The 14th annual Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit presented the views of professionals regarding the theme viral voices and advocacy in the digital age.
Moderated by WNYT-TV news anchor Asa Stackel, a 2012 Oswego State alumnus, a panel of four included Brandi Boatner, social and influencer communications lead, global markets brand communications manager for IBM Corporate Communications, Gina Iliev, health equity coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York, Jeff Knauss, 2007 Oswego State alumnus and co-founder of Digital Hyve, and Latoya Lee, assistant professor of sociology at Oswego State.
“Our panelists were chosen because they have firsthand experience and in-depth understanding on how social networks and digital mediums can change minds, influence actions and just maybe improve lives in the process,” said Oswego State President Deborah Stanley.
During Stackel’s opening remarks, he defined digital advocacy as “an organized effort to influence public reception by digital means, whether by company or individuals.”
Lee said the only thing that differentiates traditional movements with digital movements are the tools. Before the birth of social media, ideas could be transferred by handing out flyers. Now, hashtags make it possible to quickly spread ideas and organize gatherings.
“We need to interrogate that not necessarily everyone has a voice on social media,” Lee said. “It also depends on how big you are, whether you have a blue verified check, whether you have enough followers to have a voice.”
Knauss said that he believes one of the difficult aspects of social media is the sense that it is an echo chamber, in which algorithms figure out what someone agrees with and likes and feeds more of that type of content to that person. Their views are only reinforced rather than challenged for a balanced approach.
Boatner said that the different platforms on Twitter show that different communities feel they need a specific subset to connect with others in their own community. She said there are tons of groups on social media with special interests that will advocate with each other on a certain topic.
Knauss said that, when the #MeToo movement first spread on Twitter, he liked how social media opened the opportunity to give survivors a voice to share their own story and feel heard, regardless of celebrity status, because of the large number of survivors coming forward.
“I do think we all have a voice,” Iliev said. “I don’t think it’s necessarily important if you have 100,000 followers; I think it’s that you said it is really important.”
Iliev said she finds digital media interesting because the conversations on social media platforms have already been in motion before the hashtags began, noting how Tarana Burke had been using the phrase “Me Too” 10 years prior to actress Alyssa Milano launching the hashtag movement on Twitter.
Lee said movements often emerge in response to an event that upsets a group of people, so they take to social media. Boatner agreed, recounting the video of athlete Ray Rice abusing his girlfriend on surveillance and how it resulted in the domestic violence awareness hashtag movements #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft. Although domestic violence had been a topic that has been talked about for centuries, the hashtags sparked the conversation again.
Iliev said that digital advocacy is not enough to truly make a change; one needs to make personal connections and take extra steps to get results, such as personally reaching to out legislators. She said she loves it when people interact with hashtags and show up at marches, but it is difficult to track exactly who is participating unless they take the extra step of making digital and paper meet, and get people to support and follow a movement once it is started.
“I think we are in the age of slacktivism, where you just hit that like button and you’ve done your duty for the day,” Lee said. “It’s not just by hitting that like button, but by putting in the actual work.”
Lee said the Black Lives Matter movement went beyond social media, and people reached out to their congressmen and pushed for a trial for George Zimmerman after killing Trayvon Martin.
Boatner discussed the connection of “Nightmare on Elm Street” and the premise of staying awake to stay alive to our society and the need to “stay woke,” which she said is not a new phrase. Instead, it came from a poem during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1940s about people being aware of their surroundings.
“A lot of people in America are asleep,” Boatner said. “You say you want to be ‘woke,’ but you don’t because you don’t take the next step in taking action. For all I know, Elm Street is your personal place of residence.”
Knauss agreed and added the importance of self-education and voting, which many people have died just for the right to do. He said it is so easy to have an informed opinion now due to the introduction of the internet.
Lee discussed how “black” Twitter responded to a headline in an Associated Press story that was worded in a way that seemed like it was blaming a victim, and how AP changed it. She said this proved that results can occur when you have the numbers.
Knauss recounted how he helped the current Syracuse mayor, Ben Walsh, during his campaign reach out and connect to minority groups, which resulted in him winning the vote.
“I think social media played a huge role in that, and they actually called him the ‘social media king.’ It was a really great way to engage,” Knauss said.
Boatner said digital advocacy speaks to her because she is an advocate for inclusivity and diversity as a woman of color in the corporate world. She said IBM has a mantra that promotes inclusivity: “I believe. I belong. I matter.”
She said the company could not be as successful as it is now without treating diversity with as much importance as innovation.
She said she believes the most successful businesses are the ones that take a stand on a topic, noting Nike’s recent campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick.
“Regardless of what side you are on, none of us can argue that, as a result of the entire campaign, Nike has profited $6 billion,” Boatner said. “When brands address issues that we talk about, it says something about the brand, because…it’s not about what you sell; it’s about who you are as a company.”
During the Q&A portion of the event, the panelists gave advice to students on how to best market themselves in person and on social media by presenting professional and communication skills and by living authentically.
Beginning in 2005, the media summit was dedicated to professor Lewis B. O’Donnell by Oswego State alumni Al Roker and Louis A. Borrelli Jr., both of whom are successful leaders in the media industry. The event was organized by a committee of students under the support of communication studies department assistant professor Michael Riecke, with the support of various campus departments.
Photos by Kassadee Paulo | The Oswegonian
