ANALYSIS: People, the media and the death of Osama bin Laden

Peter Joseph of the Zeitgeist movement sent out quite a hard hitting letter to it's members recently, which I though was worth sharing. It's certainly something to think about and he makes some very good points.

TZM: Response to Media; Death of Osama bin Laden

On May 1, 2011 President Barack Obama appeared on national television with the spontaneous announcement that Osama bin Laden, the purported organizer of the tragic events of September 11th 2001, was killed by military forces in Pakistan.

Within moments, a media blitz ran across virtually all television networks in what could only be described as a grotesque celebratory display, reflective of a level of emotional immaturity that borders on cultural psychosis. Depictions of people running through the streets of New York and Washington chanting jingoistic American slogans, waving their flags like the members of some cult, praising the death of another human being, reveals yet another layer of this sickness we call modern society.

It is not the scope of this response to address the political usage of such an event or to illuminate the staged orchestration of how public perception was to be controlled by the mainstream media and the United States Government. Rather the point of this article is to express the gross irrationality apparent and how our culture becomes so easily fixed and emotionally charged with respect to surface symbology, rather than true root problems, solutions or rational considerations of circumstance.

The first and most obvious point is that the death of Osama bin Laden means nothing when it comes to the problem of international terrorism. His death simply serves as a catharsis for a culture that has a neurotic fixation on revenge and retribution. The very fact that the Government which, from a psychological standpoint, has always served as a paternal figure for it citizens, reinforces the idea that murdering people is a solution to anything should be enough for most of us to take pause and consider the quality of the values coming out of the zeitgeist itself.

However, beyond the emotional distortions and tragic, vindictive pattern of rewarding the continuation of human division and violence comes a more practical consideration regarding what the problem really is and the importance of that problem with respect to priority.

The death of any human being is of an immeasurable consequence in society. It is never just the death of the individual. It is the death of relationships, companionship, support and the integrity of familial and communal environments. The unnecessary deaths of 3000 people on September 11, 2001 is no more or no less important than the deaths of those during the World Wars, via cancer and disease, accidents or anything else.

As a society, it is safe to say that we seek a world that strategically limits all such unnecessary consequences through social approaches that allow for the greatest safety our ingenuity can create. It is in this context that the neurotic obsession with the events of September 11th become gravely insulting and detrimental to progress. An environment has now been created where outrageous amounts of money, resources and energy is spent seeking and destroying very small subcultures of human beings that pose ideological differences and act on those differences through violence.

Yet, in the United States alone each year, roughly 30,000 people die from automobile accidents, the majority of which could be stopped by very simple structural changes. That's ten 9/11's each year... yet no one seems to pine over this epidemic. Likewise, over 1 million Americans die from heart disease and cancer annually - causes of which are now easily linked to environmental influences in the majority. Yet, regardless of the over 330 9/11's occurring each year in this context, the governmental budget allocations for research on these illnesses is only a small fraction of the money spent on “anti-terrorism” operations.

Such a list could go on and on with regard to the perversion of priority when it comes to what it means to truly save and protect human life and I hope many out there can recognize the severe imbalance we have at hand with respect to our values.

~ Peter Joseph (Response to Media; Death of Osama bin Laden)

CREATIVE BLOGGING: Better content, more fun

BLOGGING is a creative process by nature, but many bloggers tend to stick to formulas. Content that isn’t fresh and doesn’t look and feel inspired, tends to drag the audience on. This is not good for your blog as this method of blogging is the most definitive way of preventing your blog from growing and evolving. Like SEO, content creativity is critical to content quality and accessibility.

The blogging market is partly responsible for the tendency to treat a blog like a day job - going through routine processes. Creative blogging, which was the original basis of blogging, has become somewhat “industrial”, and the result has been a large number of blogs doing the same things simply because they’re the norm. The creative impetus is reduced, and that hasn’t done much for the blogs either - inflicting lower standards.

