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El mundo está en medio de una revolución. El consumidor de hoy no come cuento; alza su voz para expresar su aprobación o desaprobación armado de las herramientas que le ofrece la tecnología. El status quo representado en los medios de comunicación tradicional, observa perplejo el avance de las masas a través de las redes sociales. Las marcas por su lado, están obligadas a controlar sus delirios mesiánicos para darle participación al nuevo consumidor en la construcción del mensaje. Bienvenidos a la Era del Prosumidor, el consumidor que produce los mensajes de lo que consume y funge de canal de comunicación.
Como en todos los sectores, el marketing incorporó sistemáticamente un proceso de producción. Primero estaba la empresa donde nacía la marca atada a los atributos de los productos que producía. Luego, las agencias de publicidad que le daban personalidad a esa marca. Seguían las centrales de medios para escoger los vehículos de comunicación que transmitieran el mensaje. Y finalmente, estaba el consumidor sometido a una comunicación egoísta y unidireccional.
El marketing hoy enfrenta una revolución. Y cuando hablo de revolución, hablo no sólo del levantamiento de las masas a través de la tecnología, sino de los cambios que se están generando dentro de esa cadena de producción. Las agencias de publicidad y las centrales de medios ya no cumplen su función; ahora la comunicación de las marcas se construye directamente entre la organización y sus audiencias. Es el consumidor convertido en medio de comunicación quien distribuye exponencialmente el mensaje a sus comunidades a través de las redes sociales.
Antes de Internet, las empresas tenían sólo dos opciones para llamar la atención: publicidad costosa y free press. La web cambió las reglas; ahora la relación es directa con el prosumidor.
Hoy las empresas exitosas sobre salen más por lo que piensan, que por lo que producen; por que generan experiencias de marca; y por compartirlas entre sus audiencias. Entienden que Internet no son websites, sino el coctel para estrechar relaciones con el nuevo consumidor.
El prosumidor consulta Internet para decidir su compra y satisfacer sus deseos únicos justo en el momento en que él está online. Descifrar este comportamiento exige un cambio en el pensamiento estratégico de las organizaciones. Para triunfar en la escena digital hay que escuchar, educar, divertir, conectar y proveer de herramientas tecnológicas al prosumidor para que sostenga esas relaciones a favor de la marca. Solo así se garantiza su lealtad.
El prosumidor y su ecosistema permiten que las marcas conquisten rápidamente audiencias más amplias y diversas. Pero aún más importante, permiten reducir costos de publicidad en medios masivos y costos de investigación; el prosumidor es tan generoso, que se deja conocer sin mayores reservas.
Con esto en mente, la pregunta es: ¿cómo construir relaciones con el consumidor de hoy? sencillo, entendiendo su problemática. Y, ¿Cómo resolverla? con contenidos útiles y divertidos que apunten a un efecto viral. ¿Para qué? para construir relaciones duraderas y ofrecer experiencias de marca. Esa es la mejor manera de ganar utilidades, tráfico online, prospectos, ventas, posicionamiento, buena reputación, etc.
En la red están los instrumentos para conocer a fondo las necesidades y motivaciones de nuestro público objetivo. Solo basta saber identificar los medios por donde más transitan sus conversaciones, rastrearlas, y mezclar el juego de palabras más usado por ellos. Ese insumo le permitirá desarrollar contenidos que impacten al público objetivo con precisión meridiana.
A través de la red también se puede segmentar. En ese renglón el desafío es mucho mayor por los millones de nano nichos atomizados en el mercado, cada uno con su ecosistema propio, intereses y conectividad. Pero la dificultad no está en identificarlos y contactarlos, sino en la inexistencia de productos para satisfacer sus necesidades más complejas. Esos nanos nichos, sus orígenes y su futuro están detallados en el libro de Chris Anderson; “The Long Tail.” En resumen, hay clientes para todo, y la posibilidad de descubrir nuevos mercados es infinita a través de la red.
Google y Facebook, por ejemplo, son fuentes inteligentes de información que facilitan encuentros rentables entre la oferta y la demanda -oportunidades que muy pocos pueden ver y saben aprovechar. Entre ellos hay miles de jóvenes por debajo de los 25 años que ya son millonarios en los Estados Unidos. Lo único que hicieron fue entender la dinámica de la red y capitalizarla.
