and particularly its subset of 4] social network theory) and 5) semiotics. Four years later, I'll add 6) psychology, 7) heuristics, 8) behavioral studies and 9) problem-solving theory to that list.

As Satell correctly points out in his article, Gladwell's thesis -- that "high -risk" social activism requires deep roots and strong ties, and that social media is a "weak-tie" phenomenon -- is based from the outset on an erroneous misunderstanding of the "tie" concept. Further flaws in the thesis are: 1) there's no definition as to what constitutes a deep root or a strong tie (using "family" as an example doesn't tell me what you think the required elements are that make up a strong tie of any type or form); 2) a failure to prove that social media ties inherently can't be strong ones (assuming you accept the premise); and 3) a failure to consider the degree of human motivation to achieve an end.

Each in their own way, detractors and many unabashed worshippers of social media alike tend to conflate content, platform, tool and method. The result is they ascribe functionality to social media that it doesn't actually possess while at the same time not grasping the importance of its real role.

Social media, like other communications structures, is no more (but also no less) than an information distribution method used in the process of meeting needs. Whether its porn or a movie schedule or looking up a recipe or researching new tires, people seek out the information contained in media to solve a problem or meet a need.That in turn means you have to examine the entire arena of user behavior, motivation, problem-solving, etc. (see the cross disciplinary list above). What people do -- and how and with what they'll do it -- to meet a need is important in understanding social media.

But what makes social media -- in conjunction with some of the tools used to disperse it such as smartphones -- so unique and immensely valuable is its ability to be 1) real-time, 2) multi-directional (many-to-many, many-to-one, and one-to-many) and 3) geographically independent and mobile. There has never before been a communicative structure that has all three qualities simultaneously.

Even with its unique and game-changing functionality, at the end of the day, social media remains at its core strictly an information carrier. Social media by itself cannot increase either participation or motivation, a point both Gladwell in his first piece and those he derides seem to miss. It can only -- but it will -- make those actions faster, easier, more efficient. There are also numerous levels of participation and action, depending on any given individual's circumstance and reaction to that content - a subtlety missed in Gladwell's post.

The true driver of motivation, participation or action is the value and importance of the content itself that's being disseminated, the degree to which it solves my need or problem. The content can be anything: an inspirational essay or post; a video that graphically hits home; a time and place for a meetup. If the information embedded in the content resonates enough with me to meet a need, then I'm in.

This is why I don't buy into the "tie" analogy. Unless you assign the degree to which content meets a need as a component of what constitutes a strong tie -- a point I havent seen made -- then it doesn't matter how you classify those ties. "High Risk" activism hinges on content, not ties. Egypt showed that it doesn't matter how distant or diffuse your ties are; high-value content carried across those connections is the real determinant, not its geographic or social proximity. You didn't have to be related or personally know Wael Ghonim to be inspired go to Tahrir Square.

Also often overlooked is the critical link between social media functionality and the content it carries: that content can be easily added to, expanded and improved upon -- increasing its resonant value -- and then reinjected into the social media stream where it can be further amended. That's a valid level of contribution and "participation" and shouldn't be discounted in the overall mix. When you add increasing quality content into a real-time, multi-directional, geo-independent distribution structure, you're on to something very powerful indeed.

In other words, Twitter and Facebook didn't make Egyptians go into the streets; the importance of what they read and learned via those platforms did. But social media allowed them to further disseminate and/or add to that content to many others in real time, no matter the location of recipient or sender, and to act on that information imparted in the exchange.

It does take both, but the combination of content and its modern carrier will continue to impact and change the way history plays out.

On Egypt, Foreign Policy and Islamophobia

2011-02-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

I have been fairly entrenched in the Twittersphere the past two weeks regarding events in Egypt, which culminated Friday with Mubarak's resignation.

Tears of joy didn't stop that day when the news came down.

When one sees so much hatred and self destruction around the world, moments like this restore my faith, love and hope for humanity as a whole - but more than that, God truly loves and supports His creation on that day.

"Verily, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves."(13:11)

And this was done with such grace and restraint on the part of the protestors, without invasions or outside intervention.

"Do not let your hatred of a people incite you to aggression." 5:2.

Three days later, I am still unspeakably humbled to be alive and part of creation. Humanity proved itself worthy of God's gifts, fulfilled the duties of being God's representative.

