Mediaboss Marketing

As a millennial, I am constantly bombarded with marketing content. And for good reason. In addition to being expert multitaskers, having extremely short attention spans, and our skepticism for traditional advertising tactics, millennials, as a group, are:

How do you take this information and use it to your advantage? Here are three simple guidelines that are important to consider when creating a social media strategy targeting this group.

Millennials are very sensitive to the timeliness of the content they see. Since we are constantly plugged into social media through our phones, it is important to be flexible enough to react to current events in a timely manner if you wish to use them in your strategy.

If a company waits even a couple of hours too long to react to an event, they missed an opportunity to be noticed by a massive number of possible consumers and instead are brushed off for being late to the game. As important as it is to have a consistent schedule for your social media posts, you shouldnt stress about going off schedule if an event or other happening comes up that might be relevant to your brand that you want to talk about.

Bottom line, if you cannot take advantage of a current event while its still fresh, dont bother at all.

Because millennials are a very skeptical group, we have an innate sense of knowing when we are being marketed to. This is why social media and non-traditional content marketing works better with us than blatant advertising. We crave meaningful interaction with companies and brands instead of simply receiving a lecture.

Webcast, July 19th: The Blueprint to Build Trust in a Digital World

One terrific approach used to help your audience tell their own story is to focus on gathering content that will help create a dialog between you and your audience. Posting User Generated Content (UGC) is a great way to both encourage interaction and to include the voice of your targeted audience in your campaigns.

Ask your followers to tweet a specific hashtag that you come up with, or post a picture of themselves using your product or service on Instagram. These types of posts will boost engagement and provide you with plenty of quality content to share over your social media platforms.

The goal of your social media presence is to get your message out to as many people as possible, and your current followers are an extremely important part in spreading that message. Your fans arent going to share your content if it is not valuable or entertaining to them at all. Even brands that might be considered boring have come up with unique social media strategies that are able to capture and keep the attention of their audience.

One brand that does a great job blending content that is both useful and engaging is Netflix. Netflix shares the information their audience needs to know and presents that information in a meaningful way that encourages interaction. The benefit for their followers is twofold.

Successful social media strategy should benefit both your company and the consumer by broadcasting your marketing message and entertaining your audience at the same time. This will increase your engagement rate and create a sense of trust between you and your followers. Try out some of these tips for yourself and see if you notice better engagement with your millennial followers!

Read more:
Marketing to Millennials: 3 Simple Tips to Help Make the Most Out of Your Social Media Strategy - Business 2 Community

A century ago last month, America came close to formally empowering government censorship of the modern news media. That might seem like ancient history, but the censorship monster rises anew whenever a president finds himself under intense scrutiny and seeks to stifle coverage he doesnt like.

Donald Trump is waging a particularly angry campaign to harness press freedoms, including implied advocacy of violence against the fake news media, threats to yank reporters credentials and increasing bans on live TV coverage of White House press briefings.

The 1917 Espionage Act was an effort by Congress, supported by President Woodrow Wilson, to block any accidental or deliberate revelation of national security secrets as the United States fought the First World War. The original version explicitly outlined executive powers to censor newspapers prior to publication. Luckily, more reasonable minds prevailed and press censorship provision was withdrawn before the bill passed.

Even so, Wilson insisted, Authority to exercise censorship over the press is absolutely necessary to the public safety. This newspaper had solidly backed Wilson on other national issues, but our editorials then match our position today: The president was as wrong as he could be.

The Supreme Court has consistently viewed prior restraint of the press as unconstitutional, a position most notably affirmed when President Richard Nixons administration sought to prevent The New York Times and Washington Post from publishing the Pentagon Papers in 1971, citing the 1917 Espionage Act.

The concern in 1917 was that reporters covering the war might come across secret information about troop movements, intelligence and strategies that could make it into print. Those were all valid concerns.