Segmentadas las audiencias sigue el mensaje, que a la luz del marketing online, pierde el tono publicitario y se convierte en la voz de un amigo consejero. Ahora son los contenidos inteligentes los que se abren paso, con historias contadas por su marca para ganar la confianza de las audiencias.
A la hora de generar contenidos hay que pensar en sus compradores, no en sus productos: no importa lo que su marca diga sino lo que el consumidor quiere.
Utilice un lenguaje cotidiano y cálido; por hacerlo más real no significa que sea menos profesional. Interactuando con sus consumidores informalmente construirá relaciones más humanas.
Esta es la economía de la atención: ahora gobierna el Marketing de Relevancia, donde ser único no tiene precio. Construya una identidad en palabras e imágenes. Haga un script dándole significado y razón de ser a su organización.
Suministre información, no publicidad. Los contenidos deben describir los problemas del grupo objetivo y soluciones prácticas para esos problemas. Cuando ellos lleguen a su website tienen que decir “¡si, este soy yo!. Esta empresa entiende mis problemas y por lo tanto debe tener soluciones para resolverlos.”
Para cada grupo hay que desarrollar contenidos independientes. Asegúrese de establecer estas diferencias de manera visible en su website.
El copy ahora es un arte que reposa en los archivos históricos de la publicidad -no es auténtico. El prosumidor sólo recibe consejos de personas que se preocupan por sus cosas. Su decisión de compra es consultada en motores de búsqueda e influenciada por el comportamiento de sus comunidades. Ese mensaje sí resulta genuino.
En la red existen prosumidores poderosos, influenciadores más respetados que los líderes de opinión que vemos en los medios de comunicación. Así que en lugar de gastar millones en una agenda de relaciones públicas para convencer a la prensa que lo publique, es mejor identificar, contactar y evangelizar bloggers, analistas, online news sites y líderes de opinión del mundo digital para que influyan sobre su público objetivo.
El prosumidor también facilita la medición de estas actividades en la red: su relación con la marca no es sólo medible a través de la compra, sino de su participación; la cual se traduce en el número de fans, subscripciones, calificaciones, tags, etc. En el mundo digital se conoce como conversiones. En este escenario las métricas son mucho más rápidas, precisas y útiles a la hora de redireccionar la estrategia.
Esta es la guerra de la atención. El consumidor tienes sus ojos puestos sobre las pantallas de sus dispositivos móviles y el computador. Es evidente que le está dando la espalda a los anuncios de los medios masivos.
Los comunicadores tienen que incorporar con imperante necesidad programas de marketing online para sobrevivir. Pero el marketing online no se trata de poner fastidiosos banners en websites concurridos. Se trata de entender las palabras y frases claves que los consumidores usan, e implementar micro campañas para llevarlos a páginas repletas de contenido relacionado con lo que buscan.
Bienvenidos a la Era del Prosumidor, donde su marca ya no es la anfitriona, y muchas veces ni siquiera está invitada a la fiesta.
Las reglas del mercadeo, la publicidad y las relaciones públicas están cambiando en el mundo. Muchos profesionales de la materia en Colombia, responsables por el éxito de las marcas, esperan con ilusión que la revolución social expresada a través de Internet muera en su intento de democratizar los medios de comunicación.
Sin embargo, las cifras están mostrando lo contrario. Según el último estudio de Comscore, agencia de medición de Internet, en Colombia existen diez millones de internautas activos consumiendo cada uno de ellos 22 horas mensuales de Internet –consumidores que en gran parte deciden su compra motivados por las recomendaciones de amigos y conocidos en la red, no por las invitaciones poco creíbles de la publicidad tradicional.
En los Estados Unidos las cifras son más reveladoras; el 78% de los consumidores confían en las recomendaciones de la gente del común, mientras que sólo el 14% confían en la publicidad; señala Erick Qualman, autor del libro “Socialnomics”. Así pues, evidenciamos que sólo la comunicación online tiene el poder de derribar la defensa cognitiva que generó la comunicación engañosa en décadas pasadas.
No obstante, por temor o desconocimiento, los profesionales de la comunicación en Colombia destinan tan sólo el 2.5% de su presupuesto a la escena digital pese a que el país registra en Latino América el segundo puesto de penetración de medios sociales. En los Estados Unidos la cifra va por 14%, según Huffingtonpost.. Es tiempo de convencerse que no se trata de una moda, sino de un cambio profundo en la forma de comunicar.