Lessons Learned For U.S. Foreign Policy

While I have immense respect and admiration for President Obama, one can only describe the U.S. foreign policy steps and the State Department as incoherent at best. From Biden saying Mubarak wasn't a dictator, to secretary of State Clinton claiming Egypt was "stable", to appointing Egypt regime lobbyist Wisner as special envoy, it was a foreign policy amateur hour. Clearly, the U.S. needs to get its in-house communications in order, and some better foreign policy analysis and intelligence wouldn't hurt either: many bipartisan groups and think tanks saw this coming.

Of course, this isn't all on Obama: the current White house administration has certainly inherited a long-standing U.S. foreign policy tradition
of selling out its democratic values in exchange for perceived foreign interests. I love America, but this perpetual habit saddens me. It ultimately shows, at least publicly, a lack of integrity, a betrayal of the very ideals that thousands of Egyptians in Tahrir Square fought for. As the U.S. waffled and hedged on propping up Mubarak for its own strategic safeguarding, truer champions of democracy were risking their lives in Cairo. In those moments, they upheld the American ideal for democracy and pluralism far better than the American government did. And that should be OK -- America does not hold a patent or copyright or monopoly on democracy, though it wants to -- but I do find it slightly ironic.

I get that there are numerous factors, interests and players in the region to balance, but a stronger, earlier position in favor of the democracy movement would have a) been the morally correct thing to do and b) would have been a small but significant step in improving how the U.S. is often seen at the grassroots level in the Arab world. I think that's a much better tradeoff.

As ifikra tweeted on Feb 3rd: "Dear US government: We don't hate you because we hate your freedom; we hate you because you hate our freedom." I don't believe that's a singularly held view, so demonstrable actions the U.S. can take to change that perception can only benefit the U.S. vis-a-vis long-term security and the remainder of its international standing.

But whatever side the U.S. chose to take on Egypt, it ultimately didn't matter: The Egyptian uprising took place and had its outcome without large-scale U.S. intervention. That's a good thing, though it may make some State Department staffers scratch their heads and/or wax nostalgic to see that America's days of influence are over. But they are, and that in turn necessitates some fundamental paradigm-shifting in U.S. foreign policy approach.

What should the U.S do now? Support democratic movements from a distance, without intervention. Learn to let go. Retire, at least somewhat, from the world's stage. Allow others their destiny and let nations become allies -- no more or less -- rather than embroiled, co-dependent clients.

Inherent in the idea of democracy is the right to self-determination, something the US doesn't ever grasp. A democratic foreign government doesn't mean it must be pro U.S. or a U.S. puppet, which is a concept rather hard for the U.S. to live with -- but given the emerging force of will for democracy by others around the world, it will have to.

Islamophobes, Take Heed

While the Egypt revolution was never about Islam, Islamophobes were hoping it was, and are still looking for ways to inject an Islamo-terrorist boogeyman scenario into the mix. But events, accounts and images from Egypt should help to dispel the stereotyped image of the violent, intolerant, democracy-hating "Muslim world." That said, some of the extreme Islamophobes who have built a profitable career from fear-mongering (*COUGH* long-term strategy also used by Mubarak) may have too many dollars riding on their Brand O' Fear to be dissuaded by 80 million Egyptians of different faiths working together, so no doubt their arguments will become more ~~inane, alarmist, and logic/fact-free~~ desperate.

But we'll be watching the chatter, just as the world watched truth and principle win out in Egypt Friday; and I love E.J. Dionne on NPR last Friday citing his colleague Stephen Grand that we view 2/11 as a bookend to 9/11:

After 9/11, we were so inclined to see the Arab and Muslim world in light of a terrible terrorist event or a set of terrorist events. From now on, we can see the Arab/Muslim world through the eyes of brave democrats who fought for liberty.

The wave of democratic impulse seems to be spreading to other countries. May they also emerge peacefully as self-empowered true nations.

Mubarak's Muddled Media Plan

2011-02-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

A lot of good analysis on the Egyptian crisis is out. My favorite reads are some great recent articles by Haroon Moghul at Religion Dispatches, and by Shadi Hamid ; Brian Katulis also offers up a strong analysis.

Disappointed in U.S. response from the beginning of the crisis. The long-standing U.S. practice of selling out democratic values in exchange for foreign policy (read: economic) interests clearly is now catching up with the US, putting them in an untenable public squeeze. Personally, it's disheartening to witness this country's lack of integrity regarding democratic ideals.

