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There’s an interesting rhetoric going around Australia at the moment. It seems to have been imported from the US and the UK and has been growing in strength over the last decade and a half.

Ever since Reaganomics and Thatcherite values came to fruition, there has been a growing sense within Australia that being poor is …well, kind of your own fault, something you’ve done to yourself and your family and for which you are to be held accountable.

There is also the view that long-term unemployment, including multi-generational unemployment, is also ‘your fault’, proving that you are lazy, apathetic and scrounging off the state. The word "Loser" is not native to Australia — it is a term imported from the US. Twenty years ago we would have used the term "Battler".

Prime Minister Rudd is not the only Australian politician relentlessly and endlessly using the phrase "tax payers’ money" — as if it is only those who pay income tax that deserve consideration in policy decision making.

There seems to be no consideration for the systemic factors that contribute to the ongoing marginalisation of the poor. If you listen to the councillors from these low-income areas, you hear tales of how Government money for civic projects repeatedly goes to the affluent suburbs; the ‘poorer’ suburbs haven’t received significant infrastructure spending in decades. Once, living in a Government-owned Housing Trust home labelled you as ‘poor’ but not a ‘loser’. These days there is a rampant discrimination against those suburbs where Housing Trust homes are prevalent.

Even when the Government sells off great chunks of the land it owns and allows companies like Delphin to develop greenfield suburbs like Golden Grove and Mawson Lakes, no provision is made to specify a certain percentage of cheaper housing be allocated and spread throughout the whole development, so that ‘ghettos’ don’t form.

In case you think that I’m a bleeding heart liberal who wears hair socks and sandals and goes around hugging trees and saying things like "hello clouds, hello sky" like an Australian Basil Fotherington-Thomas, let me assure you that I have a library full of self-development books, tapes, cds and dvds. I strongly believe in the power of education and learning in order to better one’s circumstances in life and to prepare myself for when opportunity knocks.

But I am acutely aware that ‘Luck’ plays a significant part in anyone’s success, too. By current definition, as a full-time doctoral student, were I to receive a stipend from the Government (which I don’t, I’m a self-funding student) I would be living well below the poverty line because of systemic considerations, not my laziness.

Ask any university: one of the biggest challenges they face with their students is that the students are under significant stress because they have to juggle part-time work with full-time study. This impacts on their studies and their learning outputs. The attrition rate amongst undergraduates is worryingly high for a country that believes that university education is a way of preparing for and protecting its future.

I agree that there are truck loads of examples where ample opportunity has been given to the less-fortunate amongst us and they have squandered it. I also know that there is quite probably a much smaller number of ’success’ cases in these circumstances, where the less-fortunate have broken free of the shackles that bind them and have ‘made it’ in the capitalist, market-driven sense.

But to isolate and denigrate the inhabitants of these fiscal ghettos in the language and rhetoric of both public and private culture is to do a terrible disservice to our fellow lovers of this wide brown land of ours.

What has caused me to rant?

My teenage stepson, actually. The other night we were discussing what it means to be a ‘family’ and the values that each of us hold. No, we don’t normally have such interesting discussions — it was one of those freakish moments when everyone was in earshot and felt like contributing. Normally the family works on the ‘I’ll have dinner in my own room with my own tv program choice, thanks’, but this particular evening the question "What’s the meaning of Life?" rang around the dungeon-situated kitchen of BetterComms Towers.

Stunned silence echoed around the walls as we each contemplated our own reply (I was reasoning to myself that replying "42" would be inappropriate as no-one else would know what I was on about).

To our amazement, from the Manacle Room (aka ‘Lounge’) came the mumbled one-word answer from our teenage ‘Boy Genius’:

"Love"

Forget riches, forget fame, forget achievement, forget a house of one’s own, nice cars, a beautiful wife, self-actualisation…

"Love"

From the lips and mind of someone who knows from the inside what excesses of sex, drugs and rock’n'roll can do to a body, dripped wisdom like honey.

We’ve been stunned and in family culture shock ever since.