La gestión de la comunicación en Colombia es copiada del modelo americano, al igual que su evolución. Razón por la cual nuestra industria debe preparase creciendo paralelamente con el fenómeno que se da en las entrañas de una sociedad que busca por todos los medios participar en una transacción omnidireccional.
Y son los medios sociales los que dotan a los ciudadanos del común de herramientas para expresar sus sugerencias, enojo o fidelidad hacia los productos y servicios que consumen. Sin canales de participación, los mismos consumidores ignoran el mensaje y deprimen su imagen. Las marcas tienen que someterse al escrutinio público para garantizar su sostenibilidad en el mediano plazo.
Es hora de que los profesionales de la comunicación incorporen la herramienta digital a sus estrategias para establecer una comunicación directa, creíble y confiable, recuperando lo que los medios tradicionales están perdiendo vertiginosamente.
El E-consumidor es en esencia un comunicador, una persona del común que agradece ser tenido en cuenta en la gestión de la marca y que está dispuesto a ser un embajador de ella mientras le den los medios para amplificar el mensaje. En una mirada al pasado, estamos hablando de la más antigua estrategia de ventas: “el boca a boca” o “word of mouth”, bajo el lente de la era de la información.
Estrategias orientadas a identificar los consumidores del nuevo mundo, a escuchar sus conversaciones, y a conocer sus hábitos de consumo y el grado de influencia en su comunidades online, garantizan la conquista de océanos azules como los que describen Cham Kim y Renée Mauborgne en su libro “La Estrategia del Océano Azul”. Desarrollos tácticos en esos segmentos que logren innovar con contenidos en Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Blogs, RSS, podcasts, video juegos, etc…triunfarán con cifras exponenciales o virales en la red. Resultado final: retornos de inversión más elevados y en menor tiempo.
Es una ecuación sencilla que merece más protagonismo y genera excedentes para los diferentes stakeholders de las organizaciones. Las reglas se están rompiendo para bien; para darle espacio a un consumidor sofisticado que satisfaga sus necesidades de consumo mientras aporta al crecimiento de las marcas; para lograr una mayor eficiencia y efectividad en los esfuerzos de comunicación; para darle libre paso a los avances tecnológicos, y sobre todo para construir una sociedad más justa en términos de participación.
It is time to think visually and spatially rather than linearly. It is time to pave the way to innovation in order to make business profitable and sustainable. It is imperative to boost a culture that connects a brand to customers experience. By channeling creativity and innovation through advertising, spaces, process, strategies, objects, solutions and so on, we will surely succeed in this competitive environment.
Now it is time to appeal to human-centered design approach that contradicts the ability to reason logically, sequentially, and speedily. Those brains that led us to abundance and automation cannot work for their own any longer. By contrary, they need us.
Today, smaller and more sophisticated markets with more demanding and complex consumer needs are gaining ground. The long tail´s consumer needs us. Everything revolves around experiences and added value to satisfy today’s marketplace. It is our time.
What is the business then?: bringing items from Asia to Western hemisphere, add them value from real design concepts, and then sell them on-line. Easy and profitable.
Designs bottom up marketing strategies to influence digital-era consumer´s purchase decision.
Acknowledges that consumers buy what their peers endorse, and as a result, drives strategies toward that goal.
Uses technology to allow consumers build the brand and elevate awareness whereas reducing mass media costs.
Makes consumers think, respond and want to share your content.
Understands that consumers consider that belonging is better than buying.
Accepts that this economical crisis made consumers embrace functional instead of emotional reasons to adopt a brand.
Recognizes that technology resuscitated word-of-mouth while eroding the value of traditional marketing.
Tracks online conversations to get an early pulse on new products and to create and capture new demand.
Mixes innovation and creativity to create organic and viral messages.
Loves working with leaders describing the future instead of employees tethered to plug-based desktop computers, feared of losing their job.
Does not fear of failure, blame, and criticism.
Does not ask permission to change things.
The Organization of American States brags about being the leader in the Hemisphere for political dialogue and cooperation, and there is neither dialogue nor cooperation among its audiences -at least not on social media websites created for satisfying those needs.
The OAS is delivering its message and recognizing the need to turn to an aggressive communication strategy to survive in an information-driven society. Nevertheless, it has yet been unable to make it excel in the on-line world -inexcusable with such a strong brand to sell.