Given the mood and resolve on the street, my fear is the longer Mubarak stays, the longer, the more tense and unstable any transition process will become, as various factions seek to exploit the post-demonstration economic fallout and sociopolitical vacuum on top of the existing conditions that gave rise to the unrest. Mubarak needs to go, and as soon as possible.

Media coverage has generally been good, with CNN ground reporters and (particularly their tweets) providing excellent and compelling street detail. I've been less impressed with CNN anchors, who still raise the "radical Islam" boogieman/ratings driver even after all their guest experts and analysts have continuously and consistently across the board put that scenario in its proper perspective. Al Jazeera English becomes my principal MSM outlet of choice, offering live streaming video, and online stalwarts Enduring America offers their usual excellent live blog and aggregation.

CNN was also quite behind the curve (or else just reluctant) in collating and surfacing the numerous eyewitness accounts and reports of the plainclothes police involvement in the pro-Mubarak "supporters" today.

The sudden appearance of thugs-as-demonstrators after a previous invisibility seemed suspicious at the outset, showing more organization (well supplied and deployed, some groups arriving in buses). I wonder -- not positing, just curious -- if the US had prior wind of such a development, when the US urged all non-essential personnel to leave and Marines moved to secure the U.S. Embassy.

Events unfolding throughout the night and into the day -- police ID cards discovered among those faction members, accounts on Twitter that people were in fact paid and/or "requested" by their employers to join pro-government groups, selective coverage/spin on state TV, the targeting of foreign journalists, and the apparent restoration of Internet service -- all point to a poorly coordinated media attempt by the Mubarak regime.

Its hard to say who the target audience was for this effort. The selective coverage and spin on State TV-- pointing the finger at the Muslim Brotherhood for the Molotov cocktails, the denial of government involvement in the pro-Mubarak groups -- clearly was designed to impart the message to Egyptians that only Mubarak could provide stability. The targeting of foreign journalists could also be viewed as part of that staging and/or an actual attempt to impede world coverage. As incredulous and naive as that may seem, Mubarak's two recent speeches since the crisis reveal a surreal stubborn disconnect from the realities and wishes of the anti-government demonstrators. Regardless of the intent, it's no coincidence that the roughing up of journalists and escalating violence directly coincides with the release of the pro-Mubarak "supporters."

It's also no coincidence (and no less clear) that the internet was restored today as well. If the regime hoped to extend its spin to the outside world, it clearly didn't understand the scope and predominant sentiment of SM activity on the ground (and would be counter to the journalist rough-ups). There is also, to my knowledge and Twitter monitoring, no pro-Mubarak Twitter chats (save for one attempt at organizing a meeting). It appears the regime opened the internet without its own plan to capitalize on it.

As the situation deteriorates at this hour, the military needs to commit to their conscience. Are they with the people, or not?

I continue to pray, watch, and support as best I can.

Fine-Tuning Your Global Social Media Implementation

2011-01-21T16:29:00.000-08:00

As I wrote earlier on using social media for your business, effective use of social media involves analyzing 1) what consumer needs are trying to be met through social media and 2) what platforms are they using in that process. This approach focuses on the consumer first, allowing you to keep in mind that social media is not a strategy in and of itself: it's one of the many tools of your overall marketing mix.

Businesses of course reach out to traditional media outlets at a local level for advertising and exposure, but often don't view social media use with the same kind of detail. If you're reaching out to global markets, then it's important to identify the most applicable platforms and social networks for your target market and implement your campaign accordingly.

Taking India as an example, here are some important trends to keep in mind:

According to a report by Analysys Mason and detailed by this Tech Eye article, most people in India will have their first social networking experience on their mobile phone. The report projects that the number of mobile social network users in India is expected to reach around 72 million by 2014. This in turn offers potential for such social networks as Foursquare, also gaining traction in India, according to Forbes.. As Foursquare itself reconfigures to be more global firendly, powerful marketing opportunities are possible.

Depending upon your service or business, you may need to go deeper: the race to be the dominant mobile operating system in India is highly competitive. That said, and with no implied endorsement. Android is gaining ascendancy, but more interestingly, Google seems very keen in establishing a long-term presence at the ground level in India, according to this Wall Street Journal article. That might be worth noting if your business involves long term presence and/or specific mobile apps.

Knowing that India is going mobile isn't quite enough, however -- we still don't know who's going there or what they like to do. There are some studies and resources that shed some light, such as this report by Nielsen . According to their research, Indian males ages 15-24 are twice as likely as their female counterparts to use text messaging and four times more likely to use picture messaging.

