Mediaboss Marketing

As a resident of the wider community and a member of the Waterbury Area Anti-Racism Coalition (WAARC), I am writing to urge you to fly the Waterbury Stands With Black Lives Matter banner. Flying the banner in the past has been an important example of moral leadership by your group, and therefore the town of Waterbury, from which others who live in the area, as well as countless visitors, have benefitted. I also support displaying some version of the Declaration of Inclusion. The two messages are complementary and hesitation to fly the BLM banner in fact contradicts the Declaration of Inclusion.

I watched the recording of the Oct. 4 Select Board meeting and I was struck by a few things.

On the question of whether this is in the lane of the Select Board, your Declaration of Inclusion makes it clear that equity is part of the Boards purview. Furthermore, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns Statement of Equity and Racial Justice makes it clear that racial justice is crucial to effective town governance:

The Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) stands with our members and commits to being more visible, vocal, and supportive in our efforts to ensure equity and racial justice, and to directly address systemic and overt racism and implicit bias. We are ready to assist and, with local officials, will do our best to make a difference.

To be clear, Black Lives Matter is a decentralized social movement. It is distinct from political organizations like the Black Lives Matter Global Network. Saying we stand with BLM is a statement about values and inclusion. The U.S. government agrees - our Office of Special Counsel has ruled that BLM is not political or partisan (see here). Employees of the federal government can wear BLM while working, for example. So there is nothing keeping you from doing this, and to hide behind a veneer of neutrality is to work against inclusion.

It is contradictory for the Board to say that it stands behind the Declaration of Inclusion but not BLM. The Declaration names several protected classes, including race. This is because people with these identities have historically been and continue to be all too often discriminated against interpersonally and systemically. The Declaration makes the point that we cant just say we want to be inclusive or treat everybody the same; we need to be particularly mindful when it comes to some people due to the broader context of society and our own internal implicit biases. BLM simply restates this principle by reminding us that even when it comes to race, anti-Black racism deserves special attention because in our society, anti-Black racism has been the backbone of all other racism (and perhaps other types of oppression too). So for the Board to support the Declaration but not BLM suggests a misunderstanding of BLM.

I hope that you fly both banners. Not on behalf of WAARC, but to show your own commitment to and understanding of inclusion and equity. I applaud the boards efforts to deepen collective understanding of these issues, and for making symbolic yet important actions such as flying the BLM banner in the past and developing the Declaration of Inclusion. I plan to urge the Select Board in Duxbury to follow in Waterburys footsteps.

I have heard some board members express worry that supporting BLM is divisive in our community. If you accept the points I made above, it is clear that there are only two reasons somebody would feel threatened by BLM: (1) they dont understand it or (2) they dont think Black lives matter as much as white lives.

This moment is a powerful opportunity for the Board to both (1) help educate people about why it is important for Waterbury and its residents to support BLM specifically and inclusion generally and (2) reinforce that Waterbury does not support white supremacy specifically or any form of discrimination generally.

The board has huge influence in our community and could use this as a moment to educate and unite our community around fairness, interconnectedness, and growing our understanding of ourselves and each other.

Thank you,

Life LeGeros

Duxbury

Read more here:
LETTER: Fly the banner and display the Declaration of Inclusion Waterbury Roundabout - Waterbury Roundabout

Views expressed in opinion columns are the authors own.

As a writer, I understand the joy that comes from manipulating the English language to find that perfect play on words. So, Id like to brush off Gov. Larry Hogans proposed Re-fund the Police initiative as a harmless attempt to get a joke out of Marylanders, specifically those who are part of the Black Lives Matter movement and advocates who push to defund the police.

Yet, no one is laughing, and this initiative is far from harmless.

In his new plan, Hogan is looking to provide $150 million to increase the police presence in the state of Maryland. Hogan will allocate $24 million to increased accountability resources, which will manifest in things such as increased body cameras and de-escalation training. Additionally, he looks to provide $10 million to neighborhood lights and security cameras and $20 million for victim services and protection.

However, a bulk of the plan a combined $95 million, to be exact will be focused on increasing both police officer salaries and police aid across Maryland. Its evident that Hogan feels as though there are inefficiencies with law enforcement in Maryland, and that he believes he will fix them, at least in part, with this plan.

However, Hogans plan creates even more questions without resolving the original question at hand: how can we fix the growing crime problem in America?

To begin, this initiative is grossly out of touch with calls among many to defund the police and makes no attempt to meet in the middle to find a solution that works for all.

While the argument to defund the police put forward by the Black Lives Matter movement does call for funding to be moved away from law enforcement, it does not hope to abolish community security and create a lawless society. Calls to defund the police often cite the history of law enforcement terrorizing minority communities as a reason why further reforms would do nothing but prolong the problem and suggest moving funds toward other alternative programs in order to decrease crime from its root.