The implementation of an overall digital marketing strategy is currently taking place in order to tackle the pressing challenges of the future. The OAS is blending all its own communications tools at its disposal (website, multimedia sources, a magazine, several publications and a radio station), with those provide by the Internet. As a result, it has little by little reinvigorated the brand and the message. But the strategy seems to have an unclear understanding about other digital sources available not only to enhance awareness but to move people to action.
The positive:
The OAS’ Web Site is the single most important tool it possesses to deliver its message. The site produces useful and interesting content, effective for such activities as looking up an OAS treaty, reading the latest news from around the region, or following webcasts of meetings in real time. In order to boost those activities, the organization just until recently incorporated a YouTube Channel, a Twitter account and a RSS news on its site. On Google, for instance, appears numerous links for the institution’s web site and hundreds of related news. Wikipedia, for its part, has given voice to multiple OAS’s editors as well. That is fine.
The negative:
Unfortunately, the organization has a tremendous limitation since it has not opened up its doors for people around the world to actively participate in the OAS’ issues. In other words, although it has been able to deliver its message within some key audiences, there is no conversation with them–the relationship is not multidirectional but unidirectional. As a result, the organization has not generated engagement and empowerment. It is missed opportunity to see how an international organization with such an interesting issues, a great deal of multimedia sources and a strong web site presence, wastes the chance of listening to people around critical topics, and empower them in order to defend democracy, justice, peace and prosperity in the Americas.
The OAS is well-known and widely respected in some Latin American countries. In many other parts of the region, nonetheless, has little or no awareness. It is virtually invisible to the general public in the United States, Canada -all the more reason to execute an aggressive social media communications plan.
Recommendation
The OAS’s audiences should be provided with valuable digital tools to create, share and influence other people. Those tools (Twitter and YouTube) currently incrusted on the OAS’s web site have not been properly communicated to the media, for instance. The Department of Media Relations has not done a significant endeavor to make them know among journalists.
The creation of a blog might be a solution not only to converse with the media actors, but also to close the gap between the organization, and think tanks, universities, institutions, interest groups, political spheres in Washington, DC and general public throughout the Hemisphere. There is no other inexpensive and pragmatic way to trigger a worldwide discussion around the OAS´s issues.
The OAS’ content shouldn’t be built from top-down any more. It has to be consistent with its core values: dialogue and cooperation among the nations. A blog represents the voice of many. It is through the exchange of the Americas’ citizens´ ideas, comments and experiences how people will begin identifying similarities among them, and if they are smartly directed, communities will commence to take form. Over time, those communities will represent a powerful tool to maximize the OAS’s work in the Hemisphere.
In the last few years, Colombia has improved its image since it has built up countless achievements in terms of safety, economic and social development, foreign investment, and tourism.
Nevertheless, its reality is far distant from the perception some people hold about Colombia abroad. Colombia needs to show the world its real face and the values of its people.
As a result, Colombia government launched two campaigns with different message, one after another: Colombia is Passion, and Colombia the Only Risk is to Waiting Stay. A set of videos were produced and posted on YouTube combined with alternative media outlets. Unfortunately, those campaigns kicked off from a tactic instead of a strategy -terrible mistake.
The first video, under the slogan “Colombia is Passion” managed to position among Colombians in just three years by engaging and empowering its audiences through multiple social media tools -particularly on YouTube. Thousands of Colombians spread a video on the Internet and many turned simple civilians into fierce ambassadors; the video sparked a strong feeling of patriotism.
The video is certainly appealing. Colombians easily can identify signs throughout it; both the signifier and the signified shape a perfect symbiosis that represents cultural components required to establish associations and emotional connections. This triggers the sense of belonging to mobilize Colombians: colors, flavors, happy people, places, music, patriotic symbols, etc. The voice of a kid telling the story is a great idea, but it would have being better had he talked from his innocent perspective about Colombia, and had matched that fantastic and imaginary world (signifier) with real images of the country (signified); a kid reading some lines written by advertisers doesn’t convince of anything. Foreigners need more than beautiful mountains, beaches, good people, ferias and carnivals, athletes, celebrities –which by the way, all countries posses- and the lie of advertising to decide whether to go or not to Colombia. They need something more convincing.
