COM 9660 Jodi-­‐Ann Morris Situational Analysis Confucius, is a philosopher that has been around before the onset of modern technology and constant connection of social media. Despite the contrasting time periods, it would be beneficial for Confucius to use social media technologies to gain more followers and let more persons be aware of his name and teachings. The social media platforms that would be best used are Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and a website. Millennials usually turn to and rely on these mediums for more information regarding an issue, cause, organization or person. Ideas and strategies will be explored to see which options can be woven cohesively with the teachings of Confucius and modern technologies. Objective For Confucius, he personally did not view his teachings as being something new to persons and society. Instead, it was just a new perspective on ideas and teachings that were there before. His main focus was on the society and politics. His ideology on society was that appropriate individual behavior is beneficial to not only his fellow man but to society in general. Additionally, persons should show compassion to each other and treat others the way they would like to be treated and avoid doing otherwise. Politically, he believed that education is important for proper behavior in government and society1. For Millennials, they are very concerned about how they can become involved with a cause that they are passionate about and have a need to give back to society and others.2 The main objective of this plan is to find a correlation and connection between the ideologies of Confucius and the characteristics of Millennials. Additionally, how the use of social media and technology can catalyst and cement this relationship. Strategy It is to make more Millennials be more aware of Confucius. In doing so they can be more familiar with his teachings and adopt them accordingly. It is with hope that they recognize that there are a lot of similarities between his teachings and ideas and their beliefs and that they can use this to their advantage. Additionally, it is believed that it would be beneficial to Confucius to have an open dialogue with Millennials as to see how best to interact with them. In the true spirit of Confucius, it would be a good opportunity to build on his current beliefs and principles so that they are more modern and fit in well with Millennials. Audience 1
Teachings of Confucius. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://confucius-­‐1.com/teachings/ The 2013 Millennial Impact Report. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://cdn.trustedpartner.com/docs/library/AchieveMCON2013/Research Report/Millennial Impact Research.pdf 2
1 COM 9660 Jodi-­‐Ann Morris The main target audience is Millennials. This group of individuals are, arguably, persons who were born between the years 1979 to 1994. These kind of persons are very interested in volunteering and positive causes more than the how much popularity there is in the name of the organization. An additional incentive for them to give back is that it is a gateway for networking and connecting with others. It is a chance to diversify and strengthen whatever skills and knowledge they have. However, the irony of this information is that Millennials have a very low level of social trust.3 In other words, they do not trust others and organizations or institutions. This is where the teachings of Confucius would be a very good repair agent. His work can help to restore the lost trust that has found its home among the Millennials. Messaging The primary messages that Confucius would promote through his different social media platforms are: the necessity of social and political trust, support for giving back to others and the community and morality. Messages will also convey that Confucius is not a supporter of rules or laws that dictate how people should behave and feel. 4It would be one of frankness, relatability and practicality. Millennials like to know exactly what something or someone is all about without having to search too hard. Arguably, this ties into the relationship that they have with social trust. The messages would evoke the questions of “Who? What? and Why?” as a way to peak interest. It will lack formality and play host to friendliness and share genuine interest in the positive dialogue that it will have Millennials and even other users. With this group, especially those in the Western world, they are very open and embrace the idea of equality. From religious equality to racial equality, they are strong proponents of this. So the messages will lack bias and instead promote an environment of tolerance and respect. In Eastern Asian cultures, the freedom that Western cultures have in messages on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook can be quite restrictive. For example, Facebook and Twitter access is blocked in countries like China. In these cultures, social media platforms have been their stage to catalyze democracy and letting it take root and grow. It gives users an extra pair of eyes to make sure that facts are properly stated and keep track of any misgivings in the government and issues related to human rights.5 Since Confucian is fundamentally from Asia and many natives of Asian cultures will be 3
Millennials in Adulthood. (2014, March 6). Retrieved March 4, 2015, from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-­‐in-­‐adulthood/ 4
Wee, Cecilia. (2011). Xin, Trust, and Confucius' Ethics. Philosophy East and West: A Quarterly of Comparative Philosophy, 61(3), 516-­‐533. 5
Abbott, J. (2012). [email protected] Revisited: Analysing the Socio-­‐Political Impact of the Internet and New Social Media in East Asia. Third World Quarterly, 33(2), 333-­‐357. 2 COM 9660 Jodi-­‐Ann Morris familiar with Confucius, it will be fair to make sure that messages that are brought across are respective of their culture and beliefs. Tactics In order to effectively bring the message across and let Millennials be more familiar with Confucius, social media will be heavily used. The social media and communication platforms that will be used are: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, a website, RenRen (Chinese social network similar to Facebook) and Weibo (Chinese microblogging similar to Twitter). For the website, the aim is to have the ideologies painstakingly clear and to the point. It should one of the primary places that Millennials go to in order to find out more information about Confucius and his works. Even more, the website will be a way for them to sign up to get weekly newsletters and volunteer opportunities and how they can become involved. It will also have a blog where Confucius expresses his thoughts and opinions on subject matters. It will delve more into who Confucius is and what he believes and supports. Sample of the website homepage for Confucius 3 COM 9660 Jodi-­‐Ann Morris The next thing that will be looked at are the Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages. The Twitter and Facebook pages will have posts that relate to current social and political issues and a way will be found to intertwine Confucius teachings so that they correlate. For Millennials, like to share, like or retweet information that is important to them. This is an indirect way that organizations and individuals get noticed by the public. In order to let them retweet or share information, it has to be more images and videos than words. The more visual content the better. So the messages that will be portrayed will done through imagery. These images will also provide links to charities, Confucius website and volunteer opportunities. The social media platforms will also mimic the actions of the Millennials by retweeting, liking and sharing information to followers that will be of interest to Confucius followers. It would be a way that of maintaining and gaining more persons. Sample of Confucius Twitter page 4 COM 9660 Jodi-­‐Ann Morris Above: Sample of Confucius Facebook page Sample of Confucius Instagram page 5 COM 9660 Jodi-­‐Ann Morris Results With this strategy and these tactics, it is hopeful that more persons will be aware of Confucius and his works. Also, to recognize that he is a philosopher that can adapt to change and has proven to reinvent and reshape old thinking. His works are timeless and can be applied in almost any situation in any era. With these characteristics, more persons will not only follow him but also spread the words to others and in the case with Millennials this is a good sign that a person is worthy of being known. 6 COM 9660 Jodi-­‐Ann Morris Sources ⇒ Abbott, J. (2012). [email protected] Revisited: Analysing the Socio-­‐Political Impact of the Internet and New Social Media in East Asia. Third World Quarterly, 33(2), 333-­‐357. ⇒ Millennials in Adulthood. (2014, March 6). Retrieved March 4, 2015, from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-­‐in-­‐adulthood/ ⇒ Teachings of Confucius. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://confucius-­‐
1.com/teachings/ ⇒ The 2013 Millennial Impact Report. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://cdn.trustedpartner.com/docs/library/AchieveMCON2013/Research Report/Millennial Impact Research.pdf ⇒ Wee, Cecilia. (2011). Xin, Trust, and Confucius' Ethics. Philosophy East and West: A Quarterly of Comparative Philosophy, 61(3), 516-­‐533. 7