While a name may indicate a person's individualistic inheritance, it fails to disclose everything people want to know about each other. In the case of political candidates, voters want to know that the politicians they elect will correct the problems that matter most to them.
In his new book, How Behavior Spreads: The Science of Complex Contagions, Damon Centola, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, explains how changing complex behavior, such as changing a medical system or reducing the effects of climate change, requires multiple contacts reinforcing the same message over and over.
Individual social media comments on Facebook, for example, can spread a bit of information, such as a job opening, easily and quickly. But it takes more than a march or rally to facilitate complex changes. It takes supporting messages, how-to instructions, and, maybe, competitive motivation from trusted friends, commentators, organizations, and symbols, like a donkey or elephant. Complex changes require effort; they involve physical risk, social ridicule, prayer, an investment of time and money.
Believing social media has the power to make complex changes is a mistake. Convincing and mobilizing a multitude to take the actions needed to overcome inertia takes hard work. The American Revolution, forming labor unions, cleaning up the Great Lakes, and discovering and distributing a polio cure took more than a one-off Tweet.
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Monday, March 4, 2019
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Successful Revolutions Require Organization
Massive rallies and marches fail to result in change, unless they are supported by organizations. It takes political parties to win elections, military forces to stage a coup, pressure from organized religions, and labor unions to change corporations and institutions of learning.
Individuals with ideas for reform can write books, but organizations need to put these ideas into operational form. When would-be reformers approach Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, for her endorsement, she asks if they can muster a group of at least one thousand. Crowdfunding on social media suggests one way to gain support for causes.
Where are groups already assembled? On college campuses, war and South Africa's apartheid protesters gained traction. Members of Jewish temples, Muslim mosques, African-American and other Christian churches share common causes.
In Prague, dissidents hung out at the Art Deco cafe, Kavarna Slavia, to plot the Velvet Revolution that ended communism in Czechoslovakia. The Cafe Gallery and Bassiani night clubs in Tbilisi, Georgia, now attract young people ready to break out of post-Soviet police and interior ministry restraints and to embrace liberalized Western culture. The clubs serve as a gathering space, not only for locals, but also for tourists, rappers, and DJs with European followings. Young Russians received social media news of a club protest that led demonstrators to the steps of Georgia's parliament.
Individuals with ideas for reform can write books, but organizations need to put these ideas into operational form. When would-be reformers approach Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, for her endorsement, she asks if they can muster a group of at least one thousand. Crowdfunding on social media suggests one way to gain support for causes.
Where are groups already assembled? On college campuses, war and South Africa's apartheid protesters gained traction. Members of Jewish temples, Muslim mosques, African-American and other Christian churches share common causes.
In Prague, dissidents hung out at the Art Deco cafe, Kavarna Slavia, to plot the Velvet Revolution that ended communism in Czechoslovakia. The Cafe Gallery and Bassiani night clubs in Tbilisi, Georgia, now attract young people ready to break out of post-Soviet police and interior ministry restraints and to embrace liberalized Western culture. The clubs serve as a gathering space, not only for locals, but also for tourists, rappers, and DJs with European followings. Young Russians received social media news of a club protest that led demonstrators to the steps of Georgia's parliament.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Modern Masculinity
The "Men's Project" at the University of Wisconsin - Madison recognizes how modern masculinity is challenged to keep up with changing female roles. Around the world, women are rebelling against stereotypes that portray them as uneducated and unfit for positions in politics and government, athletic competition, business careers, and military service. Yet many cling to the image of tall, white heterosexual males surrounded by women competing for their attention and approval.
In this period of transition, two dynamics are at play. While some men ad women have moved on to accept equality of the sexes, others have not. In the United States, for example, research in Lisa Wade's new book, American Hookup, found there are still men (and women) willing to embrace a culture where sex is a no-strings-attached form of fun that favors men.
Marketers use age demographics to identify male segments, but careful attention to advertising also shows a gradual addition of male lifestyle segments. Loosely based o Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we might label this expanding list of male lifestyle segments as follows:
Philosophers: These men are secure in their manhood whether they are Bill Gates' types or stay-at-home dads. They think each person should do his or her own thing, and they are happy to help those in need.
Top Dogs: These wealthy, good-looking heterosexual players equate masculinity with the constant pursuit of hot women for meaningless sex. They look for wives who support their careers and enhance their status.
Power Couples: College and graduate schools foster romantic bonds between men and women with similar professional, academic research, and business interests. Masculinity is not threatened in these relationships which are based on equality.
Pillars of the Community: These family me look for ways to serve the community. They coach children's soccer leagues, head organizations that sponsor food drives, enter local politics, look out for elderly neighbors, and attend religious services. Without trying, they meet women who also provide community services.
Providers: For men in this segment, masculinity means men don't do women's work. They don't prepare food, wash and mend clothes, clean the house, or care for children. They don't expect women to work outside the home, and they do expect to sit somewhere drinking a few beers and watching games uninterrupted. Break one of their rules and sexual abuse, domestic violence, and/or emotional bullying can follow.
Marketers know change is possible. But changing a male's view of his masculinity requires a strategy like one a marketer would use to introduce a new product.
