Website Update

Intercepting Traffick is now a working website...and I am very, very tired. Yes, there is a causal connection between the two; so whoever is reading this, please support my hard work by "Liking" the cause on Facebook; visiting the website; and at least consider supporting the boycott and adding your name to the pledge.

Facebook Causes and What I Have Discovered About Them

In researching Facebook Causes I discovered two interesting facts: The first is that they are a private company that uses Facebook as its web host; the second is that they are actively hiring new employees. Although I have no desire to work for them - I am quite content with my current job and geographical location - I thought it very interesting that this seemingly altruistic feature is actually a very clever marketing plan by a for-profit company.

The basis of Facebook Causes is simple: the parent company represents the cause by managing their Facebook presence. Unlike Facebook Groups, the Causes feature allows for the donation of monies to the cause directly through Facebook, and uses a multi-level marketing scheme (a.k.a. a pyramid scheme) to reward members who get others to join and to donate. Rewards are not made in cash, but in a gain of status level, like it is some sort of competition. Judging by the number of competitive games on Facebook, I can see why this formation would be successful.

Although I am not certain I like the whole idea of a pyramid set-up to raise funds for worthy causes, I do suppose the end justifies the means. I admire the fact that Facebook Causes (yes, that is the name of the parent company) chose to use Facebook as an already existing platform of over 20-million users to launch their project. It kind of makes me wish that I was [Facebook Founder] Mark Zuckerberg's college roommate instead of [Causes founder] Joe Green (maybe then Ask Tazi-Kat would be a profitable venture by now!).


Source:
TechCrunch.com

Am I An Over-Achiever?

My latest assignment was to work with a group to build a website dedicated to a social cause (for those of you who have not been following). My group's cause is child sex-trafficking at the Super Bowl, and our purpose is raising awareness of the issue.

I have logged over 40 hours into this project, between site design and formatting, graphic design, blog research and writing, and general research on statistics and headlines related to this cause. The site truly looks amazing; if I do say do myself! If you have time, I ask that you please visit Intercepting Traffick today!

One of the few remaining parts of this assignment is to review the sites the other groups have created, and critique them; offering thoughts on one thing that works and one that does not. I have to say, I was quite disappointed with the other groups' sites. I am trying to keep in mind that they are still learning the art of web design, but the web builder offered through SocialGo.com seems pretty user-friendly. Plus, I, too, am still learning the art of writing for online environments (although I must add that this class has taught me a great deal already). I am starting to wonder if I am an over-achiever, because it is difficult for me to believe that so many others are under-achievers. Thoughts?

Group Project Mom

I don't have children, yet somethimes, I feel like such a Mom. Here is the latest post I put on the Group Project Forum:

Our submission draft of the website is due on Monday at 11:55 PM. For the most part, the group portions are done and only individual contributions remain.

I will be working on a better Facebook/Twitter default pic/graphic/logo. In the meantime, here is a list of what still needs to be done:

1) Personal profiles and pictures. If your profile and/or pic are not yet posted, this is just a friendly reminder that they are a required part of the assignment.

2) 1 blog post (minimum) from each of us - also part of the assignment. After signing in, at the top of the page will be a small link that says "Post New Blog". Be sure to post it to "A Word From The Refs". This is our blog page. (Sydney and I have already posted our submissions.)

3) Videos. songs, commercials, etc. Essentially, media! According to the assignment parameters, we are all required to have a minimum of ONE posting on the "Let's go To Video" page.

4) Thus far, the Organizations We Support page has only three listings. We need more!!


5) Game Analysis is our "Forums" page. We each need to post a topic and respond to the posts others have posted.

6) Calendar of events...how do we want to work this? An interactive calendar? I have looked online and am having trouble finding one...do we just want to have a list of dates and events in text form? This could work if we set it up in datebook form.

Although this last one is not required, it would be a nice touch if we all signed up as "Members" of the site by having a SocialGo.com log-in - this also allows us to Take The Pledge by signing in the Comments section of that page.

If anyone has any questions about how to work with the SocialGo software or how to post anything, please look through the other threads on this forum to see if your question has already been answered. If you still can't find an answer, please post what you need posted to this site (in a new thread) and someone who knows how to do it can see that it gets done!

GO TEAM!!!

I just feel like if I hadn't taken change, this project would have languished.

P.S. If you haven't checked it out yet, check go to the Intercepting Traffick website now!