But several months into World War I, this newspaper noted, there had not been a single case of secret information being divulged, either accidentally or deliberately. Reporters and editors were capable of performing their jobs and being patriots at the same time, a June 1917 Post-Dispatch editorial said. Autocracies thrive when the press is muzzled, it added.

These issues have arisen anew in recent years as government leakers like Edward Snowden and Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning stole top secret electronic files and dumped them on reporters. News organizations awkwardly had to self-censor, deciding which items were too sensitive for publication.

Trump seems less concerned about publication of classified information than about being embarrassed by reports of his own actions and words. Prior restraint is banned because such extraordinary powers cannot be entrusted to presidents under news media scrutiny.

The public might not always like what the news media reports, but the freedoms we enjoy in this country would be a shell of what they are today if the original Espionage Act, as embraced by Wilson, had become law.

See the rest here:
Editorial: A century after Espionage Act, censorship temptation remains - STLtoday.com

Kolkata: National Award winning filmmaker Suman Ghosh plans to release his censorship controversy-mired documentary on Nobel laureate Amartya Sen online in a "couple of months" in its entirety, including four words that the Indian censor board has objected to.

Amartya Sen. News 18

The Argumentative Indian, originally scheduled for a 14 July release, was refused the green signal by the Indian censor board over the use of the words "cow", "Gujarat", "Hindu India" and "Hindutva", by Sen.

The hour-long documentary, structured as a free flowing conversation between Sen and his student and Cornell economics professor Kaushik Basu, has already been screened in New York and London. It had a special screening in Kolkata on 10 July.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) officials in Kolkata verbally asked Ghosh to mute at least four words, including "cow" and "Gujarat", from Sen's interview in the film.

"I will do that (release the film online). I have some screenings organised abroad so I can't release it before that. It will take a couple of months. It will be there in its entirety," Ghosh told IANS in an interview

Ghosh unveiled a link to a 141-second trailer of the documentary on Friday via his Facebook page. The trailer link was posted on YouTube earlier in July. However, it is being reported that CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani has termed the trailer post "illegal".

"I have to find out though... if he (Nihalani) is objecting to the trailer... whether a new law has been created in India where online content also has to be certified, so I have to find those out. But definitely I can release it all over the world," the filmmaker said, adding the trailer was prepared much in advance, before the documentary came under the CBFC's scanner.

Noted for films like Footsteps (winner of two National Awards) and Nobel Chor, Ghosh's features have had screenings in prestigious film fests such as Busan, Karlovy Vary and London, among others.

Asked about the CBFC's reaction to the trailer, Ghosh said, "I saw that (media report on Nihalani terming the trailer illegal)... I don't know why. I made six feature films and I know a lot of filmmakers.. all of them said that on YouTube, one need not necessarily certify. If I play the trailer on TV or in theatres, then I need a censor certificate."

In the aftermath of the censor trouble, Ghosh has had no dialogue yet with the censor board. "No. I am waiting for them to send me some official letter and I believe because of this controversy and everything, they are also scrutinising it. I will get an official letter from them, what they have told me verbally they will write and give it to me officially... that is the next step," he said.

As for as discussing the matter with Sen himself, Ghosh avers the steps being taken are completely his prerogative as a filmmaker.

A still from The Argumentative Indian. Twitter

The CBFC, which has stoked controversy in recent times by recommending a whopping 12 cuts in Madhur Bhandarkar's forthcoming Indu Sarkar, as also by wielding its scissors on films like Lipstick Under My Burkha and Jab Harry Met Sejal, drew all round flak after its latest decision.

Branding the CBFC's moves as "authoritarian", Ghosh notes these diktats put India in a bad light internationally. "This is definitely an authoritarian gesture for sure to beep out certain things in my film, Madhur's film.. but the way the media took this issue up, nationally and now this has become international news also, we can just hope that better sense will prevail on them because they have been criticised for this even internationally," Ghosh said, referring to the coverage in The Washington Post and BBC.