You also have to look at what are the most prevalent platforms in your projected market. As this beyondbrics article notes, Facebook is beating out Orkut in India (it also notes the rise of LinkedIn and DesiMartini), though Orkut still has 14.6 of the social media segment in India, so you may not want to ignore it completely.

Another analysis of social network use across the globe can be found on Vincenzo Cosenza's blog , and the Global Web Index offers some free preliminary global social network data for user behavior (more stats can be purchased, according to the site).

Your business's social media component is no less deserving of the same kind of attention and detail you would apply to the rest of your marketing research. It's worth the time to take a granular, detailed approach to your social media efforts!

This post also appears on Benefit Point, a new business blog synergising business and brand for sustainable businesses.

QR Codes and Kufic Script?

2010-12-15T09:47:00.000-08:00

Quick foot note to yesterday's post on QR codes: I'm struck by a visual similarity between QR codes and certain forms of Arabic calligraphy using the Kufic style, in particular the square Kufic designs:

Not sure what cutting-edge digital possibilities are there or would even be halal, but it's an interesting visual comparison, at least.

Networking 2.0: QR code ideas for business, journalism and PR

2010-12-14T10:09:00.000-08:00

When it was time for business cards for Ummah Relations, I decided to up the game and get ready for networking 2.0.

If you don't know what that funny box is on the left hand side, it's a QR code, a scannable image that can contain a URL, contact information, product discounts, or just about anything. Its more common application is to transfer a variety of information to your smartphone for use on the mobile web (so keep in mind that whatever you're encoding should be mobile-friendly).

While some decry it as a "solution looking for a problem," the creative possiblities seem endless. The format has been popular in Japan, although one blog article from last year reported QR codes on the visible wane on advertisements, billboards, etc. As commentors indicated, this may have to do with some of the particularities unique to Japan, rather than a wholesale dismissal of the concept.

I made a two-sided card, with the front's QR card containing the firm's contact info

in a VCard format so you can scan it and automatically add it to your phone's contact list (go ahead, scan the larger version on the left if you need to get a hold of me).

On the back, I embedded four QR codes: one for you to follow our Facebook page; links to our Twitter and Linked In; and, since YouTube is pretty mobile friendly, a link to our company's introductory video.

It's not about riding the latest fad or trend. While QR codes on business cards may still be something of an attention-getter, the true value is in being able to offer information and details instaneously at the right moment. If someone's interested enough to ask you for your contact info, you can ensure via a QR code that they can record those details almost instantly -- or, you can give them a regular business card and hope they're not too tired at the end of a 3 day conference to remember where they stashed it. If you sense they're just being polite, or you want to take the initiative and offer a card, you may have to downplay the bells and whistles and just casually point it out. Dont get caught in the buzz of the new and appear geeky and overeager; play it cool. As with anything, it's just a tool, no more, no less.

You can also store the QR codes as a photo album on your phone and just pull up the corresponding one if someone needs to scan it. This could be a handy way to share newer or evolving content, without having to redo your business cards.

Whether you're doing PR, journalism, or social media for business, a common element in all of these is the dissemination of useful content to your target audience -- and using QR codes can be a valuable technique.

If you're holding a press conference, for example, you can embed the QR code with a URL that houses the full text of the press release, additional photos or materials, etc. As more and more journalists use smartphones in the field and integrate with their outlet's web division, this is a quick way for them to grab and store information and pass it on while in the field to their online editor. Otherwise, they have to wait for a fax or an email with an attached word doc., or worse yet, deal with a printed version and wait to they get back to the newsroom and give it to their online manager.

If you're making a presentation at a conference, you can embed a QR code with a URL where attendees can download powerpoints, etc., since Powerpoints and PDFs are becoming increasingly viable on smartphones.

How to do it?

There are several sites that offer QR code generating, some for free. Google "QR codes" or "QR generator" and you'll find a lot of resources. I personally used QR Stuff.com for some added flexibility in formats and archiving.

If you're using QR codes, how? Let me know!

Ummah Relations rolls out; PR people as mythical creatures

2010-12-04T21:07:00.000-08:00

Ummah Relations,The PR/training firm I'm launching to help Muslim-media relations, did a large scale rollout this week.

For the rollout, I did a company introductory video (embedded below), and included the audio of a speech, "Your Other Ummah: Lead By Deed," based on a previous blog entry here. Response has been pretty good so far, with a couple of media interviews scheduled for next week about the project.