And so perhaps, rather than us as both citizens and communicators using the rhetoric of the current culture — "tax payers’ money", "loser", inter alia — we begin to think of ways to re-include the systemically marginalised that recognises that perhaps the most important thing in the world is Love — giving it, showing it, respecting it.

What say you?

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Filed under: ethics, politics
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This is a bit of ‘old’ news for the ‘hard core’ Social Mediarists amongst us, but I figured that everyone could have a good laugh at CNN’s expense.

As Gawker points out,

Chez Pazienza, fired from CNN six months ago for his blogging, would “really like to let the subject of my untimely dismissal from CNN go once and for all.”

Instead, he has somehow gotten hold of CNN’s new blogging guidelines [chortle, chortle]. Yes, those guidelines:

“You know, the policy they didn’t have in place when they made the decision to fire me and a few others like me, and the one that I’ve openly criticized them for neglecting to enact and clarify?”

Herewith, for your education and enlightenment, a cutting from CNN’s Social Media policy (in full here):

We’ve gotten a number of questions from CNN staff wanting clarification of CNN policy on communicating publicly about our work, or on news or public affairs — on the internet. In Blogs. In Chatrooms. On video sharing sites. On social networking sites.

Below are some of the typical questions — and our answers. We hope this is helpful to everyone,

After reading — please don’t hesitate to call or email anyone at Standards and Practices if you have further questions. (See contact info below).

MOST IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER:

UNLESS GIVEN PERMISSION BY CNN MANAGEMENT, CNN EMPLOYEES ARE TO AVOID TAKING PUBLIC POSITIONS ON THE ISSUES AND PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS ON WHICH WE REPORT.

The best rule of thumb is, keep in mind whether what you are doing or saying is “in public.” In most cases, what you write online is public or can be made public.

CAN I COMMENT IN A CHAT ROOM?

It depends on what you’re commenting on. A chat room is, of course, a public place. If you identify yourself, or could in any way be identified, then you should not comment on anything CNN reports on. Remember, even though you don’t say who you are, someone else might reveal your identity. AND if you’re discussing things that are in the news, keep in mind you could be seen as representing CNN, and therefore you should not comment on the issues CNN covers.

HOW ABOUT MYSPACE, FACEBOOK OR OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES?

Again, on these sites only write about something CNN would not report on. Don’t list preferences regarding political parties or newsmakers that are the subject of CNN reporting. Local issues that CNN wouldn’t report on would be OK. And of course private communication with friends or family about issues that aren’t in the news is fine. If you are not sure, ask your supervisor or S&P for parameters on posting. (S&P contact info is listed below).

Also keep in mind that you should not be commenting or writing about what goes on in the workplace at CNN without specific approval by CNN senior managers. For example, in some cases there have and will be exceptions made to have some staff get information out to an outside audience on platforms like Twitter about our upcoming coverage plans.

But without those approved exceptions, your workplace activity is proprietary and so you should not be writing on these sites about what goes on behind the scenes here at CNN.

CAN I POST MY WORK ON YOUTUBE, PODCASTS OR OTHER VIDEO SHARING SITES?

You should not post any CNN material online unless it is approved. Likewise, if you make a short video on your own time, if there’s any question about it being something that CNN might air, first ask someone before posting it. And again, if the subject touches on anything you might cover or CNN reports or may report on, you should likely stay away from it. If it is a close call, ask your supervisor or S&P.

HOW ABOUT SECOND LIFE?

CNN’ers are encouraged to visit Second Life, just keep in mind it’s a public place and the same rules (listed above) apply as they would to “real” public life.

CAN I HAVE MY OWN WEBSITE OR BLOG?

Yes. But you should notify your supervisor about it, to have it cleared as a non-conflict for your work. Your supervisor may choose to then have it cleared at another level or by S&P. And again, you shouldn’t post commentary on anything you might cover in your work or CNN may report on, or write about the CNN workplace or post CNN material without permission by a senior CNN manager.

WHAT ABOUT FREELANCE EMPLOYEES AND INTERNS?

Supervisors should make sure freelancers and interns read this policy now — or on their first day going forward — and commit to following it.

In case you missed it: “And again, you shouldn’t post commentary on anything you might cover in your work or CNN may report on, or write about the CNN workplace or post CNN material without permission by a senior CNN manager.” Well, that’s just about everything, then.