"It puts India in such a bad light. Why is the government so insecure to mention even (the) truth (of) what is happening in the country... what has happened in the country... why is the government insecure about these things," he wondered.

"This is not only in films...in other areas too lot of things are happening... not an isolated issue... censorship issue is one spoke in the wheel," Ghosh remarked about the CBFC's "intolerance".

He also believes all the hue and cry that has been generated as a consequence of the censor board's recommendations is "counter-productive" for it. "They want to shut out any oppositional voice, but this is counter-productive for them," he quipped.

Looking forward to the release of his next feature outing Mi Amor in December, Ghosh said even if filmmakers apprehend fronting sensitive topics, in the wake of censorship issues, what is remarkable to note are the voices of dissent that have risen up.

"If all of us cow down (because), in future, we might be blacklisted or targeted -- then it's like accepting whatever they are saying without any voices raised... I am not such a person... we will see what the future holds. The voice that has been raised... that's why its so important that the youngsters are also not demoralised by these events," he added.

As for the implementation of the recommendations submitted by a Shyam Benegal-led panel to revamp the CBFC, Ghosh expressed doubt on its smooth progress. "Now it (censorship) has become a political issue. I hope it happens, but I doubt whether it will be smooth sailing," he said.

Read more:
Amartya Sen's documentary, The Argumentative Indian, to now release online after censorship row - Firstpost

Over the past three days, members of the pro-Trump media have settled on their answer, characterizing the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, as a leftist with ties to the Obama administration. The idea quickly drifted upward to some of the most influential figures in right-wing media, and then ultimately to President Trump himself, who referenced some of its underpinnings during a Thursday press conference in France as he attempted to explain away his son's meeting with the Russian lawyer.

The theory is based on bits of fact that have been taken out of context or spun in misleading ways to paint a picture that the President and his supporters prefer to the one currently dominating much of the media.

The narrative appears to be untrue, but in some ways that's beside the point. The pro-Trump media has employed a consistent strategy when responding to damaging reports about the President and his allies, one it will likely continue to use should more revelations concerning Russian interference in the election emerge. Instead of covering those revelations, pro-Trump media outlets often turn to entirely new stories or controversies.

Any factual problems or logical holes -- in this case, that it would make little sense for Democrats to have entrapped Trump Jr. before the election only to hold on to the damaging information for almost a year after Election Day -- don't matter so long as these alternative narratives last long enough to confuse audiences during otherwise bad news cycles.

"All that right-wing media needs to do is just throw out some things that appear to be substantive that have some stray facts that the cult will hang on to, and the cult will do everything else themselves," John Ziegler, a conservative media columnist and former talk radio host, told CNN. "They don't need a full theory. No one ever provides a narrative that explains all this. It's just poking holes and pretending the whole story is fake news. It's a classic trick really. It's a shame that's what the right-wing media has been reduced to."

Related: How an FBI raid fed a rumor that Orrin Hatch was about to become president

This week's theory was given its first sparks of life on Monday, when Mark Corallo, a spokesman for President Trump's outside counsel, pointed to Veselnitskaya's loose ties to the firm that produced the infamous Russia dossier -- that firm had worked for a law firm which represented a company for which Veslnitskaya worked -- and suggested they were relevant to discussions of Trump Jr.'s meeting with her.

Soon after, Trump supporters discovered and began to circulate a photo on Twitter of Vesenlitskaya with Michael McFaul, who was US Ambassador to Russia under President Obama. The image was picked up by the Gateway Pundit, a far-right website, which characterized the picture as evidence of Veselnitskaya "hanging out with Obama officials just days after her meeting with Donald Trump Jr." Hours later, far-right Internet personality Mike Cernovich posted a video on Twitter in which he used the photo, in part, to ask whether Veselnitskaya was a "Democratic plant" who was sent to "wire tap Trump Tower." That video had been retweeted more than 15,000 times as of Friday afternoon.

But the story really grew legs when it landed on the Drudge Report, which often acts as the de-facto assignment editor for right-leaning media. The website linked to the Gateway Pundit's post, giving it the headline, "PICTURED WITH OBAMA AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA."