I had met with the Muslim Student Association earlier in the week, and a reporter happened to be there, doing a story on the group. The story ran here. While the tenor of the article is that MSA kids are just like any other group of students on campus, a few commenters found that approach to be patronizing.

(I was quoted briefly in the piece and was delighted to be endowed with unusual superhuman powers enabling me to transform into mythical creatures)!

Next up: I'm preparing a white paper, along with a colleague, on basic proactive strategies that immigrant and Muslim communities can adopt when a national news event may affect their community.

Beautiful Video: The Life of This World

2010-11-14T23:26:00.000-08:00

Wonderfully done video, deserving of much wider circulation than it's getting. Great to share with interfaith initiatives and Christian friends. Pass this along!

Remembering Our Veterans

2010-11-11T09:18:00.000-08:00

As an American, I salute and support the men and women who have served and sacrificed for this country. I offer my deepest respect and thanks for those who put themselves daily in harm's way to uphold the Founding Father's ideals of tolerance, equality and pluralism.

As a Muslim on this day, I especially want to salute the over 20,000 Muslims (according to the "Crescents and Crosses" article mentioned below, who cites the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veteran Affairs Council for the figure; some other sources cite a range between just under 4,000 to about 12,000) serving in the U. S. military. Each of you, brothers and sisters, set a shining example in the current climate that the deepest, truest values of this country and our faith share a strong , compatible resonance, despite what "extremists" in both the American right or in Islam attempt to portray and perpetrate.

Some links:

Crescents Among The Crosses although two years old, this is still a great, moving post by Shahed Amanullah on Muslims who have died in service for America.

The American Muslim great blog and site by Robert Salaam, a military veteran and Muslim convert.

American Muslim Armed Forces and Veteran Affairs Council last updated in April.

Muslim Military Members "An organization providing information, communication, and coordination for Muslims in the US Armed Forces," per their web site. Also not updated since last year, at least publicly (there may be portions of the site accessible via verification of military status).

Muslims For A Safe America interesting advocacy group that "encourages honest and informed discussion about how to make Muslims and America safer." They put the range of Muslims in the U.S. military between 5,000 and 20 000.

Know of others? Share them here.

Ali Abunimah in Albuquerque

2010-11-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

Great, well-attended speech last night by Ali Abunimah on the context and a way out of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict , based in part on his book, One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse (he had sold out of copies by the time the lecture was done; hope it's on Kindle soon).

Abunimah (also founder of Electronic Intifidah) laid out his case in a clear, well-intoned articulate voice, framing his points squarely within the context of international law and universal human rights. He stressed a governance that includes egalitarian treatment for all the population: "Israeli Jews will be the beneficiaries of this as well," he said.

Abunimah advocates a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) technique to apply pressure against what he said was an increasing entrenchment of apartheid policy into Israeli law. He cited the effectiveness of a BDS-type approach in South Africa, and also mentioned South Africa and Ireland as possible models he's researched for governance of a single state with a bilateral population.

The run-up to the talk was marked by some very public flap in town, well documented on Abunimah's blog. While acknowledging the flap, he didn't dwell on it: "This issue isn't about me," he said.

While he had impassioned moments, the overall tone had the calm, clear logical intensity befitting the the seriousness of the topic, and stayed clear of over-the-top rhetoric and delivery.

He was also pretty web savvy, live streaming the event to his web site and Tweeting up to the start of the speech. His earlier speech at Stanford is up on you Tube and last night's was also videotaped; we'll see if that makes it to the web as well.

Essential Reading - Ahmed's "Journey Into America"

2010-10-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

I earlier previewed Ambassador Akbar Ahmed's book entitled "Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam," where Dr. Ahmed and his team of anthropology students visited 100 mosques, churches, and other institutions and thinkers across America, chronicling the issues of identity, integration and cohesion for Muslims in America.

After finishing the book this week, I've come to the conclusion it's essential reading: every American, Muslim or not, should read this book, even if you're not interested in Muslims.

The strength of the book comes from Ahmed's considerable analysis of the evolution of American cultural identities (primordial, pluralist,predator), quite apart from how they might intersect with Muslim identification. For that analysis alone, even Americans uninterested in the Muslim dialogue would gain some insight from Ahmed's historical overview of American identity.

He identifies three Muslim strands as well (mystic, modernist, and literalist), and the stories of how these mesh or collide with American identities forms the bulk of the book ( one interesting intersection he surfaces throughout is how much America's Founding Fathers respected Islam and Islamic thought's compatibility with those early ideals). He draws some eloquent conclusions and recommendations at the end, dishing out plenty of responsibility on all sides.