You have been warned.

Anyone still want to work for them?

Filed under: PR, Second Life, Second Life & 3D virtual worlds, blogging, podcasting, politics, public speaking, tools, videoblog
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Courtesy of the ever-vigilant Stefan Didak:

"The Pentagon is running an artificial intelligence program to see how people will react to propaganda and to government-inflicted terror. The program is called Sentient World Simulation:

"U.S defense, intel and homeland security officials are constructing a parallel world, on a computer, which the agencies will use to test propaganda messages and military strategies.

Called the Sentient World Simulation, the program uses AI routines based upon the psychological theories of Marty Seligman, among others. (Seligman introduced the theory of ‘learned helplessness’ in the 1960s, after shocking beagles until they cowered, urinating, on the bottom of their cages.)

Yank a country’s water supply. Stage a military coup. SWS will tell you what happens next.

The sim will feature an AR avatar for each person in the real world, based upon data collected about us from government records and the internet."

It’s an old story from mid-2007, but keep an eye out for the smoking man…

More details here.

Filed under: Second Life, Second Life & 3D virtual worlds, ethics, politics, tools
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• Newsgator, the makers of FeedDemon (my favourite rss reader and because it syncs with itself at various places, saving me having to add every single blog and news feed I follow again after my rebuild) are allowing you to follow the Presidential campaign trail in America on your mobile phone. For free. Who said ‘mobiles’ won’t be the platform of 2008/9?
• Corporate Engagement: We still need strategy, we just need it faster. Me ol’ mucker Trevor with one of his usual insightful thought snippets about why Strategy is such an over-used yet lonely word in today’s corporate comms world. Must-read.
• Why Twitter Matters. Can the fledgling microblogging service become a social media powerhouse to rival giants like Facebook — or will it be gobbled up?
• Valleywag lets you know what the viral videos in Weezer’s brilliant video are.
• Metaverse 08: Fiona Gallageher about Sun in Second Life. Sun Microsystems and their experience of using Second Life as a business support platform

Since I sent an email yesterday to a few friends who are interested in online marketing I’ve been inundated by replies about what one of the world’s best copywriters, Dr. Joe Vitale, will be revealing this coming Friday. As I said in the email, I don’t know the full story either, but it could be good (his stuff usually is; his ‘Hypnotic Writing’ book and follow-up ‘Bootcamp’ are in my office bookshelf).

As you can imagine, I’ve been doing everything I can to obtain more information from one of my contacts who does know the full story of what is going on here. Most of the updates are found here. However, I did learn an additional piece of information that I’ve been told must not be published onto any website. Bugger that!

Rumour has it that Joe will be taking his brilliant ‘Hypnotic Marketing’ concepts and integrating them with Web2.0/Social Networking principles. Now THAT should be worth the entrance fee!

And if you don’t know who Dr Joe Vitale is, don’t worry. Someone else who does will get the information ahead of you anyway and learn how to effectively position theirs and their clients’ products and services in this new communication landscape before you have even figured if the Social Media world is relevant to your business.

Filed under: PR, Second Life & 3D virtual worlds, clippings, marketing, micro-blogging, politics, tools
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The most recent fiasco in the long-running saga of the trams in Adelaide (I won’t bore you with the details, save that they are too few and don’t seem to like rain) has brought me to the point of frustration.

There seem to be two issues here: one of ‘Responsibility’ and one of ‘Authority’ (classic management basics, one would think).

It seems that whenever anything out of the expected happens with the tram system some poor bugger gets unwillingly wheeled in front of a microphone to face an angry mob (of journalists).

Unsatisfied with the pat, dull, templated answers, the journos then go on to harangue the Minister for Transport who, like any politician would, ducks and dives and weaves and bobs to avoid looking like an untrustworthy fool (which, as any psychologist will tell you, is a damn near perfect way of actually looking like one).

The solution (apart from having more trams and having more reliable ones) is so blindingly obvious I wonder that no one has thought about it before.