Activism and Amendments

One thing I cannot stand is when someone proposes a Constitutional amendment based upon their pet cause. I find the idea of a "Balanced Budget Amendment" absolutely laughable, considering the fact that only 11% of Americans live debt free. I hear people complain that a flat-tax will eliminate the mortgage-interest deduction and kill the already flat real estate market and in the next breath demand that Congress "live within its means". The double-standard makes me want to choke.

I understand that the Federal deficit is dangerously large; so much so that it will probably never be paid down, but people do not seem to realize just how difficult it is to pass a bi-partisan Constitutional amendment, let alone a partisan one. With the exception of the post-Civil War era of the "radical reconstructionists" it has never been an expedient process to get two-thirds of both Congressional segments (the House and the Senate) to pass a partisan bill and then get three-fourths of the states to agree with it. Yet, when you read the email that makes the rounds - regarding whatever alleged amendment has "recently been proposed" - it states that "once it gets through Congress, approval by only 3/4 of the state legislatures is all that is needed!" Wow, is that all?

It took the 19th Amendment - the removal of the sex requirement to exercise the rights of suffrage - sixty years of activist activity to pass both the House and the Senate, and then an additional two years to receive ratification by the states. The Equal Rights Amendment - first proposed in 1923 - did not receive Congressional approval until 1972 - that's 49 years, for those who are counting. To this day, only 35 states have ratified it (38 are needed for approval)...almost 40 years after it finally received Congressional approval. This past February, Virginia sought to be the 36th state to ratify it, but the issue was tabled in their House of Representatives. This past June, E.R.A. ratification bills were re-introduced in the U.S. Senate. The issue is still alive and awaiting ratification.

These examples are why I laugh out loud when people demand the passage of Constitutional amendments like the "28th Amendment" that I see Tea-Partyists referring to on Facebook (written as such, like it has already passed into law). If they pulled their heads out of their collective asses, they would know that there already IS a proposed 28th Amendment in the works, that it was proposed long before the passage of Amendments 20 - 27, and it has nothing to do with limiting the power of Congress - it is the E.R.A., whose supporters are not so presumptuous to call it the "28th Amendment", just as the 19th Amendment was called the "Susan B. Anthony Amendment" before its passage*! To put it in plainer language, the "proposed" 28th Amendment of which these people write does not exist! It has never been proposed ! Knowing that, I hardly think passage of such an amendment to be an impending reality, and this is in complete disregard of the fact that it can take a lifetime or more for a controversial amendment to pass. Considering that slacktivism is de rigueur right now, I don't think Congress has any reason to worry.


*Had the Susan B. Anthony Amendment been so presumptuous to call itself "the proposed 18th Amendment", it would have been judged poorly by history. Prohibition passed first, thereby making it the 18th Amendment.

A Cheesehead's Worst Nightmare

Last year, my Green Bay Packers went to the Super Bowl. The glory of this moment - and their win over the Pittsburgh Steelers - was tainted by my newly discovered knowledge that the Super Bowl is one of the largest child sex trafficking events in America. Pimps kidnap and transport young girls and boys across state lines - and last year, since the game was in Dallas, across national borders - in order to provide young prostitutes for willing customers.

Thanks to Trafficking 911 and Change.org word of this horrific practice was spread to the American people, and the NFL players themselves spoke out against this horrid practice in the form of public service announcements. The FBI and the Texas Attorney General's office worked in conjunction with local airlines to spot the young victims of sex trafficking, but there is still so much more that needs to be done.

As of this writing, my Packers are 8 - 0 on the season! They stand a very good chance of returning to the big dance this year, which will be held in Indianapolis. What troubles me is that, according to the scant bit of research I have done so far for this project (a social cause website against child sex traffickign at the Super Bowl), America's heartland is the core of the American sex trafficking trade. With young girls seeking to leave home and find their fortune outside of the rural confines of the Midwest, they are prime targets for those who would take advantage of them sexually.

I love my team, and I love the NFL; but I will boycott all that has anything to do with the NFL if they don't step up their game against child sex trafficking.

Social Causes a Go-Go...and a Closing Reference to a Grito Serpentiono Poem

My next (and final) project for this class is to create an online presence with regard to a social issue. I have always been what I like to call a "silent activist" - someone who quietly goes about raising awareness and funds without getting in peoples' faces about it. For example, many years ago a child I used to babysit (who is now a sophomore in college!) fell ill with a step infection in her stomach. She spent several days in Hasbro Children's Hospital, and came very close to dying. That Christmas season, I made a donation to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital - and have continued to do so every Christmas season since, regardless of my personal financial picture. Why St. Jude's? Because they treat children whose families are uninsured, and do not have the ability to pay for hospital treatment. St. Jude's does not even have a patient accounts billing department, because the patient never receives a bill for services.