This very bad habit has done nothing for bloggers generally, and has taken a lot of the fun out of blogging. In marketing and advertising, “product identity” is critical, and the very samey content and presentation of blogs is arguably marketing suicide.

Creative blogging is really the only antidote to this situation. Good content is the core business model of successful blogging, and creativity is its main driver. It is also the major asset of blogs - the ability to develop new materials and new approaches. This is an extremely flexible medium and allows a lot of experimentation - synergistic with the creative process.

Blogs really are the most effective method of expression for a range of content that couldn’t possibly be done by mainstream media. The creative options are almost limitless and form a major part of the value of blogs as a media genre.

Creative options in blogging

The creative options are quite literally limitless. Subject, content and presentation can be developed and evolved into a unique product. These are also extremely valuable to blogs as both intellectual and commercial property. Some creative blog materials have become true classics and have formed part of the global culture.

Creative product can also fund the development of blogs and blog operators. This is one element of the creative process that can produce excellent results across a range of operations, and also pay for new media assets.

The creative options include:

• Media content: Unique content is particularly valuable - even salable.
• Opinions: The original basis of blogging. Opinions (particularly expert opinions) are major products and sources for media information.
• Graphics: Graphic content on blogs are the most likely to go viral. This material translates into everything from T shirts to merchandising.
• Journalistic content: Blogs are making major inroads into mainstream news media, and this content is becoming useful commercial property.

There is plenty of scope for creativity in blogging. This is “best practice” for blogging and is also the commercial basis of blogging. Your creativity is your greatest asset as a blogger. Develop your ideas and your blog will evolve with them.

Related Posts:

• Don’t knock it ’till you try it
• A beginner’s guide to blogging

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SOCIAL MEDIA: And how it is transforming business in South Africa

Fuseware is a Cape Town based social media research company that is currently creating a free social media research survey about the business case for social media in South Africa. They are asking the top influencers in the media and marketing industry for their views regarding this and aggregating all the information into a 100% free Fuseware report.

I was asked to participate in the Fuseware survey but wanted to open it to everyone to participate and offer further suggestions. The six most poignant questions follow with my own responses, but please feel free to contribute and get your chance to be heard! I will pass all comments on to the researcher that contacted me.

1. Fuseware: How is social media changing the business landscape, specifically for South Africa?

In the media industry, social media is the next phase of journalism. Media industries that do not adopt and embrace social media and networking into their production cycles will surely wither and die in the future. Situations where news rooms fight social media to get "the scoop" will never win by virtual of the speed and spread that is offered by services such as Twitter, Blogs and even Facebook. Media organisations need to learn how to use social media themselves in unique ways if they wish to remain a viable source of information.

2. Fuseware: What is the most difficult challenge of social media use in business in South Africa?

I would argue that the biggest challenge for businesses in SA is finding unique ways to make effective use of social media without harassing and bomb-barding social networkers with corporate spam. Simply posting links to any business website on every social media platform, for example, is not effective use of social media and will only irritate people and possibly taint the name of that business or brand.

3. Fuseware: What is your ultimate example of business success in social media?

News websites that have developed social media extensions for their product are proving to be very successful in SA. News24, The Dispatch and The Times are three examples of businesses that have made effective use of social media by offering something of interest and value that was not possible with their print products. Interactivity, commenting platforms, reader feedback, creating web-presence and the use of multimedia are all effective forms of optimising such a business.

4. Fuseware: Which companies in South Africa do you think are doing social media the right way?

The three news corps. mentioned: News24, The Times and The Dispatch. Also gaming and IT websites are showing huge growth in SA - e.g. Take2, and of course the blogging community and more specifically blog aggregators - i.e. Afrigator and MyScoop are making great and effective use of social media in SA. These will continue to grow for a good while yet.

5. Fuseware: How can businesses in SA measure the effectiveness of their social media campaigns?

It depends on the campaign really. Following trends would be a good start, but most social media campaigns can be measured by number of followers / subscribers and the growth of these. Keeping track of website statistics and engaging with their audience(s) is also of utmost importance.