Ultimately, movements to defund the police want to move away from police officers as a way to fix Americas growing crime problem.

Even if one disagrees with the methodology of defunding the police, its easy to discern that the goal of defunding the police makes protecting American communities a main priority.

Therefore, its unsettling to see Hogan poke fun at an idea that is only trying to protect some of the most vulnerable Americans. Especially considering that the calls to defund the police are rooted in historical racism of Black communities, it is alarming even borderline offensive to know that our governor has no problem turning their hardships into a joke. It all just seems to be in bad taste.

Even after pushing the programs offensive nature aside, this plan is simply not the most effective way to reduce crime in our cities.

Hogan attempts to justify his obscenely large police budget by citing growing crime in Baltimore. However, he conveniently leaves out the fact that the Baltimore police budget rose by $28 million this past year, and the crime rate has continued to grow with it. If the crime rate is growing despite continued investment in policing, then what purpose does continued investment in policing serve?

Aside from wasting millions in taxpayer dollars, increased policing will only contribute to more harm in our most vulnerable communities and lead us back to this same conversation over and over.

If Hogan wanted to get to the root of Marylands crime, he could invest in mental health officers or social workers to psychologically assist community members.

He could provide small business subsidies to help grow the communitys economic outlook. He could invest in community programs in order to pull kids away from crime and help create a more connected community without divisions.

Almost anything is better than perpetuating this age-old, racist cycle of increased policing without examining the root of the crime and absolutely everything is better than turning Black fear and oppression into the punchline of a regressive policy announcement.

Anthony Liberatori is a junior environmental science and economics major. He can be reached at alib1204@umd.edu.

See the original post:
Advocates to defund the police want to protect communities. Hogan shouldn't mock that. - The Diamondback

As part of its broader effort to maximize inclusion, and ensure optimal freedom of representation on its platform, Twitter has announced a new #TwitterPrism initiative which is designed to help marketing partners integrate more inclusive approaches into their outreach efforts.

As explained by Twitter:

Inspired by the work already happening, and aware of how much more there is to be done, were announcing #TwitterPrism to bring together existing and new efforts that support diverse creators and publishers. #TwitterPrism encourages and enables our advertising partners to create campaigns that are rooted in culture, and center diverse, intersectional voices.

The program aims to help marketers develop more inclusive strategies, while also encouraging more media spend among historically excluded communities.

An additional element within Twitters Marketing Partner program, #TwitterPrism will provide market insights support, so brands can better understand specific aspects of the communities they want to engage with, while it will also facilitate Cultural Context workshops to expand knowledge and understanding in these key areas.

The program will also facilitate the co-creation of campaigns, in conjunction with Twitter ArtHouse, through which Twitter will connect advertisers with diverse visual artists and influencers to build more relevant ads.

Change is happening. A broad spectrum of brands are working diligently to meet the demands of a rapidly-evolving market by connecting with diverse communities of customers and fans. #TwitterPrism helps our advertising partners develop more inclusive marketing strategies and channel media dollars to diverse communities.

In addition to this, Twitter will also look to increase the number of minority-owned and led providers in its Amplify marketing partner program, providing more ways for brands to invest in diverse publishers and creators.

The announcement comes as part of Twitters broader commitment to maximizing diversity and inclusion, which also incorporates its internal hiring practices.

And as Twitter notes, change is happening in this regard, and more consumers now expect brands to make more effort to incorporate inclusion and diversity within their marketing.

As such, #TwitterPrism could be a key gateway for brands to make more informed approaches on this front, with direct input from these communities to help integrate more representative elements in a more authentic and engaging way.

You can learn more about the #TwitterPrism initiative here.

Continued here:
Twitter Announces New #TwitterPrism Initiative to Maximize Inclusion within Advertising - Social Media Today

People all over the world have been increasingly holding a talk about the rise of social media space and the digital realm overall. A few years back, when social media was still rising, many brands and businesses hardly paid much attention to growing their digital footprint, thinking they would survive with the name and image they had created through traditional forms of media and word-of-mouth. However, this scenario has totally changed and for the better. Today, brands can't think to survive without a digital presence, and more and more companies are coming forward to heighten their digital presence and visibility through these online platforms. Mik Zenon from Toronto, Canada, who serves as one of the top social media influencers and content creators for his videos on Amazon Finds in the affiliate marketing space, explains that being on social media today is like doing a favour to oneself, such is the growth opportunities it offers, and gives people a chance to grow beyond boundaries, which wasn't possible with traditional marketing methods.

