Assessment 3 – Reflective Blog Post
Will Robots Become Organisations’ Essential Stakeholders ?
In this inclusive blog, stakeholders of participatory media will be reflected upon. For the reader, please be prepared to “jump” between reflections and ideas. Jumping efficiently among information is an essential skill required to survive in the world of participatory media (#PM); the monarchy of the royal queen. The monarch of #PM is the GLOBE that is changing on the tik of the tok.
People of the 21st century, are stakeholders of participatory media by default, and must be loyal to the queen. Each person is either an owner of parts of the kingdom, a creator, a supplier, a dealer, a consumer, or a source of content on the queen’s platforms. In whatever form a person exists, he / she must #be _in_it_to_win_it. But what does win mean in such context? Is serving the queen the optimal win? Or do people reflect their own views to win even though our views at sometimes irritate the queen? The queen has dominated the space of all, and “me” as a queen’s citizen, really wanted to communicate with all stakeholders in the monarchy mutually, profitably, and constructively. How to do so?
Participatory media platforms, personal accounts and their content became like stars in dark skies, which people seek to find their way home. However, while seeking the stars, all people must make sure not to consume all the stars that come across their way (watch here to #Understand_Remember_Retell) ….
(xGalaxi Girlx, 2016, 03:15–05:21).
Not all stars lead home, neither all stars are safe to be looked at. Consequently, selecting the stars requires skills, equipment and knowledge, that enables people “how” to choose where to look and which way to move forward.
The question that emerges through these thoughts, if only 4.57 billion people around the world now use the internet, and from those 92 % of internet users are on participatory media (Chaffey, 2020), then what about the few other billions that are not connected online? Are they abandoned from the global intake? Or are they better off finding their way home safer, and more exact? Or are they not loyal to the queen?
Moreover, by looking at figure -1 (Chaffey, 2020), the millions of monthly active users of virtual media on all forms of platforms, raises a flag and asks: is surviving among this flood of participation guaranteed? How are people identified and what impact does this intense use of participatory media leave on all these people? And what impact are these stakeholders leaving on each other? Are they all aright?
(Rheingold, 2008), said with an ongoing increasing number of users of participatory media, many people became suspicious of their identities. Many people started defining themselves as active creators or consumers of a new virtual culture which identifies them as the civilized criticizes. Is this #virtual_identity real, sustainable, profitable, and ethical? Or is it as Emma Gannon described (TEDxHullYouTube, 2017, 03:15–05:21) …
Rheingold argued these virtual merging identities, inevitably have become integrated by preset logarithms, into prosocial goals. Through activities they enjoy, people become political participatory victims. At this point, Rheingold paused and asked what implies: “the merging notions of participatory media that ignore, devalue, and then marginalize how citizens are connecting with one another, do they collectively make a “development” in each person’s world?”
(Curley, 2010b; Mennis et al., 2013), stated multiplicity of virtual connectivity and disorder in #neighborhoods can reduce trust among people, and reduce the ability of communities to produce #collective_efficacy. On the other hand, Putnam, R. D. (2000), reflected how research showed broad evidence of how collective efficacy is a key aspect of prosperity of communities and growth of organizations.
In such context, in the era of #PM, what about the collective efficacy of billions who are not connected by participatory media? Will development of the international community, facilitated by #PM, elevates poverty, gives access to education to all, imposes equality? Or is just as reflected by research; #PM facilitates political authorities, and organizational growth among some stakeholders, however enlarges the gap between online communities and the rest of the world that lives offline. What about research evidence of how poverty and conventional social connections can lead to stronger collective efficacy, hence more networked communities (Rheingold, 2008)?
Practically, people with online access will continue to be networked. Likewise, the billions of people who are deprived from access to online connectivity, are wasted stakeholders that are required to be included. Accordingly, in such context, what is recommend to enhance global organization-stakeholder relationships, and innovate new global inclusive strategies for stakeholders’ engagement. Three key point are found essential to answer that question.
- Knowledge Economy
To be unique, explore new markets, attract new clients, recruit unique ideas, and even participate in innovated international development programs that are promoted by UN global agencies, inclusive participatory media is the way. One way of doing this is in investing in the new emerging capital as explained here.
- Automated “Social” Algorithms
Many organizations do consider the science of algorithms as a basic need to study trends of competitors and clients, to study behavior and interest of participants, and to politically advertise social / economical leads. Yet, utilizing social trends to write the algorithms is the new evolving market. This means to change social cultures into automated algorithms, that feed participatory media. Very soon robots will be able to change cultures and social behaviors into numerical language and provide outlooks of what news and learning material will look like (Lindén, 2017).
(Lindén, 2017), talked about software-generated news and academics material (“robot journalism”). The world will be completely scanned by robots and become triangulated as explained here.