6. Fuseware: How do you envision the usage of social media in SA in 2-3 years?

The internet today is defined as "web 2.0" - i.e. the "social web". The proliferation of social media websites and services will continue to grow in the next few years and more businesses are likely to adopt social networking into their business models. It's almost becoming a case of "do-or-die" meaning that if businesses do not create a web-presence within the next 2-3 years while their competitors do, they will risk losing a huge number of customers / clients / readers.

• If you would like any of your own input sent to the Fuseware team before they put together their social media report, please add it as a comment below.

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FIFA 2010 WORLD CUP: Open letter to our foreign media friends

by Peter Davies (09-06-2010)

Dear World Cup visitors,

Now that you are safely in our country you are no doubt happily realising you are not in a war-zone. This may be in stark contrast to what you have been bracing yourself for should you have listened to Uli Hoeness or are an avid reader of English tabloids, which as we all know are only good for wrapping fish ‘n chips and advancing the careers of large-chested teens on page three.

As you emerge blinking from your luxury hotel room into our big blue winter skies, you will surely realise you are far more likely to be killed by kindness than by a stray bullet.

Remember that most of the media reports you have read, which have informed your views on South Africa, will have been penned by your colleagues. And you know what journos are like, what with their earnest two thousand word opuses on the op-ed pages designed to fix this country’s ills in a heartbeat. Based on exhaustive research over a three-day visit.

Funnily enough, we are well aware of the challenges we face as a nation and you will find that 95% of the population is singing from the same song-sheet in order to ensure that we can live up to our own exacting expectations.

We are also here to look after you and show you a good time. Prepare to have your preconceived notions well and truly shattered.

For instance, you will find precious few rhinos loitering on street corners, we don’t know a guy in Cairo named Dave just because we live in Johannesburg, and our stadiums are magnificent - world class works of art.

Which is obviously news to the Sky TV sports anchor who this week remarked that Soccer City looked ‘a bit of a mess’. She didn’t realise the gaps in the calabash exterior are to allow in natural light and for illumination at night, and not the result of vandalism or negligence.

The fact that England, the nation which safely delivered Wembley Stadium two years past its due date, is prepared to offer us South Africans advice on stadium-readiness should not be surprising. The steadiest stream of World Cup misinformation has emanated from our mates, the Brits, over the past couple of years.

If it’s not man-eating snakes lurking in Rooney’s closet at the team’s (allegedly half-built) Royal Bafokeng training base, then it’s machete-wielding gangs roaming the suburbs in search of tattooed, overweight Dagenham dole-queuers to ransack and leave gurgling on the pavement.

In fact what you are entering is the world’s most fascinating country, in my opinion. I’m pretty sure you will find that it functions far more smoothly, is heaps more friendly and offers plenty more diversions than you could possibly have imagined.

In addition to which, the population actually acts like human beings, and not like they are being controlled by sinister forces from above which turns them into bureaucratically-manipulated robots.

Plus we have world’s most beautiful women. The best weather. Eight channels of SuperSport. Food and wine from the gods themselves. Wildlife galore. (Love the Dutch team’s bus slogan: “Don’t fear the Big 5; fear the Orange 11”).

Having said all that, Jo’burg is undoubtedly one of the world’s most dangerous cities. Just ask those Taiwanese tourists who got out of their hired car to take close-up snaps of tawny beasts at the Lion Park a few years back. Actually, ask what’s left of them. And did you know the chances of being felled by cardiac arrest from devouring a mountain of meat at one of our world class restaurants has been statistically proven to be 33.3% higher in Jozi than in any other major urban centre not built upon a significant waterway? It’s true. I swear. I read it in a British tabloid.

Having recently spent two years comfortably cocooned in small town in America, I’m only too aware of how little much of the outside world knows about this country. The American channel I used to work for has a massive battalion of employees descending on World Cup country. It has also apparently issued a recommendation to its staff to stay in their hotels when not working.

