Description
For your first short paper, you are to select a brand/organization/individual/movement of personal interest. You can analyze the brand’s social media and/or traditional media campaigns.
For this paper, you are to provide a thorough overview of the brand/organization/ individual/movement, including their mission and vision statements. Then, you must analyze the campaign based on four of the following concepts discussed this semester so far:
5 Tenets of Strategic Communication
Ethics
Audiences
Community Building
Strategic Writing
If analyzing social media campaigns, you must investigate one month of posts (minimum). If exploring traditional media, you must analyze a minimum of 5 examples. The posts must be explained in depth, so I do not need to look at the source to understand the context. However, links and in-text citations must be provided when necessary. The posts and/or traditional media examples must be cited in the References page. Use Purdue OWL for citation information.
This paper is to be 5 – 6 pages long (minimum), double spaced, 1” margins, and written in 12-point fonts. The document must be submitted as a .doc or .pdf file only. Neglect to follow these requirements may result in a grade deduction of 2 points.
You must incorporate three credible sources into your analysis. One source must be one of the readings assigned this semester. The other two sources must be reputable (e.g., newspapers, magazines, or journal articles, book chapters). Websites, self-published blogs, and articles will not be accepted as a source. If you are unsure of its credibility, please email me and send a link with your query.
Any paper suspected of being written using AI technology will be subject to an oral defense. Please review the syllabus for more information on AI technology use in this classroom.Five tenets of strategic communication
Intentional message design
Correct platform
Calculated timing
Audience selection and analysis
Desired impact
1. Intentional Message Design
Begin with a realistic communication goal
What are you trying to achieve
Cultivation of positive associations?
Raise awareness?
Connection with stakeholders?
Communication goal must align with organizational goals
2. The Correct Platform
Find your audience, do not ask them to find you
Broadcast news
Instagram
Tiktok
Radio
What will they get out of finding you on a platform?
3. Calculated Timing
When is the right moment to send a message?
External factors (economic, legal, political environments) need to be at a minimum
4. Audience Selection & Analysis
Which audience is most appropriate for the message?
Internal stakeholders? (employees, board members)
External members? (consumers, media)
Message goal can help choose correct audience
Be specific
Segment
5. Desired Impact
What will a successful campaign look like?
Clearly define before creating messages
Use mission/vision to guide messages
How will you measure success?
Likes? Shares? Comments?
Increased sales?
Increased attendance?
Minimize negative coverage?
Class reading: Ethics case study – Writing for Strategic Communication Industries (pressbooks.pub) (the whole chapter)
Unformatted Attachment Preview
2/2/24, 12:03 PM
Why Ethics Matter For Social Media, Silicon Valley And Every Tech Industry Leader
FORBES
SMALL BUSINESS
ENTREPRENEURS
Why Ethics Matter For Social
Media, Silicon Valley And
Every Tech Industry Leader
Rob Dube Former Contributor
I write about mindful leadership and leading positive businesses
0
Jan 14, 2021, 01:16pm EST
This article is more than 3 years old.
At one time, the idea of technology and social media significantly
influencing society and politics would’ve sounded crazy. Now, with
technology so embedded into the fabric of our lives, it’s a reality
that raises legitimate questions about Silicon Valley’s ethical
responsibility.
Should tech companies step in to create and enforce guidelines
within their platforms if they believe such policies would help the
greater good? Or should leaders allow their technology to evolve
organically without filters or manipulation?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robdube/2021/01/14/why-ethics-matter-for-social-media-silicon-valley-and-every-tech-industry-leader/?sh=74b4edf916f2
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Why Ethics Matter For Social Media, Silicon Valley And Every Tech Industry Leader
CASEY FIESLER
One authority on this fascinating topic is Casey Fiesler—a
researcher, assistant professor at the University of Colorado
Boulder, and expert on tech ethics. She is also a graduate of
Vanderbilt Law School. There, she found a passion for the
intersections between law, ethics, and technology.
She was further fueled when she realized that, given the clear
overlap, much more empirical research was needed on ethics
regarding modern tech companies. With a sense of urgency, she
dedicated her career to researching and teaching the legalities and
ethics behind technology’s influence.
Today, Casey strives to educate every leader in tech, from young
entrepreneurs to veteran CEOs, on designing and supporting
ethically sound platforms. She believes that reinvigorated interest
in tech ethics could create a better future for businesses, tech users,
and society as a whole.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/robdube/2021/01/14/why-ethics-matter-for-social-media-silicon-valley-and-every-tech-industry-leader/?sh=74b4edf916f2
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Why Ethics Matter For Social Media, Silicon Valley And Every Tech Industry Leader
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What Are Tech Ethics?
We’re all likely familiar with the general concepts behind ethics and
technology—but what exactly are tech ethics? Even with constant
controversies and conversations about social media’s role in society,
Casey herself admits that there is no straightforward answer.
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“Ethics can be a loaded term,” she says. “Sometimes we talk about
responsibility. Are the people who design technology being
responsible and thinking about their product’s potential harm? In
the end, I think of tech ethics as designing technology that does
more good than bad for the world.”
Take a look at Facebook, the planet’s most popular social media
platform, through an ethical lens. “Before Facebook was Facebook,”
Casey says, “it was built as a platform to rate girls. The idea that it
would someday be deeply embedded in society and impact
democracy would’ve sounded ridiculous!”
While designing Facebook in his Harvard dorm room, Casey gives
Mark Zuckerberg a pass for not considering the ethics behind
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robdube/2021/01/14/why-ethics-matter-for-social-media-silicon-valley-and-every-tech-industry-leader/?sh=74b4edf916f2
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Why Ethics Matter For Social Media, Silicon Valley And Every Tech Industry Leader
banning a sitting president. But as a tech business grows, so does its
responsibility to engage in ethical speculation.