Among the key takeaways for me is his exploration of the history of the African -American Muslim community and its relative ease of integration with the rest of America.

This is an important aspect of American Islam that must be surfaced. I don't see a lot of the current "Islamophobia" directed at this segment, which reinforces my belief that current fears aren't based so much on theology but borne of a wound incurred on Sept. 11 that simply hasn't healed: Middle Easterners or South Asians are "Islamophobe" targets because they "look like", at a subliminal level, the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks.

I'm also curious as to why the African-American Muslim community is relatively silent in the current media focus. They are neither sought out by the public media efforts for their view, nor do they seem to be offering their availability. As one of the best examples of American Muslim integration, their presence needs to be more visible in the current public dialogue, both as voice and as community role models for the rest of the ummah.

One aspect of American Muslim identity that wasn't examined in the book -- and perhaps there's more here than could comfortably fall in the project's current scope -- is the undercurrent of younger American Muslim thought, creativity and identity starting to emerge, diverse in their own right, evidenced by such figures as the Canadian couple behind the Philosufi blog ; Hijabman; the Creative Muslims group; and most notably, Michael Muhammed Knight's work and the subsequent Taqwacore movement it inadvertently spawned.

These fresh voices trying to carve out a 21st century Western Muslim identity deserve a closer look, in my view: however unorthodox they may appear to mainstream Muslims, the fact that these new voices have emerged at all --- and in the case of taqwacore, found a deep resonance with a sizable segment of young Muslims grappling with their own identity issues -- tells me there's yet more questions and areas to be explored about modern Muslim identity. Perhaps it could be a new aspect that Ahmed and his team could undertake.

Four Principles For Small Businesses Using Social Media

2010-10-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

I've fielded some inquiries lately on social media tips for small businesses, both from small businesses and as part of some online discussions. It's a hard question to answer, because every business, market, audience, and goal is different. However, there are some broader principles you can keep in mind that will stand you in good stead, no matter what type of business you are in.

Whether you're a business doing social media alone or you're using a SM strategist, here are four frames of reference to put you in the right "mindset" that will help you and your strategist be on the same page.

Social media platforms and technologies are evolving at a rapid pace, as are the strategic and tactical possibilities that grow out of them. But because the following concepts are based on behavior, not platform, you can apply them to any future social media development. If you start thinking along these lines regularly, you'll learn to survive social media's fast-paced evolution by evaluating new tools quickly to see how they can work to your advantage.

1) Always approach your social media initiatives with a goal in mind. If you want a Facebook page or a Twitter, do you have an answer if you ask yourself, "Why?" Are you wanting to increase sales? Increase your brand exposure and visibility? Become an expert? Drive traffic to your website? Each of these require a different strategy and tactic, and perhaps a different social media platform (or combination of platforms) for each. Define what you want out of social media before you do it.

2) If I have one mantra in everything PR or SM, it's this: Social media --- or any media for that matter --- is about understanding user behavior to meet needs. Whether its porn or a movie schedule or looking up a recipe or researching new tires, people seek out the information contained in media to solve a problem or meet a need. So: How can you help your target consumer (current or potential) meet that need, and how does that particular consumer like to meet it? (studying behavior patterns for best SM platform choices).

3) One way is to be useful: businesses can offer info, tips or selective retweets about your field or industry in general on their tweets or Facebook page, for example. People will see that as an added value and you become trusted as a helpful source, because you've gone a long way to meet an information need around that product or field. Customers will be more apt to come to you because of that added value and expertise when they're ready to buy.

It's a much better experience for the consumer than if you're just autotweeting latest sales and a store location every day.

4) Engage; listen; be attentive and consistent. Concentrate on building relationships with your consumers. Keep a consistent presence, no matter what the strategy or platform -- no one likes a SM profile that isn't regularly updated.

And don't over worry about how many fans or followers you have; it's not strictly a numbers game, despite how some people like to flaunt their number of fans or followers.

Be genuine, responsive and valuable to the ones you have, and they'll help you grow.

Messaging Throwdown: Ad Week's "Adressing Perception of Islam" Challenge

2010-09-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

Don't know why I missed this at its outset:

Ad Week's image in its throwdown for agencies to change the perception of Islam

The editors at Ad Week issued an interesting throwdown and "challenged over 30 agencies to apply their communications skills to address the issue" of religious intolerance toward Islam and the CI controversy. Sadly --- and this poses an interesting question in its own right --- only five agencies responded. May be just too controversial a topic?

