The so-called “Cat Bin Lady” has been dethroned as the #1 Viral Video Villain after a recent video uploaded to YouTube of a girl throwing puppies into a river (which I have decided not to include) has sparked outrage in the social media world on websites such as Facebook, Reddit and 4chan. No sooner than the video was posted (and subsequently removed) 4chan and Reddit members began their quest to find out the identity of the girl and a Facebook group formed in the wake of the incident recruited over 3,000 members in one day.
I have personally seen the video which is quite nauseating, but I wonder if these actions truly reflect the power and potential of social media. Are we going to form blood-thirsty internet lynch mobs whenever a video of some idiot being cruel to an animal appears on the radar? Are we going to use such a powerful medium to simply get angry about these isolated incidents and point our fingers at these seemingly disturbed individuals?
The truth is, animal cruelty has been happening every day on a mass scale right under our noses for decades, and we have been looking the other way. How can we point the finger when most of our chicken and eggs come from battery farms, where the hens are force fed and stacked on top of each other in cramped cages, unable to move? How can we justify calling someone out for abandoning a cat in a dumpster when many, if not most of the clothes we wear are the result of (human) slave labor? Maybe if we saw some footage of a taskmaster beating a pregnant factory worker or a child assembling a pair of Nikes we might have a change of heart!
Most of the problem results from the fact that we are so disconnected from the products we purchase and consume because they come from “somewhere else,” out of sight and out of mind. Social media is the perfect tool to show where our products are coming from, and instead of getting angry at a mentally disturbed individual, we can get angry about a corporation’s lack of social responsibility (or praise a corporation for complying with fair trade practices). We’re much better off uploading videos that show the conditions of factories, battery farms, circuses, sweatshops, etc., and using social media in an attempt to change hearts and minds, and create positive and effective social change – only then will the true power of social media be released.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, Barack Obama’s historic presidential campaign was successful due to a skillful and disciplined messaging campaign, one with no leaks, public infighting or drama.
Here, in contrast, is a five minute news interview with Fox News reporter Carl Cameron that is based entirely on leaks from unnamed sources from the McCain campaign. And it’s brutal stuff – claims that Palin didn’t know that Africa was a continent, for example, and that she relished buying high-end clothing on the campaign’s dime.
Members of the McCain camp apparently sat down with Carl for hours sharing their bitter gripes about Palin. This isn’t the last time we’ll be hearing about what really went down.
I post this because it’s evidence of what can happen if you don’t have an effective, unified communications strategy.
Ira Tenowitz from Ad Age published a provocative story today. The morning after the historic election of our first black president, Tenowitz’s topic of the day is regulation anxiety for the ad industry, opening with this thought provoking line: “Now that the election’s over and Sen. Barack Obama is the president-elect, the real fighting can begin.”
Tenowitz raises legitimate issues that were already controversial long before Obama even announced that he would run for president; for example, the consumer backlash against direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads from pharmaceutical companies. Consumer advocacy groups have long been pushing for tighter regulation of many pharmaceutical ads that they deem misleading. Tenowitz’s main theme seems to be that a Democrat president and Congress will likely tip the scales toward tighter government control and regulation, which could hamper advertisers and marketers.
The article goes in-depth on a number of other hot-button issues relevant to anyone in the media and advertising industries. Whether or not you agree with Tenowitz’s portentous tone, it’s definitely worth reading.
Please share your views and comments.
In my view, Tenowitz is jumping the gun and feeding the fear mongers out there. He’s also doing his job by putting together a provocative headline and story to engage readers to react and respond.
