Comments on: Bringing Social Networking To Iraq? Could Work: In Context of Iraqi Culture, Not Ours http://theblackvector.com/2009/04/23/bringing-social-networking-to-iraq-could-work-in-context-of-iraqi-culture-not-ours/ Listen - Talk - Transform Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:13:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: CB3 http://theblackvector.com/2009/04/23/bringing-social-networking-to-iraq-could-work-in-context-of-iraqi-culture-not-ours/#comment-40 CB3 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:13:00 +0000 http://theblackvector.com/?p=183#comment-40 Nice piece. Absolutely right that (a) technology and SM do not replace the core requirements of basic human interaction and communication (b) cultural and sociological nuances/differences must be heeded if SM is to be used as a communication platform in foreign environments (and failure has to be considered) In developing and enhancing civil society in post-conflict and developing nations, the use of SM, in manners fully coherent with local norms, may significantly balance the information environment, allowing access to information by all levels of society. If we consider SM to be a useful communicative tool for our open and democratic societies, at least it should be given opportunities to enhance others heading in that direction. Nice piece. Absolutely right that (a) technology and SM do not replace the core requirements of basic human interaction and communication (b) cultural and sociological nuances/differences must be heeded if SM is to be used as a communication platform in foreign environments (and failure has to be considered)
In developing and enhancing civil society in post-conflict and developing nations, the use of SM, in manners fully coherent with local norms, may significantly balance the information environment, allowing access to information by all levels of society. If we consider SM to be a useful communicative tool for our open and democratic societies, at least it should be given opportunities to enhance others heading in that direction.

]]> By: Keith Houin http://theblackvector.com/2009/04/23/bringing-social-networking-to-iraq-could-work-in-context-of-iraqi-culture-not-ours/#comment-39 Keith Houin Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:08:36 +0000 http://theblackvector.com/?p=183#comment-39 Understanding your audience has always been a key to effective communication. So why are we addressing it more now in the social media realm than we do with our other forms of communication? And what are we doing to bring that same thought back into our traditional means of communication. I disagree that we have not cracked the foreign audience nut as communicators. It is more like we keep forgetting how we cracked it the 1st time. We don't learn well. As you have stated time and again, Social Media is not the answer in itself, it is a tool, and only effective where: 1) it is consistently available, 2) it is accepted within the culture 3) you have something to say worth hearing (reading) 4) you have the resources to maintain it. It has a few benefits over other tools. It treats everyone as equals. It can be real time announcement, continuous real-time coverage, delayed broadcast, follow-up, Q&A, audio, video, text, etc.It has weaknesses. 1) Dependent upon 3rd party business & equipment (cell networks, ISPs, webhost, etc). 2) Limited by location and geography 3) I am sure we can all come up with more. But this is more than opportunity to use a new tool, it is the also a way to assess where our weakness was with traditional tools. By putting NM under the microscope it should force PAs to look very hard at their traditional means of communication. Even if Twitter and every social network falls flat in two years, we should be getting major take-aways from the time we are investing in attempting to make NM/SM an effective tool. Understanding your audience has always been a key to effective communication. So why are we addressing it more now in the social media realm than we do with our other forms of communication? And what are we doing to bring that same thought back into our traditional means of communication. I disagree that we have not cracked the foreign audience nut as communicators. It is more like we keep forgetting how we cracked it the 1st time. We don’t learn well.
As you have stated time and again, Social Media is not the answer in itself, it is a tool, and only effective where: 1) it is consistently available, 2) it is accepted within the culture 3) you have something to say worth hearing (reading) 4) you have the resources to maintain it. It has a few benefits over other tools. It treats everyone as equals. It can be real time announcement, continuous real-time coverage, delayed broadcast, follow-up, Q&A, audio, video, text, etc.It has weaknesses. 1) Dependent upon 3rd party business & equipment (cell networks, ISPs, webhost, etc). 2) Limited by location and geography 3) I am sure we can all come up with more.
But this is more than opportunity to use a new tool, it is the also a way to assess where our weakness was with traditional tools. By putting NM under the microscope it should force PAs to look very hard at their traditional means of communication. Even if Twitter and every social network falls flat in two years, we should be getting major take-aways from the time we are investing in attempting to make NM/SM an effective tool.

