A great turnout for Destra and Brad Howarth at The Domain

Brad Howarth and Domenic Carosa (CEO of Destra) drew quite a crowd at The Domain networking event in Melbourne, held at Digital Harbour in the Docklands. Attendees received a music CD from Destra and a copy of Australian Anthill magazine (Subscribe to Anthill for the secret bargain price here – thanks Rich).

Brad “Best Technology Industry Journalist” Howarth wrote an article in The Age which is firing up the local blogosphere. It’s web take 2.0 is creating a lot of discussion around whether Australian big business gets Web 2.0 (Brad’s full Aussie 2.0 list is here). One of my favourite quotes is from Mick Liubinskas at Tangler “So they keep chasing the users wherever they go, and the users are running away because they are sick of the corporates yelling at them”. As a Gen Y in the workforce, communication is clearly aimed at older generations. I’ve grown up as a consumer hearing the noise that is the corporate monologue, the same-again tv advertising, empty promises and not-so-hidden-agendas. This not only changes my behaviour as a consumer, it also changes what I want in communication in the workplace. I want two-way communication, input, rapid dissemination of news, subscriptions to news based on topic, a human voice, a giant repository of collective knowledge that can be searched… the list goes on. These technologies and techniques are native to me, part of how I get things done. I don’t fax, I don’t send letters and I hear blah blah blah when communication is inhuman and unnatural. Many older style companies are not connecting with their Gen X & Y employees, just as old media is not connecting with their Gen X & Y readers (if they have any). It’s a generation gap. (Rupert is one of the few who gets it)

The Global Geek Podcast recently asked Cameron Reilly “What motivates someone to walk away from the relative security of a six-figure-income corporate job to weather the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that go with running a start-up?”. Cam posted If You Start Me Up… on Startup Stories,

Creating a startup is already enticing to Gen X & Y for the seemingly unlimited challenge and job satisfaction, but I increasingly wonder whether the human voice (Naked Conversations) is going to be a greater factor in job choice for the coming decades. Money is only useful in that it leads to greater freedom. If you have freedom already, what exactly is the money for?

In other news, Scouta has released Hicks (thanks, no one else was going to) and MODM #2 is on 7th June at Federation Square. Put it in your calendar, RSVP and subscribe to the MODM rss feed. All the cool kids will be there.

Media, Political and Religious FUD – Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt – Controlling By Fear

Yet another news item about hate speech, the latest one being John Howard and the Catch The Fire ministry. This ministry appears to have a history of spreading the word of intolerance, but as there’s no transcript of John Howard’s speech and the entire article is based on speculation of what he might say or plans to say. This is a pretty shallow and inflammatory article – typical lack of integrity from the MSM (Main Stream Media), yet again. Thank god we have journalists, what would we do without them? Gerard McManus and Michael Harvey you should be ashamed of yourselves. Go home and apologise to your family and friends for inciting racial hatred, inciting fear and publishing material that belongs on Today Tonight or 3AW.

This article is a perfect example of a bigger issue that is not being covered by the MSM, mainly because they are one of the biggest culprits. The issue is FUD. Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. If you are not familiar with this concept, it’s a marketing strategy, originally used by IBM to cast aspersions on their competitors. However since the terrorist attacks on America, it’s also been increasingly used by the MSM, political parties, governments and churches, as well as big corporates like pharmaceutical companies.

FUD is not always about misinformation, but it is using information as a weapon of fear to manipulate and control people, similar to an armed bank robbery, people who are afraid or uncertain are easier to control.

Everyone needs to be a little more skeptical about the use of FUD by political and religious groups (frankly, most of us in Generation X & Y expect it from corporates, but the use of FUD by politicians has surged since the attacks on World Trade Center). The agenda of any group trying to control people through fear is a dangerous one. Saddam Hussein used this very weapon against his own people, although he didn’t hide it as FUD.

If you find yourself experiencing fear, uncertainty or doubting a previous belief that you had, consider the source of this FUD feeling, and whether that source will receive a personal gain from your fearful, uncertain or doubting state. Today Tonight, 3AW, Beauty & The Beast, there are so many of these shows that drive ratings based on fear, misinformation, divisive statements and repugnant social behaviour. The purpose of fear in evolution is to incite reaction. Media executives have discovered this works really well for ratings, regardless of the impact this has on society. Many of the hosts of these shows do not believe the “controversial” things they say, they’re just whoring for ratings, exploiting the ignorance of their audience for a few bucks in their pocket and five minutes of fame.

Societies living in fear are no longer functioning to their full potential. Fear is crippling to productivity, confidence and mental serenity.

For the next week, count the number of FUD media experiences you have, it may surprise you.