On Wednesday, conservative talk radio king Rush Limbaugh told his national audience that he believed Veselnitskaya was part of a "setup" targeting Trump. Fox News host Sean Hannity also questioned on his radio show why Veselnitskaya was seen pictured with McFaul, telling his audience there was a picture of the two "in existence," as if it was damning evidence.

But the truth, which those discussing the photo typically either played down or ignored altogether, was more innocent. The photo of McFaul and Veselnitskaya did not show the two "hanging out" with each other -- it's of a Congressional hearing, open to the public, at which McFaul testified. Veselnitskaya was sitting in the audience, in the row behind McFaul. McFaul told CNN this week that he had no control over who attended or where they were seated, that he had never met with Veselnitskaya and that he only learned her name this week.

"It's ridiculous," McFaul said. "It's silly. And I think it shows the desperation in a world where facts don't matter. That's the part that bothers me as an academic and American. Basic facts don't seem to matter in these debates."

The photo of the hearing was not the only image cited as supposed evidence as the theory grew in popularity. Trump supporters online also pointed to a photo Veselnitskaya posted to Facebook, of Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican who's been critical of Trump, with a Russian opposition lawyer, claiming it was proof she'd been inside McCain's office.

That was not the case. In a press release warning of "fake news," McCain said the assertion was false and that Veselnitskaya "did not attend that meeting." She had only for whatever reason posted the image of him and the lawyer to her Facebook page, McCain said.

But the theory got its biggest boost Wednesday night, with a story published by The Hill. The Hill reported that Veselnitskaya got into the U.S. only because the Department of Justice under President Barack Obama and led by Attorney General Loretta Lynch let her in after she'd been previously denied a travel visa. The report, which was co-written by John Solomon -- a journalist fresh off stints in conservative-leaning media, who has recently written a number of articles favorable to the narratives of Trump supporters -- said in its second paragraph that "it was the Obama Justice Department that enabled the newest and most intriguing figure in the Russia-Trump investigation to enter the country without a visa." It was only in its 16th paragraph that the article explained why she had been let in: to help a company owned by a client defend itself in federal court.

Related: Pro-Trump media scrambles to react to bombshell emails

This latest piece of news jolted through the pro-Trump media system. Drudge blared a pair of banner headlines on his website. A post on the popular pro-Trump sub-Reddit "The Donald" held it up as evidence she had been confirmed as an "OBAMA PLANT." Fox News splashed a lead story on its homepage under a headline claiming the former attorney general "LYNCH PINNED Trump."

Finally, on Thursday afternoon, the conspiracy theory reached its apex. Trump, speaking at a press conference in France, invoked elements of it, appearing to reference the photo of Veselnitskaya and McFaul at the Congressional hearing that had made its way through Gateway Pundit, Cernovich, Drudge, Limbaugh, Hannity and others, as well as The Hill's story.

"Now the lawyer that went to the meeting, I see that she was in the halls of Congress," Trump said. "Somebody said that her visa or her passport to come into the country was approved by Attorney General Lynch. Now maybe that's wrong. I just heard that a little while ago, but I was a little surprised to hear that. So she was there because of Lynch."

Following Trump's comments, a spokesperson for Lynch said in a statement provided to CNN that the former attorney general had "no personal knowledge" of the Russian lawyer's travel. The spokesperson explained that the "State Department issues visas, and the Department of Homeland Security oversees entry to the United States at airports."

Lynch wasn't the only one to push back against suggestions she was part of a larger plot to frame the Trump campaign.

In a text message to CNN, Veselnitskaya responded to a question asking whether she had been working with the Clinton camp to entrap the Trump campaign.

"Yes, of course!" she wrote in a tongue-in-cheek message on Thursday. "And with Hugo Chavez and Kim Jong-un."

--CNN's Emma Burrows contributed reporting.