]]> By: @tampasultan http://theblackvector.com/2009/04/23/bringing-social-networking-to-iraq-could-work-in-context-of-iraqi-culture-not-ours/#comment-37 @tampasultan Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:38:03 +0000 http://theblackvector.com/?p=183#comment-37 PA's job is to craft, package and deliver information in a way that audiences can understand. We have done an exceptional job IO'ing ourselves (examples: core values, "fly/flight/win!" ditty, 0013 campaign, etc) and our themes, messages and talking points, of course, resonate beautifully with commanders (who approve aforementioned messages). The nut we have yet to crack is foreign audiences, particularly ones that don't fully appreciate the role we play in their communities: From Okinawa to Diwaniya, the traditional approach misses the mark time after time. It's time to at least TEST out a different way of "communicatin' with fur'ners." Scant chance social media is THE answer, but it may be AN answer. By democratizing (as opposed to managing) the power of communication, perhaps we'll be reminded that information flows two ways ...and that's a message that will transcend all cultural boundaries. PA’s job is to craft, package and deliver information in a way that audiences can understand. We have done an exceptional job IO’ing ourselves (examples: core values, “fly/flight/win!” ditty, 0013 campaign, etc) and our themes, messages and talking points, of course, resonate beautifully with commanders (who approve aforementioned messages).

The nut we have yet to crack is foreign audiences, particularly ones that don’t fully appreciate the role we play in their communities: From Okinawa to Diwaniya, the traditional approach misses the mark time after time. It’s time to at least TEST out a different way of “communicatin’ with fur’ners.”

Scant chance social media is THE answer, but it may be AN answer. By democratizing (as opposed to managing) the power of communication, perhaps we’ll be reminded that information flows two ways …and that’s a message that will transcend all cultural boundaries.

]]> By: Tyler Foster http://theblackvector.com/2009/04/23/bringing-social-networking-to-iraq-could-work-in-context-of-iraqi-culture-not-ours/#comment-35 Tyler Foster Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:18:31 +0000 http://theblackvector.com/?p=183#comment-35 Again, spot on. Intercultural communication theory and application is a major factor. Understanding and operating within cultural norms and sensitivities is imperative. We cannot afford to "upset the tea cart" by boldly going forth without a complete understanding of who we're speaking to, how their culture functions, and their modes of receiving information. If we "jam" it down their throats via social media or otherwise, we aggravate the situation and alienate our intended audience = mission failure. Keep up the great work! Again, spot on. Intercultural communication theory and application is a major factor. Understanding and operating within cultural norms and sensitivities is imperative. We cannot afford to “upset the tea cart” by boldly going forth without a complete understanding of who we’re speaking to, how their culture functions, and their modes of receiving information. If we “jam” it down their throats via social media or otherwise, we aggravate the situation and alienate our intended audience = mission failure. Keep up the great work!

]]> By: Ken http://theblackvector.com/2009/04/23/bringing-social-networking-to-iraq-could-work-in-context-of-iraqi-culture-not-ours/#comment-34 Ken Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:54:04 +0000 http://theblackvector.com/?p=183#comment-34 You have identified an age-old problem from a PA perspective and one that "operators" care very little about. Until that crowd learns the value of soft power over firepower, its not going to change. Don't get me wrong, there are a few out there that get it, but they are rare. You have identified an age-old problem from a PA perspective and one that “operators” care very little about. Until that crowd learns the value of soft power over firepower, its not going to change. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few out there that get it, but they are rare.

]]> By: john brown http://theblackvector.com/2009/04/23/bringing-social-networking-to-iraq-could-work-in-context-of-iraqi-culture-not-ours/#comment-32 john brown Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:04:29 +0000 http://theblackvector.com/?p=183#comment-32 Thank you for your perceptive comments. Thank you for your perceptive comments.

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