To wit: pay a senior communicator to actually be on the ‘front foot’ with these issues. So that when something happens that affects service or customers in any way that communicator goes straight out to the media as quickly as possible to let them know that something is awry and solutions are being looked at.

First stop would be Matt and Dave on ABC Radio, then to the commercial radio stations, then to the tv stations. Whilst waiting to get onto Matt and Dave the ‘front foot’ communicator would be organising changes to the front page of the Transport website so that commuters and other interested parties can go there and be updated. He/she would also be ensuring that text messages were being sent out to all interested parties that had signed up to be notified about changes to services.

That senior communicator would regularly ‘push’ the work and results of the transport system to the media, rather than waiting for the media to come to them. They would also build up a level of trust with the media (and as a flow-on effect, the public, who take their viewpoints largely from how the media portrays the issue) by being consistent. Thus, if something is broken they admit it is broken, up front, honest, and not look like they are trying to hide behind the Minister’s trouser leg or Mummy’s skirt.

That communicator would be the regular, public face of the department or group; they would have to be honest but over time that honesty would work in their favour because, unlike politicians*, they can be shown to be trustworthy and not snake-like of appearance.

The flow-on goodness of this is that the department’s employees would not feel so embarrassed to say where they work.

Authority
Now, for this to work the communicator would need not just the above ‘responsibility’, but also the ‘authority’ to do the job.

That is, they must, at an absolute minimum, have the following:

• complete, unfettered access to the Minister at all times (”I don’t care if the Minister is in a meeting, he will want to speak with me NOW!”)
• complete, unfettered access to their Chief Executive and the CE’s leadership team at all times (”I don’t care if the CFO is in the loo, she will want to speak with me NOW!”)
• complete authority to change any wording on their website at a moment’s notice, and have those changes enacted within five minutes
• complete authority to demand changes to any of the Legal Department’s obtuse language so that Joe Public can actually comprehend and understand it
• complete freedom to engage with the media (which includes citizen media) however, where ever and whenever they see fit, in order to bring about a more positive view of the department amongst the state’s citizenry
• a salary worthy of the responsibility (which, SA Govt, means slightly above the $45k a year you expect some of your communicators to work for)

This model of ‘front footed’ public (including media) communication is adaptable to any circumstance — be it a tram system that is having hiccups, to installing a power grid across wilderness regions. By getting ‘out there’ and ‘amongst it’ earlier, you reduce the risk of an angry media baying for the blood of your Minister later.

———–

* Senator-elect Nick Xenaphon totally excluded from this motley bunch of ne’er-do-wells

Filed under: PR, customer service, ethics, legal, marketing, politics, public speaking, tools
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And to prove that ‘cluelessness’ is not just a corporate affliction, Ottawa’s Mayor Larry O’Brien has given us a spectacular example of how NOT to engage with the media.

As Bob LeDrew comments,

I’ve been interested in politics — as an observer — for a long time. And since buying a house here in Ottawa in 2000, my interest in civic politics has been keen. And I’m a flack.

With all of that, I have to shake my head in disbelief at the utter hash that Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien has made of his public image.

Bob goes on to describe how, in a moment of what can only be described as ’sheer genius’, Mayor O’Brien just ever so slightly over-reacted. To wit:

Apparently, one of O’Brien’s two sons found some posts on a political blog, Apply Liberally, to be annoying, and left what the blogger says were “insulting” messages on the blog.

When CBC reporter Alistair Steele asked O’Brien about his son’s behaviour during a previously scheduled interview, O’Brien seems to have gone just a teeny bit apes**t. He grabbed Steele’s audio recorder, tried to stop it, then tried to erase what had already been recorded, and then ordered Steele to leave, carrying on the interview with an Ottawa Sun reporter.

Bob has a fantastic breakdown of Mayor O’Brien’s chequered political history, and as Bob says at the end of his article,

So if he’s going to stay, he’s got to pull in his profile, get his office and his persona under control, and consolidate whatever support he has on council and within the city’s administration.

Right now, he’s bobbing in the water and the journalists are humming the theme from Jaws.

I bet they are! Great article, Bob!

Filed under: PR, blogging, customer service, ethics, interviews, politics, public speaking
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