CNNMoney (New York) First published July 14, 2017: 2:52 PM ET

See more here:
Trump Jr.'s Russia meeting a Democratic plot? Pro-Trump media wants you to think so - CNNMoney

Over the past few weeks, national security units have shipped in massive equipment such as crowd-control vehicles, guns and tear gas to deal with any mass protests after August 8 elections.

The timing and the type of hardware being shipped in point to an assessment by the security forces that there could be violence after the announcement of the results of another hotly-contested election between the incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee and National Super-Alliance flag-bearer Raila Odinga.

That security forces will not leave anything to chance is attested by the ongoing training of security personnel in Embakasi, Nairobi, in rescue operations and crowd control using the latest technology and methods.

Also in a no-nonsense statement, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet, warned those who will engage in violent activities: We are ready and waiting for you!.

Signs that the forces have picked intelligence and are bracing for possible heady days ahead was discernible from the fact that the national elections body in its estimate has asked for at least 150,000 security officers to be deployed on election-related duties.

ALSO READ: Group raises the red flag over low voter education

Water canons

At least a dozen new South Korean made riot control vehicles arrived in Nairobi at the weekend, increasing to more than 30, the number of water canons for police use to quell chaos.

The fleet of new armoured vehicles with advanced features is in addition to a new consignment of anti-riot gear including teargas canisters, batons, anti-riot wear and guns that have come through the port of Mombasa.

Security sources explained the new anti-riot gear has been distributed to various parts of the country in the past month alone as authorities prepare to secure elections and deal with violence should it break out.

State agencies have mapped out 30 counties as election violence hotspots.

The agencies include National Police Service Commission (NPS), Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) and Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).

Yesterday, top IEBC officials and senior security personnel met to review the situation and plan accordingly, with focus on areas already flagged as potential hotspots.

ALSO READ: The Executive is hell-bent on killing judicial independence

The new fleet is manufactured by Jino Motors which on its website prides itself with specialty in production of world class highly effective riot-control vehicles without fatal blow.

Various security units have been training jointly on crowd control and how to crush riots with authorities keen to ensure the killings and destruction witnessed in 2007 doesnt recur.

The Standard team, last week, witnessed the security teams training at the Embakasi Military Base where they have simulated various situations, including response to civil unrest, terrorism and other forms of insecurity.

The essence of the training organised by the ministries of Interior and Defence for the multi-agency team is to ensure rapid and co-ordinated response.

Officers are drawn from Kenya Defence Forces, NPS, the National Intelligence Service, Kenya Wildlife Services, Kenya Forestry Services, National Youth Service.

The programme is dubbed Exercise Dumisha Utulivu is being conducted at the Humanitarian and Peace Support School in Embakasi. Officials say the training will enable the officers understand the role of the recently formed National Multi-Agency Coordinating Centre,

The officers will also be equipped to understand the chain of command from the strategic down to the tactical level models.

ALSO READ: The Executive is hell-bent on killing judicial independence

But questions have been raised on whether the scale of the arming of police could lead to use of lethal force in the event violence occurs.

More than 1,000 people were killed in ethnic violence following the disputed 2007 presidential election, with police blamed for the shooting to death of at least 400. More than 500,000 were displaced during the chaos.

The new anti-riot vehicles have the capacity to carry 9,000 litres of water and are fixed with various riot control mixing stuff including foam, tear gas and paint that stick to and single out protestors running away.

Gun shooting

The vehicle, according to the manufacturers website, has capacity to mix the chemical from the cabin while water gun shooting.

It has a nozzle of shooting distance of minimum of 25 metres and maximum 70 metres with an elevation of 90 degrees and rotation of 320 degrees. Each of the new trucks has two water cannons on top of the cabin.

It also has a fully automated and centralised control system, a cabin protector and can carry seven crew at a time.

Other features include run-flat tyre so that it can drive under damaged conditions for 50km at 50km per hour. It also has Cabin Pressure Control System for increasing the pressure of the cabin to keep external gas out, ventilation and air pressure control.