Mik Zenon's channel on social media initially featured a series titled "Amazon Products You Need (Or Don't)" as a 100-part Amazon Finds series; however, his videos garnered so much love, recognition and presence that he had to extend the same into a 365 parts series. It is natural to wonder what really helped him thrive so much in the ever-so-competitive affiliate marketing industry as a social media influencer. He credits a major part of his success to the passion he feels for the medium, which gives him the chance to express himself the way he wants to as many people as possible across the world. In addition, he feels that his comic touch to his videos with meaningful reviews and also an entertainment factor has allowed him to connect with his audiences in incredible ways.

The storyline he creates with each of his videos has raised standards in the industry and has helped him achieve immense recognition with 3 million followers in just 14 months as an influencer of products with 1 billion views, generating millions of dollars in revenue in the e-commerce space.

Mik Zenon is excited for his future projects, where currently he is developing a multi-year collaboration with a giant in the Amazon Selling Space, "Lifewit". He has been accepted into the official Amazon Influencer Program and is now thrilled to enter the e-commerce space to launch and promote his own brands of products in the coming months.

Mik Zenon truly has been riding high on success as a one-of-a-kind social media influencer in the affiliate marketing space.

Photography by: Mik Zenon

Read the rest here:
Mik Zenon Rides High on Success as a One-of-a-Kind Social Media Influencer in the Affiliate Marketing Industry - Ocean Drive Magazine

Before a rapidly growing smartphone user base and rising internet connectivity propelled digital advertising and marketing as an effective tool for brand promotion, few had expected online media to take off the way it has over the past few years. Back in the early 2000s, the number of brands trying the effectiveness of digital advertising channels were far and few in between.

So, when Vikas Chawla saw his company a leading bicycle manufacturing company dabbling with digital solutions and social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook for brand awareness, he was surprised to know the insights that were in store for him.

I learnt a lot about how one can leverage these digital platforms and target specific audience groups like teenagers. We also saw that while there were several global agencies, very few Indian companies were offering digital and social media marketing for local brands, recounts Vikas, who has years of experience in the advertising industry. He got together with his brother Sunil to launch Social Beat, an end-to-end digital marketing agency based out of Chennai in 2012.

A consultant who had launched his own e-commerce company, Sunil was the perfect business partner as he had the experience of working in the digital spectrum, he feels.

The two brothers doubled down to build a presence for the company across sectors, but a rude shock awaited them. We had a tough time convincing our clients that the digital medium is here to stay and they need to leverage it. Back then, the digital medium was not seen as important as it is today. During the first 2-3 years, we spent a lot of time not just selling our services, but also convincing clients about the potential of the digital medium, says Vikas.

The nascent stage of digital marketing also made it difficult for them to find the right talent for their company. So, how did they tackle these challenges? With a ROI-driven approach where we focussed only on business outcomes and not on metrics like the number of likes and social media followers our campaigns were garnering, answers Vikas.

In fact, our first client was one where we were to be paid only if we delivered the results. Plus, we diligently followed up on our clients' feedback which helped us refine our own business model,'' he adds. Plus, their focus on leveraging data-driven marketing has been a key growth driver for the company.

The two brothers groomed professionals from the ground up and showed them how digital brands are built and the approaches that work.

We encouraged a culture of experimentation and let your team unlearn and relearn. Today, it's the agility of the team that is the secret sauce behind Social Beats success, says Vikas.

While starting a digital-native brand, both Vikas and Sunil knew that an interactive website could be instrumental in demonstrating the impact Social Beat was trying to create. Going against conventional advice, they opted for a .in domain name that is offered by the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI).

We wanted a domain name that stressed on our Indian origin while helping us boost business growth and engage with the Indian audience. The other reason behind the team's decision was that they wanted the name 'Social Beat', come what may," says Vishal.

The move helped Social Beat not just ramp up its online presence and audience engagement, but also draw clients from across sectors.

NIXI has helped hundreds of businesses across sectors and sizes distinguish themselves as a brand with its .in or .Bharat domain which is Indias Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD). Its among the only internet exchanges in the world to offer a ccTLD in multiple languages.

Recalling his experience with a .in extension, Vikas said, When we registered for a .in domain, we had heard that search engines like Google prefer a .com domain name. But, it turned out to be just a myth as we started getting a lot of organic traffic right from the get go as the domain name made our connection with India very clear, he adds.

Social Beat was among the businesses who were able to find the silver lining in a dark cloud like COVID-19 crisis. He said the pandemic pushed digital mediums to become a mainstay for marketing campaigns. Earlier, digital marketing was usually a part of the overall strategy, he added.

The agency looks forward to developing its influencer platform in the near future and helping more brands scale with the help of digital marketing.

The Shaping India Inc's Online Growth series chronicles the journeys of startups and SMEs in India and how creating an online presence on the .in or .Bharat domain powered their success stories.

Excerpt from:
How an early bet on digital marketing is helping Chennai-based agency Social Beat reap rich rewards - YourStory