Accordingly, robotic algorithms will continue to choose information for users, but will also construct the social processes and practices for communities that they will consume with no choice. The aim of this robotization is: increased efficiency of global monotonous and error-inclined routine tasks; reduced coast automated informing and teaching, and creation of new forms of global computational thinking. Thus, Social development of ontological networks as shown in figure 2
will be triangulated on real ground, and translated into algorithms language like the one shown in figure 3 (A Kröller, 2013, 03:15–05:21).
Such new algorithmic paradigms will enable organizations to create new emerging stakeholders, become global through enacting anti-poverty strategies to improve lives of the poor, and generate maximization of income. Maximization of income as (Lindén, 2017) stated, is the best way to ensure all stakeholders can access and participate in social networks and gain benefits on longer terms. Moreover, this will provide sustainability for the organization through supporting global community development activities in deprived neighborhoods (Matthews & Besemer, 2014, August).
3. Marketing Mind Shifts
Involving stakeholders in the growth plans through feedback is the way.
Nike for example have raised the bar for digital stakeholder engagement inclusively. They have created many few words stories to tell and remember. For example, “Just do it”, and “Is Nike the future?” Also, interactive events on all social media platforms were enacted. For example, the “What Do You Play For” campaign, in which Nike calls on teens to share their sports stories. Participants are encouraged to upload photos of themselves playing sports and share their inspirational tales. Visitors vote on their favorites, and winners receive various cash and/or scholarship prizes. (Penna, 2009).
Ford, the American honoured cars brand, when their market share declined to almost ZERO, they created the “Fiesta Movement” campaign. They invited 100 “Gen Yers” young agents selected from more than 4,000 applicants to drive a Ford Fiesta for six months and report their experiences on various social media sites and blogs. Hundreds of thousands of shares and likes were generated that put the company back in the market (Penna, 2009). They have made few-words short stories to remember and retell as “ created by the people to the people”.
Starbucks allowed their customers to talk to each other. They did so because they see themselves as part of the community, thus what the community says is important to them. They have enacted the “I’m In” program. They encouraged visitors to go to Starbucks.com and serve to pledge five hours of community service. In exchange, Starbucks gave pledgers a free cup of coffee. Participants received a pledge card and an “I’m In” badge that can be embedded on their websites to help spread the word (Penna, 2009). Yet, Starbucks failed in Australia, although, they has applied their marketing strategies.
Starbucks failure in Australia, was due to ignorance to the concept of affordances, and how client’s actions are driven by interactions with their immediate environment. Thus, Starbucks perceived utilization of affordances concept was prejudiced by their own American coffee concepts. Consequently, they failed to comprehend how Australians’ perceive coffee. Culture comes before self and politics when engaging with stakeholders.
In conclusion, in the emerging media era, stakeholder’s engagement is a survival need. To serve this need, participants need to tell their own stories, design their unique call outs, and personalize organisations’ products. They also need to talk smart and talk short. As freeman said, feedback is a critical source of sustainability in the market. And utilizing feedback requires learning the skills of background listening, reciprocal listening, and delegated listening. Being inclusive via recruiting indigenous knowledge into scientific practices will increase the base of the organization’s platform and thus increase its global value and sustainability. Being updated with the emerging trends is also an essential trait if organizations. Learning how to utilize cultures through robotics is the emerging media driver that organizations need to look at.
References
A Kröller. (2013, April 29). Triangulating Unknown Environments using Robot Swarms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5vpwVFMPqs&feature=youtu.be
Bagadiya, J. (2018, January). 309 Social Media Statistics You Must Know In 2020. SocialPilot. https://www.socialpilot.co/blog/social-media-statistics
Chaffey, D. (2020, October 7). Global social media research summary August 2020. Smart Insights. https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/
Lindén, C.-G. (2017). Algorithms for journalism: The future of news work. The Journal of Media Innovations, 4(1), 60–76. https://doi.org/10.5617/jmi.v4i1.2420
Matthews, P., & Besemer, K. (2014, August). what is the percentage of poor individuals that have socil media – Google zoeken. School of Applied Social Science University of Stirling (Stirling) – School of the Built Environment Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh). https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+the+percentage+of+poor+individuals+that+have+socil+media&rlz=1C1NDCM_enKW869KW869&oq=what+is+the+percentage+of+poor+individuals+that+have+socil+media&aqs=chrome..69i57.19011j1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Penna, M. (2009, October 1). 4 powerful examples of participatory marketing in action. Target Marketing. https://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/participatory-marketing-pull-marketings-new-push/
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster | socialcapitalgateway.org. Social Capital Gateway – SCG. http://www.socialcapitalgateway.org/content/book/putnam-r-d-2000-bowling-alone-collapse-and-revival-american-community-new-york-simon-sc
Rheingold, H. (2008). Using participatory media and public voice to encourage civic engagement. MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Initiative.
TEDxHullYouTube. (2017, June 2). Which identity is your true identity? Emma Gannon [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBYPMQsAZNI&feature=youtu.be
xGalaxi Girlx. (2016, August 2). 6 Words Stories [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16sY1iLc2d4
Global Concepts 