ALSO READ: IEBC to ask for extra security in clash-prone regions

Tonnes of tear gas canisters are also among resources that have been mobilised and sent to various places ahead of the polls.

The tear gas canisters were sent on lorries to various places perceived as hot spots to help in dispersing crowds in case of violence.

Security chiefs have identified various conflicts that are a risk to national security. These include cattle rustling, terror attacks, protests and riots, ethnic clashes and conflict between herders and farmers over scarce resources.

Given that the 2017 General Election is attracting unprecedented competition among political parties and aspirants at both grassroots and national level, there are more fears of violence.

Senior police officers are being reshuffled as part of efforts to bolster operations.

A meeting of senior police commanders is scheduled for Thursday in Nairobi to fine-tune their plans for the elections.

Boinnet said they are ready to provide security during the polls, even as the European Union observer teams warned there is a possibility of violence breaking out.

Boinnet said his regional commanders have been holding regular meetings to review their plans and exuded confidence they are now ready for the polls.

NPS is ready and prepared to provide a safe, secure and peaceful environment for Kenyans to participate in the 2017 elections, he said.

ALSO READ: IEBC: Elections will not be held on August 8 if we obey court orders

Boinnet also assured that police will be neutral during the period.

We are set. We are up to the task. We are satisfied with the security arrangements so far and wish to assure Kenyans no (security) agent will be partisan. We will be non-partisan, he said.

He made the remarks amid concerns there would be challenges in many parts of the country and especially in Northern Kenya and Lamu where Al Shabaab militants have been staging attacks, killing and displacing many.

Boinnet explained they have been working with IEBC to know where to deploy officers and the numbers.

We have mobilised all needed logistics that will enable us provide a secure environment for the polls. We assure all they will vote, he said.

The logistics include helicopters, vehicles, boats and other anti-riot gear that will help them manage rowdy crowds.

Other insiders said there is increasing fear among police officers that there could be an outbreak violence before or after the polls, given emerging events in the country.

NPS is mobilising helicopters from other agencies to respond to any violence within the shortest time possible.

Police have three working helicopters and will arrange for more from Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Pipeline, KenGen, Kenya Power, Kenya Forest Service and other agencies to move troops and other resources to places of need.

More than 5,000 vehicles have since 2013 been leased for police at an undisclosed cost and most of them will be deployed to cover the polls. Further, several government agencies have been ordered to surrender their vehicles to police ahead of the elections.

Whereas there are about 100,000 police officers, IEBC says it needs at least 150,000 security officers for the exercise.

Training officers

The rest will be sourced from Prisons, National Intelligence Service, Kenya Wildlife Services, Kenya Forestry Services and National Youth Service but they will have to be gazetted as special police officers.

IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati told a forum they are in the process of training security officers on election management in a programme being undertaken in partnership with security agencies while affirming IEBCs readiness to punish those who contravene the electoral code of conduct.

He said that 600 officers have already been trained and that a similar number to follow. The programme will continue until at least 150,000 security officers are trained and deployed across the country.

This programme will see a total of 150,000 officers cascaded down to the ground for purposes of polls. We want to assure you there will be security throughout the country, Chebukati said.

Before he died, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said all the security agencies have been sensitised to facilitate the security and integrity of the elections.

Nkaissery further said that 29 counties with a higher likelihood of violence had been identified and adequate measures put in place to pre-empt occurrences of unrest during the electioneering period.

This is where insiders say these water canons will be sent.

For instance, at least three canons will be sent to Uasin Gishu. We have mapped out security conflict hotspots and developed focus mitigation strategies.

Weve identified particularly 20 counties and therefore women candidates in those counties will be given security based on the situations obtaining in specific hot spots, explained Nkaissery during a meeting in Nairobi.

It will help them plan and conduct time sensitive response to incidents during electioneering period, he added.

Link:
More tear gas, guns arrive to deal with mass protests after August elections - The Standard