“At some point for Facebook,” says Casey, “the way things could go
should’ve been clear.” Rather than overlooking ethics, it eventually
becomes a leader’s duty to anticipate, plan, and take action on
potential problems. And with examples of poor tech ethics all
around us, startups have no excuse to put them off while awaiting a
certain level of success.
She also encourages tech designers and entrepreneurs to look past
the bottom line. Financial health is absolutely a critical number but
shouldn’t be the sole metric. “Make sure that revenue isn’t the only
guiding metric,” says Casey. “When it comes to social media,
decisions have been made based on how many eyeballs you can get
on ads.”
Casey points to a controversy with YouTube’s algorithm, which
overtly pushed conspiracy theories on its watchers as a way to boost
ad revenue. After receiving significant pushback, “they made a
conscious decision to change their algorithm so that certain kinds
of content would not be recommended as strongly,” says Casey. “It
was an ethical call, and I’m sure it led to lost revenue—but
sometimes you have to do what’s right for the good of society.”
“We should be thinking about what could go wrong early and
often,” says Casey. “Not wait to see what goes wrong to fix it. By
then, the harm is already done.”
Social Media and Tech Ethics in Politics
Unsurprisingly, Casey’s focus today often lands on social media’s
role in politics, from their moderation tactics to decisions about
flagging information or deleting accounts altogether. “Content
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robdube/2021/01/14/why-ethics-matter-for-social-media-silicon-valley-and-every-tech-industry-leader/?sh=74b4edf916f2
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Why Ethics Matter For Social Media, Silicon Valley And Every Tech Industry Leader
moderation decisions are huge policy and ethical issues right now,”
says Casey. “It’s a great example of why ethics is so challenging—
and it’s challenging to teach and learn.
“There aren’t right and wrong answers. It often has to do with how
people value things differently,” she continues. “One person will tell
you that free speech is the most important value. Another will tell
you that protecting people from hate speech or harassment is the
most important value. Platforms are having to make decisions
about this.”
One tech giant that’s in the middle of this ethical tech debate is
Twitter. Currently, they have a policy called their Civic Integrity
policy, where violations include the sharing of misinformation
about election procedures or outcomes. Examples could be tweeting
out fake voting booth locations or falsely stating that an election has
been postponed. If a tweet violates this policy, Twitter has the
authority to remove them.
“Another part of the policy is that you can’t share content where you
were misleading people about the outcome of an election,” Casey
says. “When President Trump tweeted that he won the election
after it had been called for Joe Biden, that content was flagged
under the Civic Integrity policy.”
Until recently, Twitter had a policy that they wouldn’t remove
content from political leaders. Instead, they’d label it as
misinformation. However, the events stemming from January 6th,
2021, forced Twitter to revisit its ethical stance on this policy.
Now, they are removing tweets from any user who consistently
violates this policy despite their status. Even though the decision
negatively affected Twitter’s bottom line, the leadership team
believes it was ethically the right thing to do.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robdube/2021/01/14/why-ethics-matter-for-social-media-silicon-valley-and-every-tech-industry-leader/?sh=74b4edf916f2
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Why Ethics Matter For Social Media, Silicon Valley And Every Tech Industry Leader
Why Tech Ethics Matter for Every Business
Aside from politics, there are countless reasons why tech ethics
matter. Before 2020 and the COVID pandemic, few could predict
the now-famous phenomena of the Zoom Bomb—or when an
uninvited visitor enters a private Zoom chat.
Sometimes an unexpected Zoom Bomb only leads to laughter.
Other times, it could open up a company to significant security
threats or harassment. Either way, many question why Zoom’s
leaders and designers didn’t foresee how people could misuse their
platform and create a solution before it was launched.
“To some extent, you can understand Facebook,” says Casey. “It
was built for one thing. We couldn’t expect it would go to this place.
But Zoom was built for business conferencing. A little bit of ethical
speculation could have been added into their process.”
To avoid making Zoom’s mistake, remember that it’s much easier to
solve problems before a platform potentially lands in the hands or
on the desks of millions. “Sometimes you can foresee where
technology is going to go,” says Casey. “Maybe it’s a slow, gradual
process, and that can be challenging. But that’s why the company’s
leadership team should be checking in.”
While in the startup and development phases, Casey encourages
tech leaders and designers to put themselves into the minds of
“awful people.” Consider how they might use this technology if it
became more widespread.
“You know this is going to happen,” says Casey. “When you are
designing a technology, part of that process should be thinking
about how bad actors might use it. Then design it to make that
more difficult.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robdube/2021/01/14/why-ethics-matter-for-social-media-silicon-valley-and-every-tech-industry-leader/?sh=74b4edf916f2
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Eventually, Zoom did address many of the serious issues that led to
Zoom Bombing. However, it was all done as a reactive response to
the problem. Imagine how much time, money, and headaches they
would’ve saved by integrating these solutions from the get-go—not
to mention fewer PR problems.
“I don’t expect software designers to be clairvoyant, but I do think
that doing some amount of ethical speculation during the design
process is really important. Even if not wanting a PR disaster is
your motivation,” Casey laughs, “I’ll take it!”
The conversation with Casey Fiesler continues on the Leading with
Genuine Care podcast. You’ll hear how ethical speculation has
changed during COVID, why greater diversity and equity in tech
can solve many ethical issues, and so much more! Don’t miss an
article or episode of the podcast by signing up for my mailing list.
You’ll also get a free guide to my favorite mindful resources.
Connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn and keep up with my
company imageOne.
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some
of my other work here.
Rob Dube
I started selling Blow Pops out of my locker in high school and now I am
president and co-founder of imageOne, which was ranked on the 2017 list of
Forbes’ Small… Read More
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