This initiative didn’t improve the fields of trade culture, investment, and tourism -the aims what the campaign was created for. No foreigner is going to invest or visit a country because ‘the passion of its people”. That message was wrong as a result of a campaign with no foundation; it didn’t prioritize its audiences properly and the storytelling seemed to be written for motivating Colombians and not foreigners. They didn’t realize Colombians were already proud of their country. What they did require was a powerful tool to show and move foreigners to action. And what foreigners need, was a change of mentality about Colombia and a differentiator attractive enough to even think of visiting it.
A second Campaign, under the slogan “Colombia the Only Risk is you wanting to stay”, was launched later and carries a message that tackles a critical issue: safety for foreigners. In this opportunity, the storytelling brings testimonies of real people who once visited Colombia and decided to live there for good. That does make people change their perception about the South American country. Safety’s message is intrinsic; no need to say anything about the country improvements in terms of security. When a story is told by real people sounds far more credible. The video’s protagonists challenge anyone to discover natural wonders, to meet Colombians, to explore and to fall in love. They are telling their story and their words are supported by images. This is good. Colombians now count on an effective tool to persuade foreigners to change their view of Colombia.
But these endeavors are overshadowed by the ambition of entertainment monopolies in Colombia. The pain and shame Drug trafficker industry has brought to this country during 40 years is represented through TV series and movies, most of them exportable. “The Cartel” is a perfect example of it. This is a storytelling quite profitable. That is the image people abroad have from Colombia, and no single video is going to change that as long as our storytellers start producing smart television.
To sum up, Colombia is Passion is doing a great job so far. However, it should promote through social media sites a mass movement to reject television series and movies eroding the Colombian’s image. In doing so, maybe its efforts out there might have more relevance.
Common sense, reason and personal experiences are the foundation to make decisions, as well as are the elements to orient our present and future. We even are capable of making decisions that will affect our lives 20 years ahead: getting marriage, smoking or not, or studying or not, for instance. We can in part predict our future in accordance with some of our actions. Nevertheless, over the road will be at a crossroad sooner or later. We must be prepared; the ability to maximize opportunities and to adapt us to change is not an easy task. It demands wisdom. We need to expand our strategic thinking capacity and understand how this world works.
We all know that in order to handle situations intelligently, we should be more proactive and strategic. In business terms, there are some methods available to help professionals by using models extracted from scholars, applicable to almost any organization. The step by step model, for instance, requires a great dose of strategic thinking and the application of a pyramid to anticipate some problems and to make right decisions. Nevertheless, I considerer this model constrains creativity since incorporates exclusively analytic and logic skills on a mechanic process. The ability to reason logically, sequentially, and speedily cannot work for its own today. Creativity is a powerful source that must be integrated on any process. Creativity may make our life more enjoyable, or in a business world for example, transforms quotidian products into objects of desire. On top of that, step by step model is insufficient when it comes to facing uncertainty ten, twenty or thirty years ahead. By all means, I rather scenario planning.
Scenario planning is more demanding, challenging and helpful. It forces us to conjugate our beliefs, social patterns, experiences, common sense, culture, strategic skills and global perspective to deal with the forces that will impact our environment. Although those elements aren’t enough to predict the future, it certainty facilitate us to create conditions to influence on it. The fortune of thinking in advance is wisdom to apply it both in our personal life and business. Anticipate our responses in face of future treats might guarantee our survival. Anticipate our actions in face of those opportunities no one sees might make us success. Scenario planning provides us with the tools to protect us against uncertainty.
I particularly find appealing the fact that we may contextualize base on multiples plausible futures, demanding deep understanding of many topics and a great dose of creativity and imagination. Thus, scenario planning blends principles of the information age with those of the emerging conceptual age. In that sense, we really expand and stimulate our strategic thinking capacity.
In communications and marketing, we may provide the organization with a plan to prepare the company to confront communication crisis, to redesign an image, to know emerging audiences, to launch products and services, or simply to adapt them.
To summarize, I think scenario planning adjusts further to the challenges of today’s world, and especially, to the rising of the conceptual era. It also turns out more applicable to our personal life than step by step model. This model has not extent my strategic thinking capacity yet, but it did plant the seed to motivate a genuine interest on it.
