The Bellyflops of Social Media Mismanagement

On the precipice of war, overreaching false cosmopolitanism continues. Plus, parents plan for unsustainable digital abstinence.

The overreaching false cosmopolitanism continues. Read my sadly-still-fresh take here.

Today the Kenneth Cole Twitter account tweeted something thoughtless about "Boots on the ground" or not, don't forget about sandals and loafers.

Nope.

Boots on the ground are soldiers going to war  possibly to be maimed or killed, and to wreak havoc on the lives of others. The precipice of war is not an opportunity to remind people you make loafers.

Feels like deja vu for Cole. Because it is. The brand flopped just like this in 2011.

At that time I made the connection between global mishaps of high profile brands and the false cosmopolitanism we’re all suffering

There was Groupon’s SuperBowl ad fiasco, when the company attempted to mix consumerism with sensitive political, environmental, cultural, economic and social issues, and the Kenneth Cole Twitter debacle which appeared to make light of unrest in Cairo.

In 2010, I wrote about earlier instances of the phenomenon of false cosmopolitanism, inspired by Ethan Zuckerman and Jen Stefanotti's work on the topic.

We've got a culture problem on our hands. Access to the worldwide web makes us imagine we’re global thinkers. But we’re not. Not even close.

In order to truly be global thinkers, we’d have to be xenophiles, actively and constantly bridging cultures, immersed and knowledgeable about multiple worlds.

Most people hang out in “like-minded microcosms” and when we cross a boundary online the new light shed on everyone’s prejudices and assumptions can take us by surprise.

This “xeno-confusion” is happening more often in the virtual realm, with higher and higher stakes.

Today’s other big story of social media mismanagement has been swiftly answered by Alexandra Samuel of Love Your Life Online. It falls into the category of unsustainable digital abstinence to solve problems that may crop up in the future.

"Don't be scared to Facebook your kids," she responds to Amy Webb's piece at Slate "We Post Nothing About Our Daughter Online."

Samuel writes: "Parenthood is such a central experience that there’s no way to cut it out of your online life without profoundly compromising your own ability to have authentic, meaningful connections online."

That’s exactly right. Plus, digital abstinence doesn’t prepare you for the world your child will grow up in.

How are you preparing yourself for a wider world?

Groupon Ad Fiasco + Kenneth Cole Twitter Debacle = False Cosmopolitanism

Groupon's SuperBowl ad fiasco when the company attempted to mix consumerism with sensitive political, environmental, cultural, economic and social issues, and the Kenneth Cole Twitter debacle which appeared to make light of unrest in Cairo are examples of the bellyflops that come from false cosmopolitanism.

I wrote about this back in August of 2010.

We’re suffering from a false sense of cosmopolitanism. Access to the worldwide Interwebs leads us to imagine ourselves global thinkers. But we’re not -- unless we’re true xenophiles, bridging cultures, immersed and knowledgeable about multiple worlds.

Most people hang out in “like-minded microcosms” and when we cross a boundary online the new light shed on everyone’s prejudices and assumptions can take us by surprise.

“Xeno-confusion” is happening more often in the virtual realm, with higher and higher stakes. How are you preparing yourself for a wider world?

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Related: Global Dexterity

Hot Seat: On Gender Bias, Ethnocentrism And Xenoconfusion

Summer's not over -- yet. Just like the mercury in hotspots around the world, we're still fired up. Enduring and recently sparked provocations include gender bias in the business world...the fact that we continue to judge books by their cover (and people by their name!)...the nonsensical segregation of creative work (by makers, distributors, buyers) based on the creator or consumer's skin tone...plus, a controversial take on this summer's French burqa ban guaranteed to bring your own issues to a boil.

+++++ AT expat+HAREM

Our interview series with hybrid characters debuts with the real Canadian woman behind powerhouse web firm Men with Pens, and her career-enriching choice to let business associates assume she's male.

Another new feature: the Hybrid Ambassadors blog-ring. On their own blogs nine Dialogue2010 participants address a polarizing book promotion in an international writing community, taking on the xenoconfusion of an interconnected world, "the whitewashing of our differences", and the risks of committing strong opinions to a digital footprint.

Among the best blog-ring comments:

"it takes guts to empathize with people of different heritage";

interpreting others' meaning with an eye toward middle ground makes us "catalysts and alchemists rather than victims and bullies",

"we are all hybrids, of life and circumstance, of beliefs and ancestry."

+++++ AROUND THE WORLD & AROUND THE WEB

Here's a hot ticket for Pacific Northwest thinkers, entrepreneurs, artists and optimists on 10/10/10: TEDxRainier celebrates the intellectual soul of Seattle.

The one day event is curated by expat+HAREM pal global nomad and physician Nassim Assefi who "gets a kick out of saving lives and celebrating life" and organized by Phil Klein, who's known to tweet such profundities as "ethnocentrism overtrusts ingroup loyalty, cultivating arrogance; nurses outgroup hostility, encourages ignorance of outsiders."

And an Istanbul-based foreign correspondent tackles what may be the most burn-worthy topic of all: can civilization ban the burqa and survive?