In return for my donation, St. Jude's always sends me return address labels with artwork, most of it crudely drawn, completed by their patients. Although my preference would be to use a more sophisticated looking label on my Christmas cards, I use every single one of them in the hope that those who see it will be inspired to donate as well. (Many of my friends tell me that they have been inspired to do just that). This is but one example of silent activism that I have found effective.

With the ever-evolving Internet being a daily presence in most peoples' lives, social networking has become an easy way for people to show support for the causes they would like to support, without actually doing it. There is actually a word for this: slacktivism. By clicking a button on Facebook, I can "Like" Breast Cancer Research, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Disabled Veterans', and other causes that I support financially; but I can also "Like" causes like Stop Pet Abuse NOW! and other causes that may or may not be actual non-profit organizations. In his article Digital Natives As Self-Actualizing Citizens, W. Lance Bennett comments on this phenonmenon.

Bennett points out that many of today's youth generation (i.e. students and adults under the age of 25, or at least this is how I interpret it) use social media as a way to get involved with the political and civic processes of society. However, as Bennett so perfectly puts it, "the bottom line is that digital natives largely do not participate in civic affairs out of a sense of duty or obligation but a sense of personal fulfillment." Slacktivism, anyone?

This sense of "what's in it for me" activism is what divides the old-school activists from the new-school activists, or what Bennett calls the "Dutiful Citizens (D.C.'s)" from the "self-Actualizing Citizens (A.C.'s)". According to Bennett, D.C.'s feel a duty to vote in government elections; participate in government; and seek out information from trusted sources, such as trational media like newspapers and the nightly news; and show their support for a cause by joining a physical organization, one with a Board of Directors and a voting membership.

A.C.'s, on the other hand, are more likely to vote for their favorite American Idol contestant than for their preferred Presidential candidate. According to Bennett, they feel less of an obligation to vote and/or participate in central forms of government. In fact, they mistrust the government; and this mistrust is fed through their choice of alternative forms of media. A.C.'s are more likely to have an online network of "friends" than in-person social ties, and subsequently any social causes in which they involve themselves follow this loose organizational structure.

Having pointed out the differences between the older generations and the younger generations, Bennett suggests that "schools should help students to develop their own public voices by using various digital media, allowing students to find their own means of engaging with and learning about issues, and forming peer-learning communities." I suggest that this slope is a dangerously slippery one, for several reasons.

1. Online content is treated differently than book content

Online content is designed to be consumed in quick bites - small chunks of information delivered in easily processable wording. Even when the content is not designed this way, it has come to be expected. As a Science Tutor, many of the students with whom I work are assigned homework through ChemSkillsBuilder, an online software program that really does help students improve their grade...if they treat it like a regular homework assignment by writing down the problems, solving them, and typing in their answers. My experience in working with Chemistry students is that most will attempt to solve the online problems in their heads, never taking notes on how the problem is done, or reviewing the advice given after a wrong answer is submitted. Consequently, grades are lower, frustration is higher, and nothing is accomplished.

2. Online media is not always accurate

Conspiricy theory sites abound on the Internet. Marketing themselves as "alternative media", they spew absolute farce that they then present as serious journalism. Their sources - when revealed - are quite questionable and usually biased; and many times the "facts" presented are unchecked - and inaccurate. However, their fans have been brainwashed to believe that all reporting is true and accurate - and those who would say otherwise are part of the government machine that seeks to silence the truth.

3. Peer-Learning Communities are invariably unbalanced

When students are assigned to a group learning community, be it a group project or a study group, natural leaders tend to rise to the top. These are the students who take the initiative to organize the project and create a working timeline, based upon the work that needs to be completed by the deadlines assigned for it. Less organized students naturally seek to follow - many will hold up their end of the work, but just as many will allow others to pull the load while they sit back and reap the benefits of the group efforts.