Given that said corporation is head-quartered in a small town which many say is “best viewed through the rear-view mirror”, I find the recommendation (if it’s true) to be utterly astounding. In fact I don’t believe it is true. Contrary to the global stereotype, the best Americans are some of the sharpest people in the world. The fact that they have bought most tickets in this World Cup proves the point.

Of course I have only lived in Johannesburg, city of terror and dread, virtually all my life, so I don’t have the in-depth knowledge of say, an English broadsheet journalist who has been in the country for the weekend; but nevertheless I will share some of my observations gleaned over the years.

Any foreign tourist or media representative who is worried about his safety in South Africa should have a word with the Lions rugby fans from last year, or the Barmy Army cricket supporters (lilywhite hecklers by day, slurring, lager-fuelled lobsters by night). They managed just fine, just like the hundreds of thousands of fans who have streamed into the country over the past fifteen years for various World Cups, Super 14 matches, TriNations tests and other international events. Negligible crime incidents involving said fans over said period of time.

Trivia question: which country has hosted the most global sporting events over the past decade and a half? You don’t need me to answer that, do you?

In addition. Don’t fret when you see a gaggle of freelance salesmen converge on your car at the traffic lights (or robots as we like to call them) festooned with products. You are not about to be hijacked. Here in Mzansi (nickname for SA) we do a lot of our purchasing at robots. Here you can stock up on flags, coat hangers, batteries, roses for the wife you forgot to kiss goodbye this morning and a whole host of useful merchandise.

Similarly, that guy who runs up as you park the rental car outside the pub intends no malice. He’s your car guard. Give him a buck or two and your vehicle will be safe while you refuel for hours on our cheap, splendid beer. Unless someone breaks into it, of course.

We drive on the left in this country. Exercise caution when crossing the road at a jog-trot with 15 kilograms of camera gear on your back. Exercise common sense full stop. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you want to leave wads of cash in your hotel room like our Colombian friends, don’t be surprised if it grows wings.

Bottom line: Get out there and breathe in great lusty lungfuls of this amazing nation. Tuck into our world-class food and wines. Disprove the adage that white men can’t dance at our throbbing, vibrant night-clubs. Learn to say hello in all eleven official languages. Watch at least one game in a township. You will not be robbed and shot. You will be welcomed like a lost family member and looked after as if you are royalty. Ask those Bulls rugby fans who journeyed to Soweto recently.

With a dollop of the right attitude, this country will change your life.

It’s Africa’s time. Vacate your hotel room. Join the party.

Waka waka eh eh.

Recommended Reads:

• Shine South Africa for 2010
• "Stand As One" Soccer World Cup song
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SEXPO WEEKEND: What Women Really Want

I humbly apologise for the lack of thought-provoking content here lately. It’s a tough time to be working in the media industry – generally. It’s almost bordering slavery. There’s one woman here who is setting the record by working for 63 consecutive days with two day breaks every three weeks. That’s Monday to Sunday for 21 days then a weekend break, then another full three weeks before her next weekend etc. Eish.

So I thought I would simply share another video that I made last year. It’s called What Women Really Want, which is a sexpo that takes place in South Africa every year. It’s not quite on the same level as Sexpo South Africa, but rather a smaller scale event aimed at girls who just wanna have fun. Enjoy!

What women really want

DEBUNKING XENOPHOBIA: Understanding xenophobia within racist discourse

"Thieving blacks", "kaffirs", "intruders" and "aliens" are a few of the phrases you might find in South African discourse, or on the web, used to describe the influx of people who have moved into South Africa in desperation to escape an authoritarian government. Although such words are prohibited from use in the mainstream media, they are still deeply entrenched within several South African mind-sets when hearing or reading about the 'xenophobia crisis'.

Debunking xenophobia: Research and 'the other'

According to a survey by the South African Migration Programme (conducted in 2000), South Africans display one of the highest levels of xenophobia in the world. Now surely we can be forgiven at some level considering that we are in one of the most racially diverse countries in the world and past policies such as those of Apartheid have helped to instill and reinforce an attitude of categorising and labeling 'the other'. Surely?