Between 1980 and 2004 Colombia was submerged in the worst crisis of violence; drug trafficking industry had accumulated enough power to penetrate almost all our governmental organizations, from the judicial to legislative branch, military, private sector, church, and so on. Consequently, civilians were unprotected and drug traffickers took the advantage to intimidate them through terrorist activities which largely were carried out by left-wing revolutionaries groups.
As a result, this crisis gave rise to a new form of violence: kidnapping. Regardless of his or her political favoritism, social status, economic condition, age, gender, origin, and so on, any Colombian was exposed to being kidnapped. These kidnappers run the gamut from left-wing guerrillas to right-wing, common criminals, corrupt policemen, drug traffickers, political rivals — even close relatives. All together it was about enough to make Colombia into a pariah state.
Francisco Santos Calderon, journalist and current Vice-President of Colombia, was kidnapped by Pablo Escobar –the most fearsome drug-trafficker in history. This tragic episode inspired Santos to plan the most significant and astonishing movement ever performing in Colombia.
After his liberation, Santos related his captivity on national and international media. That was the first time that society experienced kidnapping in the words of a victim. Before, victims used to fly away or simply keep silent. No one was capable of rising up. By contrary, Santos not only talked about it but also he joined some friends and gathered funds to get ahead his idea.
By that time, Colombia barely had three television channels, some local newspapers and a handful of radio stations. Obviously, Internet was hardly known, at least in Colombia. Santos didn’t have such a tool to congregate people. He had to take advantage of his clout to persuade the media, diplomats, international community, government, church and businessmen to support him. The idea was mobilizing as many people as possible against the violence and kidnapping in Colombia. Santos wanted to convoke an enormous pacific march to send the actors of violence a strong message. For the first time in Colombian history, an entire society would raise their voice to demand peace.
Santos kept relating his story and little by little people got involved. He was providing a reason to talk. Over the weeks, he had already gained trust and noticed that he had become a symbol of peace and freedom; nevertheless, Colombians was still afraid of confronting armed groups. By that time, terrorists detonated bombs anywhere and people thought they might be attacked for marching on streets. But Santos kept striving by giving tons of interviews, visiting businessmen to finance the advertising and empowering a few fervent advocates.
From the scratch, along with just four staffers, Santos undertook this challenge. Firstly, advertising and free-press campaigns were a success; under the slogan “NUNCA MAS.! (Never again)” people began dialoging not only about this emerging symbol, Santos, but also about the “protest” that he was leading. On the other hand, these first advocates, most of them victims of violence, played a pivotal role by converting everyday people into engaged and empowered volunteers, donors and more advocates to spread the message. These people created small groups along with neighbors, coworkers, classmates, relatives, and so on. Groups conversed day to day while strengthening the Santos’ message. They quickly became powerful advocates in a topic on which they often had no formal connection. They were a part of a group fighting for peace. Via traditional media and grassroots activities Santos woke up civilians from their worst nightmare. Colombians realized how close their country was moving toward the brink of social and political collapse.
Before the largest march, these small groups lead 21 massive movements throughout the country. These demonstrations of freedom made people join more groups. Ultimately, Colombians lost their fear and went out to march on October 24 of 1999. Twelve million marched in all capitals of Colombia, in 700 small towns and in 58 cities overseas to demand cease fire, negotiations without interruption and promises never again to involve civilians into the conflict –including kidnapping. That Sunday night, more than 18 million people turned lights off at home; it was another protest against the guerrillas and its strategy of dynamiting electrical towers throughout the country. Santos’ initiative turned out to be a great success.
What Santos managed was to convert fear into hope. He gave voice to those Colombians who had lost it. This does not mean simply concentrating citizens to the cause of preserving our nation. He had to reveal our cruel reality and then turn cowards into truly heroes. He had to be very eloquent.
In terms of communications, he applied both traditional marketing and grassroots strategies; Santos persuaded and mobilized people by building an astonishing message, executing a free press and paid advertising campaigns, and engaging and empowering advocates by spreading great word-of-mouth. While families were watching Santos’ message on TV, an “evangelist” was knocking their doors bringing the same face-to-face message on behalf of peace. Afterwards, neighbors eagerly connected each other. They felt part of something important: the great family of peace.
He did not even need researching, or targeting; all Colombians were suffering due to illegal groups activities. He did not also need Internet; the existing media controlled everything and they backed his project. He just sent out a multi-target message which contained enough power to encourage Colombians to defend their country from its domestic enemies. He identified people needs: enforcing their rights in a democratic country.