The new view, such as the fact that a man can enjoy a meaningful relationship on equal terms with a woman, has to have an advantage over the old, and this advantage needs to be demonstrated. Males need to see other men enjoying meaningful relationships with women within their culture and/or by couples they admire. Change also is easier if switching to something new has an element of familiarity. When computers were introduced, for example, keyboards had built-in acceptance, because they had the look of a typewriter. If a brother has had a good, lifelong relationship with his sister or (I'm reluctant to say, because analogies all have limits) a man has the experience of a close bond with a pet, he knows the joy of friendship and intimacy, albeit platonic. Finally, change also requires minimizing risk. That's why marketers provide trial offers, guaranteed return policies, and free shipping. Men could be persuaded to move toward a new view of masculinity, if they would not suffer a financial loss, physical harm, or, possibly worst of all, the psychological pain of people laughing at them.
In this period of transition, two dynamics are at play. While some men ad women have moved on to accept equality of the sexes, others have not. In the United States, for example, research in Lisa Wade's new book, American Hookup, found there are still men (and women) willing to embrace a culture where sex is a no-strings-attached form of fun that favors men.
Marketers use age demographics to identify male segments, but careful attention to advertising also shows a gradual addition of male lifestyle segments. Loosely based o Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we might label this expanding list of male lifestyle segments as follows:
Philosophers: These men are secure in their manhood whether they are Bill Gates' types or stay-at-home dads. They think each person should do his or her own thing, and they are happy to help those in need.
Top Dogs: These wealthy, good-looking heterosexual players equate masculinity with the constant pursuit of hot women for meaningless sex. They look for wives who support their careers and enhance their status.
Power Couples: College and graduate schools foster romantic bonds between men and women with similar professional, academic research, and business interests. Masculinity is not threatened in these relationships which are based on equality.
Pillars of the Community: These family me look for ways to serve the community. They coach children's soccer leagues, head organizations that sponsor food drives, enter local politics, look out for elderly neighbors, and attend religious services. Without trying, they meet women who also provide community services.
Providers: For men in this segment, masculinity means men don't do women's work. They don't prepare food, wash and mend clothes, clean the house, or care for children. They don't expect women to work outside the home, and they do expect to sit somewhere drinking a few beers and watching games uninterrupted. Break one of their rules and sexual abuse, domestic violence, and/or emotional bullying can follow.
Marketers know change is possible. But changing a male's view of his masculinity requires a strategy like one a marketer would use to introduce a new product.
The new view, such as the fact that a man can enjoy a meaningful relationship on equal terms with a woman, has to have an advantage over the old, and this advantage needs to be demonstrated. Males need to see other men enjoying meaningful relationships with women within their culture and/or by couples they admire. Change also is easier if switching to something new has an element of familiarity. When computers were introduced, for example, keyboards had built-in acceptance, because they had the look of a typewriter. If a brother has had a good, lifelong relationship with his sister or (I'm reluctant to say, because analogies all have limits) a man has the experience of a close bond with a pet, he knows the joy of friendship and intimacy, albeit platonic. Finally, change also requires minimizing risk. That's why marketers provide trial offers, guaranteed return policies, and free shipping. Men could be persuaded to move toward a new view of masculinity, if they would not suffer a financial loss, physical harm, or, possibly worst of all, the psychological pain of people laughing at them.
Friday, December 9, 2016
Change: How to do it
Whether it's trying to open borders for refugees, to urge professional societies to develop guidelines for new medical technologies, or to train a cat to stop chewing the furniture, some of the principles marketers use when introducing a new product can be helpful, especially when making New Year's resolutions.
1. The new has to have many advantages over the old. You'll be able to wear more attractive clothes and live longer, if you eat better and move more.
2. Demonstrate the advantages of the new. Show how a cat with a new scratching post will prefer that to chewing the furniture.
3. The new is easy to use. Professional medical societies already exist and have conferences and meetings already scheduled, where guidelines and standards can be discussed and codified.
4. Minimize risks.
a) Financial risk. No refugee can enter a country unless he/she proves a home and job are waiting.
b) Physical risk. Driving with seat belts, getting enough sleep, and not texting will save your life. How will consumers feel about driverless cars?
c) Psychological risk: No one will laugh at you for studying or working out, if you do it without any of your friends or relatives seeing you. It's also wise not to tell anyone you've made the decision to start your own business, join the priesthood, become a police officer, etc.
1. The new has to have many advantages over the old. You'll be able to wear more attractive clothes and live longer, if you eat better and move more.
2. Demonstrate the advantages of the new. Show how a cat with a new scratching post will prefer that to chewing the furniture.
3. The new is easy to use. Professional medical societies already exist and have conferences and meetings already scheduled, where guidelines and standards can be discussed and codified.
4. Minimize risks.
a) Financial risk. No refugee can enter a country unless he/she proves a home and job are waiting.
b) Physical risk. Driving with seat belts, getting enough sleep, and not texting will save your life. How will consumers feel about driverless cars?
c) Psychological risk: No one will laugh at you for studying or working out, if you do it without any of your friends or relatives seeing you. It's also wise not to tell anyone you've made the decision to start your own business, join the priesthood, become a police officer, etc.
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