Here are the parameters they set out:

"The brief: change the perceptions of ordinary Americans toward Islam and Muslims, and encourage dialog between those who oppose and support the building of the community center. Participants were free to choose whatever media they felt would be most effective in communicating their ideas."

You can see the results here. .

Some really missed the mark, one had potential, and one was quite on, I thought. What do you think? What would you have done differently?

Would CMT do this? MTV's 'Islam Is Not The Enemy' spot

2010-09-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

Loved that this ran on the MTV video awards the other night:

MTV Shows

A heartfelt kudos to them! But it may be a message playing to a fairly receptive audience.

Here would be a big test of upholding American values of religious tolerance, because its demographic is the one more in need of seeing such a spot message like this than perhaps MTV's:

I challenge Country Music Television to run a similar spot.

Bet they won't.

Thoughts On Eid 2010: Healing And Deeds

2010-09-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

(I apologize for this off-topic post: this doesn't have much to do with social media analysis. Nonetheless, I'm compelled to write. Mashallah).

Throughout this blog I've always held as a central tenet that Muslims need to be known by non-Muslims as simply people and exemplary, engaged citizens first, making our outward 'Muslimness' almost secondary. I'm not advocating denying or hiding our faith or core identity, but rather let our values direct our behavior and deeds.

How humans treat and evaluate each other rests much more on what is done than on what is said (or, if you prefer tired cliches, actions not words). In the nine years since Sept. 11, thousands of press releases have been sent out by Muslim organizations saying "Islam Is A Religion Of Peace", etc. ( what I call "IIAROP" releases), yet clearly anti-Muslim sentiment remains just as high or higher. Why?

Because a demonstrable record of charitable acts by Muslims to others, of sufficient aggregate weight to countervail the impact of the Sept. 11 attacks, has yet to surface and register in the public consciousness.

Let's cut through it: the deep root of Muslim fear and distrust is not a theological debate, though many think it is and engage in dialogues based on scripture-throwing, verse versus verse, trying to rack points over theological minutiae like some kind of card game.

The root of fearing Muslims stems from profound hurt, the universal instinctual reaction of the deeply wounded, the incredibly violated.

It doesn't matter that American Muslims were also violated on that day. It doesn't matter that the attackers abused Islam, cloaking deadly political agendas in the name of religion. It doesn't matter that such groups are a fringe element, numerically speaking.

None of these rational points count, and will ever count, because the cold corollary to this wound -- the reality check that many don't wish to face -- is that all Muslims will continue to be identified at the subliminal, visceral, instinctual level as the source of that trauma, until the real healing begins. And probably for some time after that.

No amount of contextualizing, blogging, talking points, interfaith sessions, group dialogues, IIAROP releases, education, outreach, etc. can ever hope to change this by itself. The identification and association of incident with attacker is far too deep, too rooted, to be merely explained or contextualized away by a cadre of rational responses and arguments. Such actions are a necessary component in the healing process, of course, but rational responses alone will not heal the raw emotional damage in the collective psyche.

Nine years of Muslims primarily pursuing this kind of path, I believe, has proven this, and has gotten us to where we stand today.

We speak of Islam as upholding love, charity, service.

As we speak, so must we do.

As we do, so it may be known, inshallah.

As the gifting season of Eid nears, consider the possibilities of gifting to the entire world a plethora of good deeds, an overwhelming outpouring of generosity and grace to our non-Muslim fellows, a critical mass of every day compassion, one heart a time.

Small deeds, but real activities, simple ones, not just writing checks to charity. Millions of actions, every hour, sincere in niyyah. A sister helping an elderly woman with her groceries. A brother giving a colleague a lift to work because his car broke down. Giving your child's schoolchum a ride home. Taking care of a distraught group of teens from down the street, whose surreptitious party erupted violently out of control.

We do these things not out of pride or vanity or out of an ulterior motive to change perception (that is perhaps the byproduct, the blessing, inshallah, if the niyyah is sincere). We do this because its the right thing to do. Acts of charity, and the larger collective effect of healing the injured, are both in our deen, and it's time that deen is manifested in individual tiny activities, everywhere.

Live the word.

Eid Mubarak.