Bennett suggests that the ideal way of teaching students would be to combine the old styles with the new styles, in order to embrace this new form of activism; but I feel he is a bit utopian in his belief that "young people are using their power as consumers to communicate directly with corporations." This may in fact be true, but what are they communicating? That they can type a strongly worded email? Did they write to the CEO of Sony to complain of the harsh labor conditions under which ossium metal (required in the manufacture of smart phones and video gaming systems) is mined? Did they make a credible threat to stop buying PS3 games and consoles and Sony smart phones until the inhumane treatment of workers - mostly poor children of African nations - improves? If the answer from America's collective A.C.'s is "yes", then please excuse me while I put my hip-waders on, because the bullsh-- is getting a little deep.

Bennett ends his article with the thought "the vitality of our democracy rests on reconciling changing youth civic styles with the more traditional notions of citizen engagement that still characterize most schools, governments, and public interest spheres." I could not disagree more. Just because something is popular does not make it right. The popularity of social media has dehumanized youth - cyberbullying is a prime example of this occurance. Rather than give in to the beast, I say fight it. This leads me to another article I read this week, Can Social network Sites Enable Political Action?, by Danah Boyd.

Ms. Boyd write the article in 2008, while a PhD candidate at UC - Berkeley. Her specific area of study was "youth engagement in networked places", like MySpace (remember them?) and Facebook, the Serena Williams of social media*. The title of the article intrigued me, and I was not disappointed by its contents.

Ms. Boyd states her thesis concisely:

Activists have fantasized about ordinary citizens using SNSes for political action and speaking truth to power. Yet these daydreams are shattered through even a cursory look at actual practices...Typical SNS participants are more invested in adding glitter to pages and SuperPoking their “friends” than engaging in any form of civic-minded collective action.

Just when I thought I could not agree more, Boyd ups the ante with an argument that shatters the idea that Facebook and MySpace are places where youth can interact with politicians and their government representatives, resulting in even more vigorous head-nodding on my part. She states, "By and large, when politicians and activists talk about using MySpace and Facebook, they aren’t talking about using it the way most people do; they are talking about leveraging it as a spamming device." A giant spamming device, at that; and a misleading one, considering that many people actually think that politicians - and not their staff and handlers - are the ones reading and responding to their posts.

Personally, I try to keep politics off of my Facebook page for the simple reason that it is a form of social media. The age-old rule of never discussing politics or religion in a social setting carries over to my Facebook page 99% of the time. (There are occasions when I slip and my outrage gets expressed, but I never allow the debate that ensues to turn uncivil). However, there are those that use their Facebook and MySpace pages as political forums for their beliefs. My question is, how much support do they actually hope to garner for their cause?

The Occupy Wall Street movement started out as a social networking movement, in response to the success of the Arab Spring movement. The difference between the two is that in the time it took the Arab Spring movement to topple governments, OWS has only managed to get Bank of America to change its mind about charging a $5/month debit-card fee. The difference in the results speaks directly to the level of commitment from those supporting the cause. In the Arab world, their youth are willing to fight and die for their cause; in America, our youth is unwilling to be inconvenienced. Many years ago, when I saw a performance by Grito Serpentino**, he recited a piece titled "When The Revolution Comes (Ain't Gonna Be No Cappuccinos With It)". I always wondered if that would be true. Now, I guess I know.

*Facebook is younger than MySpace; but just as Serena overtook her older sister Venus in tennis success, Facebook has far outpaced MySpace in popularity.

**The man, not the group, as at the time he was a with the San Jose (CA) Poetry Slam Team.

Looking Back To When I Was Green

I am taking this class - Writing for Online Environments, for those who forgot - as a way to update my Communications degree. I am enjoying it a lot, but sometimes I forget that my classmates are still learning...and that they haven't experienced life in an advertising agency or in the sales office of a TV station. I get aggravated over missed deadlines, and I supppose I always will, but it is more than that.

I forget that my classmates have probably not yet taken classes in Research Methods...that the extent of their writing experience ends with Writing 101, the universal college writing requirement...and that they have yet to learn how to balance their time. My boss tells me all the time that it is very easy for students to waste time without even realizing it, and then complain that they just can't fit everything they need to complete into their schedules. (As a Tutor, part of my job is to assist students in time management).

Sometimes, I forget what it is like to be young and "green". Kermit the Frog was right - it ain't easy being green - and although I can't see myself being more accomodating of missed deadlines, I can control my response to the situation.

That Was My Last Nerve, So Please Stop Getting On It!!!!