It was his attitude of freedom, creativity, passion, unrestrained political enthusiasm, and willingness to work with ordinary citizens for a common purpose that made possible this dream. Santos and his advocates managed to do what the establishment authorities could not: honoring democracy by raising the voice of people. Colombians embraced their moral responsibility. They were inspired with patriotism, need for freedom, belonging; Santos never used them for personal political interests.
That day, the world witnesses how grassroots unleashed all its power on a scale never before seen in Colombia.
Thanks to politics and religion war exists. Thanks to Sun Tzu wars never evolve; we unfortunately persist in strategically eliminating other’s life to gain a posture. In 2009 there are still countries violating international statements, civilian daily die, soldiers become insane and kill innocents, intolerance increasingly penetrates our society. Nobody can do anything. The United Nations scarcely represent that for which was created. However, there is an increasingly phenomenon on which we all have a hope. Thanks to social media tools, war finally has a real enemy: people.
From my viewpoint, I totally agree with all sorts of expressions about war. I pleasantly came across a great number of people and organizations participating in armed conflicts while I was diving into this assignment. They are strategelly weaking people who love violence. Thanks to technology there is a new ingredient able to alleviate many of the dramas involve in war. People are exhausted of wars and today they have a weapon to fight.
Through Internet tools people are now capable of observing, comprehending, and protesting about war as eyewitness. Consequently, their voice takes much force. When it comes of people cognizant of this reality, it is probably that a war slips from politician hands and war turns into something less unfair. I believe that all together through social media tools can contribute to solve this drama; the majority of people disagree on war, and those who support it are now exposed to real abuses, cruelty, and evil. They should be changing their mind; Bloggers and independent journalist are doing a great job by depicting what really happen in war. Their material is more credible than traditional media or Hollywood use to show; in turn, others are denouncing barbarities and abuses; soldiers as well as their families are sharing their tragedy with millions. Despite there are a lot of boundaries in terms of freedom of speech, information ultimately surfaces somehow. Today there are no million of enemies. People are now fighting against just a few politician decisions.
As long as there is a camera near the battlefield and millions of united people willing to fight for justice, many warlike characters will have to control their behavior. We just hope this technological breakthrough does not be contaminated or prohibited due to war always will be a business and it seems more important than people expressions.
When I went to global voices online I first found a great number of bloggers providing current information. Then I dug into and found targeted information. There after I realized this information not only was targeted but also was openly independent. To conclude, this is the lens through which we can swiftly get a different view of the world events.
First of all I looked into my country despite the fact I should investigate about countries such as Russia or the Republic of Congo. I proudly came across many Colombians bloggers debating intelligently on more than 100 blogs in light of the last revelations in which our current government is involved into a scandal. Many of them are generating conversations, and even better, many of them are young people mobilizing youth. As a matter of fact, I already started contacting some of them. So thanks to this assignment I will be making the most out of this site to create a social network useful for my job.
Roberto as a name doesn’t have a huge variety of countries letter of which begins with R. Yet I ultimately picked Republic of Congo bloggers of which are discussing pivotal items like the economic crisis. Some bloggers are concerned about environment as others are excited about the World Cup in South Africa next year. Although just about all topics are debatable, there is a gloomy issue that no one is capable of writing: violence.
The world terrified still remembers the Ruanda war in the early nineties in which almost a million Tutsi were brutally killed. Today, the situation of violence in the Congo each day lamentably ends with the lives of 1.200 people, according to UNICEF. Over half of these victims are children, what makes this country one of the places with the world’s biggest killers of children. Consequently, there is no press freedom and much less expression of freedom. Just a few bloggers seem to be working to take those poor people away of their reality by conversing about the World Cup. To this day I saw just 15 entries while in my country are more than seventy on Global Voices Online Organization. Even Belize being a smaller country than the Congo has 29 entries. Fear is atomized within society and no blogger wants to put his life stupidly in risk despite blogging offers an opportunity to congregate people around a common cause.
The sinister hand of a phenomenon like violence is capable of silencing an entire people even today when there are many technological tools to express us. Not even disguising into Internet are the Congo bloggers willing to denounce these criminals. What it means that bloggers do have boundaries and there is no expression at all. Everything is subject to the environment.