In fact, the process of labeling others who are different has existed since the dawn of humankind and exemplified by the colonial era. The caveman Jones family, who settled in a territory they considered as their own, had to sum others up by appearance and character to ensure that they and their territory (including food & shelter) were not under threat. European colonialists found it necessary to distinguish between human "types" in order to further scientific understanding. Today, invisible yet powerful borders between countries make it easier for us to categorise people, and consequently, guard ourselves against them.

Putting people into boxes (to use a figure of speech) has become an almost natural human process where the socially constructed concept of 'race' plays a central role. Extensive research and theories of race are still being devised to try and find a way to work and think around issues of race. However, if there is one thing that I have learnt through my studies, it is that there is no way to think around race. We need to rather, as Ruth Frankenburg suggests, “think through race.”

We have to acknowledge ourselves and others as raced subjects operating within a racist discourse, we need to have images and real sentiments regarding xenophobia in our face, and most importantly we need to be a little understanding and compassionate by imagining what it might be like to be in the shoes of ‘the others’.

Debunking xenophobia: The Burning Man

The photograph of a burning man, which has been used extensively in the media, has raised some relevant issues. Like the photograph of the falling man taken during 9/11, a very thin and jaggered line is crossed by the way these images are used. It goes beyond simply being a photograph and lands in a thick gravy-pot of human ethics and understanding.

One could argue that the meaning of the image has shifted from being representative of a particular event at a particular time to an iconic representation standing for an entire category of people, or a national crisis. This is in the same vain as images of the holocaust being representative of the atrocities committed during WWII.

The media have a strict obligation to remain impartial and not to publish content that may be harmful to society in any way. The decision of some papers not to include the Burning Man on the front page of their publications due to its violent imagery is an example of this obligation being implemented. However, it’s not hard to find the photo if it wasn’t in your paper and everyone is talking about it – I’m certain it will soon leak all over the web. In fact you’re likely to find the image published on more blogs and websites than it has been in newspapers.

Debunking xenophobia: The print media vs. the web media

With an increasing number of people (young and old) sourcing their ‘news’ online (where any gate-keeping process is at a minimum) there almost seems to be no point in resisting publishing such a photograph in print. However, "we must think about the children and protect them from such violence" – violence that they could otherwise watch on TV.

Personally I feel that images such as these should be in your face. I regard it as a representation of what some South Africans are doing to other human beings. Granted we need to watch our own backs and protect our jobs, yet there is always room for a little humanity in this world.

Debunking xenophobia

"Necklacing” is a form of execution whereby a tyre filled with petrol is lit and put around the victim’s neck

I have been labeled as a white middle-class male who happens to live in South Africa. I have a secure job and have not been directly affected in anyway by the ‘xenophobia crisis.’ You can call me indifferent, or a "privileged white", but never associate me with South Africans that torture their fellow human being.

As hard as it is to do, we need to start thinking outside the boxes.

Related post: Can Obama bring racial equality to the United States?

xenophobia

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PROMO VIDEO: A taste of the videos available on Witness This

MULTIMEDIA is fast becoming the 'in' thing in the South African media industry. Media organisations that offer online content in the form of video, podcasts and slideshows on their websites are getting a lot more traffic than those that simply regurgitate text stories with a couple of photographs.

The Natal Witness, although small, is gaining speed in the chase to jump onto the multimedia band-wagon. It's currently getting a MyVideo channel professionally set up by Tristan Owen, and despite being critically under-staffed, we endeavour to bring fresh video content every week for your viewing pleasure.

Below is a fast-paced, action-packed promo video of the sport, music, art, theater, news and entertainment videos produced for the Witness Online. It hints at what is already available and provides a taste of what is yet to come.

To see the full videos, and more, visit www.witness.co.za.

Witness This promo video: