Campaign awareness in schools on use of the internet

Some argue that privacy is dead in an age of the internet. It's more or less true. Day by day our lives are taken over by the ever advancing electronic communication devices. The growth is going at unprecedented rate and we are in an unknown territory for there was no wide spread use of internet before the 90's. The convenience to share and consume information has a profound effect on everyone alive today, especially the youth who are born in an age of technology.

Internet brings an age of free flow of information. It's anarchistic by nature. When I mention " Anarchy " I mean as in without rules. Not chaos and destruction. It's basically free. Stored in the tens of thousands of servers across the world are all types of information which can either be used for good or bad. It gives people so much power and responsibility as well. The latter, many don't like to think much about due to the convenience.

Today, sites like YouTube and Facebook are bombarded with trillion Gigabytes worth of data on daily basis. Smart phones and mobile devices capable of Wifi or 3G functions are also the cause of people sharing tons of thousands of videos and pictures on the internet. These are devices which is very common among the youth who doesn't care much about privacy or internet footprints. So, it's not surprising to see questionable content being posted on the internet. Some do regret later and pull it down but the nature of digital information is that it is basically permanent so long as there is electricity.

To raise awareness about dangers and consequences on using the internet, I would begin from the very place the issues are originated. The social media.

Using social media is the only way to bring awareness because it's not very likely that the young people are going to reduce their usage time. Social media functions can be used to the full advantage to bring young people in about the responsibility and accountability for being online.

The influential YouTubers who make viral videos can talk about online issues on their viral videos through their subscribers who are basically the youth using the internet. Their reach is far wider than the teachers in the class room. They should also be persuaded to make specific videos about online issues for their audiences.

Sites which host viral contents like 9gag.com can raise awareness about the dangers of sharing information. Everyday, thousands of students and everyday people a like visit such sites to find jokes and funny materials.

There should also be a Facebook page and a discussion forum where the youth can freely discuss and seek help.

Last of all, there should be a seminar on online privacy and safety issues hosted by social media experts. Teachers and technical experts can make significant impact on the youth by encouraging discussion and debate about social media in classes as well.

The main theme of awareness should be " responsibility " and " accountability ". This is what social networking should be about. Internet is a free place and everyone shouldn't forget the bad that also comes with the good.

Last weekend was filled with the recent mid term election happened in Myanmar. My facebook feed was exploded with all the updates from what is happening back in Myanmar. All the celebrities and friends a like posting minute by minute, hour by hour posting the updates of the process. It was exciting and questionable at the same time.

So, when I found this article in " The weekend west ", I wasn't surprised much how much the international attention was on Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar. What is more interesting is, it's the article about her personal love life. It's titled " Suu Kyi's untold love story ". My logical assumption tells me that the editors chose the topic so that it's more relatable by the general public in Australia. It's a love story about a Burmese girl who happens to be the daughter of the father of Burmese independence, General Aung San. Her choice to be with a man from different racial background was a subject of political controversy back in the country as well.  It's really tragic.

Her personal relationship commitments were used against her political goals but it didn't stop the general public from Myanmar to stop loving her. Her personal sacrifices and a spot light place in the international community made her more popular in Myanmar.

So, it was a landmark in the political history of Myanmar when she was elected again into the parliament in the recent elections. She was under house arrest for more than a decade. Survived an attempt to assassinate at Depaeyin and made it through the other political controversies surrounding her house arrest. It represented a triumph and national reconciliation in a country turmoiled by plenty of internal and external issues.

Aung San Suu Kyi is a virtuous woman. There is no doubt about it. Her recent campaign showed that it's unstoppable when the public is totally behind her. Myanmar is not a technologically advanced country. It is astonishing to see the social media exploding with support for her political party, NLD. All my friends, a few of them are celebrities, posted hour by house updates of the election process despite the slow speed conditions of internet. They were posting pictures, videos and news updates as if it's happening right in front of my eyes. It made me think of one of the rules in public relations. What happened in Myanmar is the explosive potential of influential celebrities and people a like supporting the highly influential person. The result is the victory in the elections by a big margin.

Now, the question arises. Such kind of power is a dangerous one. She and her party representatives won almost every ballot on the seat. Mainly due to the fact that the public supports the idealist leader. No one knows much about the representatives of her party until now. Perhaps they will do a fine job. Perhaps they will not. Only time can tell. Sometimes, it's good to view with skeptical eyes from the outside away from the euphoria and romanticism. Are the Myanmar public in love with the election process and victory of Aung San Suu Kyi or the virtues of the party itself ? Where I'm standing at, it's not so clear.  

Group projects are part of student lives. They either teaches a person to be a team player or go to the opposite direction. Personality types matter too when working in groups. Group projects are where the extroverts thrive and the introverts fear. We are now living in a world where extroversion is revered and introversion isn't favored.  My aim is to bring an understanding between the two types when working in group projects.

First I will explain basic necessities for running a group project.

Number 1: Setting roles and goals. It is entirely essential to set roles and goals at the early stages of group project to avoid confusion and resentment afterwards. Every group member must know their role exactly and must be willing to do their part. Being organized means having greater efficiency thus better quality group work.

Number 2: Having time cushion at the end of the schedule

It is important to revise and improve on the group work before the due date arrives. It also helps to finish tasks ahead of time just in case if unfortunate event happens.

Number 3: Work load balance

Why is it important? It is important that every group member should know their personal limitations and not carry the weight they can't. Failure to deliver means hindering the group's goals and objectives. One person must not carry every responsibility while the others do only a little. Clarifying the work load balance means having greater transparency and efficiency in group.

Now for the introverts in the group project:

Know that your opinions matter.

Why?

Just because someone speaks up and have the attention doesn't mean that they are always right. Group projects are the area where the risk of Group think occurs. People tend to agree out of their own uncertainty. You must not let your creativity and opinions be drowned out by the surrounding voices and distortions. Remember that most innovative ideas come from inside. You don't have to change the way your brain function to get a long with others. The world needs all thinkers, talkers and doers a like. Thinkers strategize, talkers persuade and doers...they do the job.

Remember that public relations is a profession where you have to be all three. Strategizing, persuading and doing things.

And last of all: Check this amazing Ted talk by Susan Cain. This will bring a greater understanding to yourself if you are an introvert. The extroverts will gain an understanding to the other way of thinking as well.

Human wifi hotspots...Click on this article

The first thing that popped up in my head is, how is this going to be practical? let alone being ethical.

It is a bold approach for them to come up with something questionable and entirely experimental. Although the project is well intentioned, we also need to consider how this is going to change the perception of homeless people among everyone.


To understand why it's not practical, we need to look at the reasons why and how people use the internet. Wireless connection is something I expect to be there, without disruptions and without having to deal much with internet service providers.



The other factor to consider is the competing available technology. Would anyone with a mobile internet device, let it be smart phones or tablets go out of their way to buy services from moving mobile hotspot. They have no need for it when they have their own 3G connection on their devices.

The homeless people could be helped in plenty of ways without being objectified into wireless mobile hotspots. Sure, it might give them a chance for their own income and it's entirely up to them. But I don't see this idea going anywhere.



 

I'm not a cult follower of Apple products or Steve Jobs but I really like some of his thinking and the way he combined technology with liberal arts ideas. And I wholeheartedly agree with this quote. I believe that the heart is the compass to the salvation.

This video is a must see for everyone who is interested in awareness raising aspect of Public Relations. I think it's brilliant how they produced this documentary.

The Purpose of Blogging in PR

Blogging to me was a way of sharing my thoughts when it first came into the internet scene prior to the rise of social networking in early millennium. The web 2.0 platform is one of the most important factors that has an enormous influence on how people communicate and share their thoughts with each other. Being able to publish means being able to broadcast your thoughts and information to the infinite cyber space with many other people from around the world. There were plenty of examples in the past decade on how the bloggers have changed the political landscape of many countries including Iran, Egypt and Burma(Myanmar).

I can think of several reasons why blogging is important in Public Relations industry

Number 1: Keeping up with the technology

Public relations is an ever evolving field where the practitioners use all means of communications technology to reach to the broad audience. To stay relevant in the field means to be able to use all types of technological mediums and learn to master the nature and potential of the medium itself. Technical expertise and versatility are the qualities that every public relations practitioners must possess.

Number 2: Blogs are excellent places for research

Part of being in public relations industry means staying in touch with all sorts of issues in society. Since blogs are freely available to create, many people from around the world use it to share different types of information on their blogs. Plenty of influential events can be traced back to the bloggers. Understanding and world events and views of different people gives a public relations practitioner and edge in formulating the better responses.

Number 3: Blogging lets you write your thoughts

Let's face it. We do not write as much as we used to write in our school days. We consume more information than we create. The advance of laptops and personal computers are partly to blame. One can get lost in the infinite pages on the cyberspace while trying to quench the information thirst and it can be achieved instantly. Writing is an art where a person can self discover and organize their thoughts. It's also an essential skill for public relations practitioner to have. Blogging is a perfect medium to start writing again.

Number 4: Blogging is an excellent medium to keep in touch with your target audience

PR blogging is different from conventional blogging. It is more of focused communication between the audience and the blogger on particular matter or organization. It's about reaching out to the audience and maintaining the relationships that is built. Starting your own blog is a perfect way to become more experienced about the whole process.

If you are interested check the below links for more information on PR and Blogging,

http://e-strategyblog.com/2009/12/the-importance-of-blogging-10-reasons-pr-people-should-blog/

http://www.online-pr.com/Holding/PRandBloggingarticle.pdf

http://www.changements.com.ulaval.ca/module10/RP_blog.pdf