Gangs and social media
In a show of support for a friend, I recently attended a small seminar on event planning where my compadre was a main speaker. Instead of leaving the workshop that day filled with new ideas about event planning, I left with a phrase in my head… “gangsta PR”. See my friend went through a list of marketing tactics, which we’d otherwise call grassroots communication or guerrilla marketing. He used the term gangsta PR to convey the rawness or roughness of the various tactics used in his case studies.
This term has been in my head for over a month now, and in between tossing and turning trying to get a good night of rest, it jumped to the fore of my thoughts, and with my Mac laptop sleeping beside me, I jumped up, turned on the lights, and here I am writing this post.
So gangs and social media, what’s the connection? If we separate the immediate correlation between gangs and violence, and look at it from a sociological perspective, we can make the following statements.
- Social media networks create groups or communities, much like a gang.
- Individuals get a sense of belonging from these communities.
- If you create a Facebook group or blog, this becomes our turf. Unlike a gang leader, however, we’re not highly territorial. Anyone is welcome to step on our turf, and we don’t run them away.
- Knives, guns, and cuffs have no place in the digital world, but certainly there is some form of aggression that is channelled into reaching various audiences. But watch out for people who may try to attack you online.
- Bloggers love confrontation. Well, not all. But certainly contradicting what others have to say, bringing a different point of view to the fore, or using personal, digital space to campaign against someone else or a company can give you an adrenaline rush. Plus, haven’t we read somewhere that one of the best places to increase blog traffic is by being controversial?
- Blogs have so much street credibility, and are a ticket to the underground. Want to spread word-of-mouth instead of depending on in-your-face advertising? This is the way to go. Think of it in much the same way as a a mainstream rapper who keeps making mix-tapes for the streets,
If we look at groups in society, we’ll find that there are some similarities between these and social media networks… friends, family, the workplace. We’ll find that there is some way to make the connection, and the reason for this is very simple. Although, we’re communicating through a computer, the fact is that we’re all human, fighting for some turf, whether it be physical space or mental space. We’re all interacting, some trying to dominate, some trying to compromise, and somewhere in this, we end up being part of a group… a gang… a crew… a possee. And if we’re not trying to join the possee, we’re trying to get others to join us and make our turf look like the most happening piece of online territory.
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Comments
“Although, we’re communicating through a computer, the fact is that we’re all human, fighting for some turf, whether it be physical space or mental space. We’re all interacting, some trying to dominate, some trying to compromise, and somewhere in this, we end up being part of a group… a gang… a crew… a possee. And if we’re not trying to join the possee, we’re trying to get others to join us and make our turf look like the most happening piece of online territory.”
Karel, it would be very sad if this statement is true because from a Caribbean perspective I think our ability to be competitive globally whether in the arts, tourism or what have you, will ultimately come from a united posturing.
It’s great to hear the tourism industry talking about a Caribbean brand. I’d like to hear the manufacturing sector begin to talk about geographic indicators for goods produced in the region.
Karel,
I don’t like the gang analogy, and would offer an alernative: community. A community is comprised of people from various backgrounds, who gather together for a similar reason (e.g., their homes, their religous practices, a hobby).
People within communities can disagree and may need to resolve differences of opinions or desires. They typically do so within the boundaries of reason and acceptable behavior–unlike gangs.
Hi Tom
The word “gang” stirs up some negative connotations doesn’t it? Well, I knew it would, but for me the comparison came from exactly what you’re suggesting… community. The purpose here was not to suggest that bloggers are gangsters, it was simply about community. And well, I;ve got to confess, I knew that by making the comparison with gangs, this would motivate dialogue 
True that! And some trying to get in and fit in and this virtual world and its people become their family.