More PR, Social Media Analysis: The "My Faith, My Voice" PSA Campaign

2010-09-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

Heard that this ran on ABC news Monday night, but I missed it. A little digging brought it to the fore, via NYT and checking my Twitter feeds from Aslan Media:

In many ways, it's a very cool piece, and certainly the fact alone that Muslims are rising forth at a grassroots level to claim their identity and perception is enormously encouraging (and something I've been soapboxing about for some time). I like its ethnic, linguistic and gender diversity (though a few more Caucasians in the mix may have made the message even stronger, if the target audience is a classic right wing profile).

Overall, I greatly applaud this effort. That said, I think this kind of project would benefit from a slightly different or additional/complementary strategy: I believe the faith element, paradoxically, needs to be downplayed.

As I've advocated throughout various posts on this blog, Muslims need to be demonstrably known as caring citizens and good neighbors, a proactive approach, instead of as a group that's on the defensive. While the positivism, pluralism, inclusion and outreach of this message is great, the subtext and semiotic signifier is still a defensive (and therefore, a still slightly divisive) one. One is left with the impression, after seeing the ad, of Muslims who happen to be Americans, rather than Americans who just happen to be Muslims. It's a subtle, but to my mind, very crucial difference that's necessary to work through.

Digging deeper, however, lessened the overall positive experience. Their website, myfaithmyvoice.com, gets kudos for a bold, clear, simple and engaging design. It's brilliantly conceived and executed to convey their general intent. Yet as I explored the site, it became pretty clear that the project is trying to serve two audiences with the same online experience: one, a grassroots effort to collect a wide array of PSAs to air on national and local broadcast markets; and two, "to start a dialogue with Americans of all faiths, by introducing the face of Muslim America" (taken from the info section that appears on each individual clip on the group's YouTube channel ). This outreach is hinted at on their home page and "about us" page as well: "It is a platform for you, me and any one else who wants to reach out and talk directly to America."

But as I migrated to the YouTube channel -- by clicking on the "View PSAs" link -- I was disheartened to hear the same shell script (with a tiny window for individualization) in every individual piece. I shouldn't have been surprised, intellectually: it is correctly billed as a collection of PSAs, and had I clicked on their their upload page first, I would have seen that shell script in their instructions.

The emotional dissonance comes because users are led by several cues (and even some miscues) throughout the site that we're about to know these persons better, that there is a true dialogue waiting, a sense of engagement. But I gave up after three clips, feeling cheated and frustrated. I truly wanted to learn about these individuals; instead, sitting through the exact same shell script robs me of my time and them of some individuality and the opportunity to tell more about themselves in an allotted time span.

A perusal of viewer comments on their channel confirmed I'm not alone in this reaction; the repeated shell script element isn't playing well with a lot of other viewers, either.

It demonstrates a classic case I'm seeing as all kinds of businesses (Muslim initiatives or not) start to mix their PR efforts with social media elements: An inability to match target audience with online user behavior. You can serve different audiences, but you need to know thoroughly the different kinds of experiences each audience is seeking to have online.

There are several strategies I can think of that can easily overcome this dissonance, with minimal technical retooling (though some manhours)and no backpedaling. There's some great possibilities for engagement here if it's played right, and overall it's a basic idea whose time has come.

I don't wish to seem too harsh: I love that this was made and that it's out there. The sincerity and niyyah (intent) is unimpeachable, and it's great to see the community step up and out of its shell. That alone -- that they've been able to inspire Muslims to overcome our tendency for insularity, is a milestone and a landmark achievement in itself.

Open For Business: Ummah Relations Launches

2010-08-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

The consultancy I spoke of a few weeks ago is now official, live, and open for business at ummahrelations.com.

The site is still in its preliminary phases (consider it beta) and will be tweaked and optimized for 2.0 and mobile over the next few days, but as an online descriptor of services offered -- a virtual brochure -- it describes what I'll be doing.

It also has a FB component; please join me there for updates.

If you can use what the firm has to offer, send me some info here. Let's chat, and I hope I can be of service.

Crowdmapping Tool Improves; Warning Stickers For Journalism Articles

2010-08-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of (non-Muslim related) things that I found out about and thought I'd pass on:

(1)The Guardian UK reports that the crowdmapping tool Ushahidi, developed in Kenya about two years ago, is now significantly easier for others to use and implement, since it no longer requires local server installation. Check out the article for an introduction to this important tool.

(2)On a lighter note: from the #journchat session tonight -- my first one, and a great session it was -- Sarah Millar pointed out Tom Scott's brilliant and hilarious warning stickers for journalism articles. Painfully funny stuff!