I think I have finally discovered what my "pet peeve" is! There are a lot of things that really p!ss me off - people who lick their fingers before turning the pages of a newspaper; bad drivers; and poor manners among them - but my annoyance with that stuff is usually quite fleeting. This group project and peer review forum on which I have been working has led me to discover an annoyance that has reached levels I have never before known; in fact, I did not know I could be so p!ssed and still manage to not to (literally) tear someone a "new one". What is this pet peeve of which I speak? Ignorance for deadlines, especially among Communications majors.

Having spent the first several years of my career working in media advertising, I learned the hard way that a deadline is just that - a deadline. A drop-dead date after which material cannot and will not be accepted for editing or publication. I have seen salespeople whine and cry and beg for understanding, suffering complete breakdowns, because they missed a deadline and their client's advertisments were not to air (and their commissions were not to be in their paychecks).

For this Internet re-design project, Peer Reviews were due this past Thursday, by Midnight. Only ONE person responded and posted on time. One person out of THREE! The remaining two responded today - Sunday. The project is due tomorrow!! If they think I am even going to consider any more changes at 9:20 PM they are high on something! I seriously fear for their future careers, because unless they pull their heads out of their asses and learn the meaning of "deadline" they are not going to succeed in this field!

RANT OVER!!!

Thoughts and Memories On Internet Marketing

One thing that Facebook is always doing is "updating" their look and organizational scheme, much to the dismay of their users. I think this is partially because people do not like change, but also because it makes the site difficult to navigate. One new feature that I do like is the "real time" status update and comment scroll of my "favorite" friends, in the right sidebar. This allows me to see what is important to me right away, without having to fish around for it.

In spite of Facebook's success, I honestly think that if business websites changed their organizational formats as often as Facebook did the entire concept of the Internet would be one giant FAIL, simply because people would get tired of having to adjust to a new format every few months. I think this is why - on the flip-side of the coin - so many businesses are reluctant to update their website layout, even if it is outdated and/or disorganized.

Over the past 10 years, American businesses have adjusted to the use of the Internet and email as a vital - and expected - means of communication. I remember back in the late 1990's how I was one of the few people I knew to include an email address on my resume, in spite of the fact that no potential employer ever contacted me via email - and I was applying for jobs in the field of Communications and "New Media"!

I remember how back in 2000 while working for an advertising agency - a place where deadlines are always looming, and fast communication is key - my supervisor chastised me for using email instead of the telephone to contact my TV sales reps, saying that "the telephone is quicker; people are more likely to answer it than email". Oh, how times have changed.

I remember the work I did in designing the very first website for Pride Auto Group (which has since dwindled from seven successful dealerships to just Pride Hyundai). I remember trying to sell the owner and Executive Vice-President on investing in the web-software I needed to create a first-class website...and I remember when they fired the HTML code designer (I only handled the graphics, Flash, and layout) because the owner reasoned that "a website is a waste of money; people aren't going to use the Internet to buy cars". This was in 2002 - only 10 years ago.

It has really only been within the past 5 - 7 years that an Internet presence has been considered mandatory for a company to have - complete with Facebook and Twitter accounts - and it seems like many of the haphazard efforts of creating one are still out there and in use. Hopefully, within the next 5 - 7 years, these disorganized efforts will be pulled together into something more appealing to potential customers.

Website Overload

When one person is doing something it is special, unique, and eye-catching. When everyone starts doing something, the bar is raised to remain special, unique, and eye-catching. I have lived long enough to watch the Internet grow from 16-mbps (or was it 16-kbps?) to a tool that can download complex flash-animation in seconds. Once upon a time, flash animation was special...now, it is expected. Once upon a time, interactive features were exiting...now, they are routine. Once upon a time, websites were unique...now, they all blend one into the other.

I have been browsing the Internet this week looking at the different styles and layouts chosen by different companies and industries, and quite honestly it has all started to blend into one big swirl. How is a company to stand out when attention spans are too short to catch for more than a few seconds? These are the thoughts I am processing this week...more posts on this subject will follow as I figure out what I am thinking.

Big Steps

Today, I took a huge step: I submitted my Ask Tazi! column for suggested publication. I felt knots in my stomach as I wrote the email, but I also figure nothing ventured, nothing gained. A rejection will not be a reflection of my writing, or of the popularity of the column - just of the needs of the publication to which I submitted it.

Today, a friend posted a picture on her Facebook page. It said, "'It's impossible', said Pride; 'It's risky', said Experience; 'It's pointless', said Reason;'Give it a try', whispered The Heart". So to my heart I listened.