Handbook for Protests, Demonstrations & Focused Communications Chat Rooms & News Groups Radio | TV | Newspapers | Chat Rooms & NewsGroups | Representatives |
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might look like 2 types of chat, but it's actually 3. They actually do have quite an impact on public opinion... this is where people look for alternative points of view and ways to take action. In the case of the "Professional" chats, they can actually shape the way news is reported, moment by moment. We'll break the kinds of chats down this way: 1) Professional Chat - Chat rooms sponsored by legitimate news organizations, as well as organizations with whom you may agree or disagree. Examples might be CNN, MSNBC, FOX, ABC, The Nation, Etc. 2) Public Chat - Chat rooms on independent web sites.. not always focusing on politics... where you get an opportunity now and then to mention a url or state an opinion. 3) News Groups - There are zillions of News Groups... all provide an opportunity to saturate them with a message here, a url there. But it's easy, because you can create threads and send them email. Remember: the goal is to inform and educate, and trust people to make the right choices once they are informed. So.. Professional Chat People who use Professional Chat Zones are looking for satisfaction. They want to vent their frustrations, they want to have their opinions and feelings heard, and they want someone to respond. Keep that in mind, and When responding, address your responses to the person who seems to dominate the room. Get them to address you directly, get their attention, get them off course. Do not argue with them. Acknowledge their thoughts, and offer an alternative point of view. NEVER get frustrated and revert to name calling... stick to the facts, and even state... I 'm not going to throw mud... People only stick with chat rooms for 10-30 minutes. If you went to the new chat rooms twice a day and expressed a view and referred people to a url at a website, you would actually be communicating to hundreds of people. It adds up. Even if you get "flamed" out of the room, people will have seen the messages. That's what's important. And it will accumulate in search engines later. Radio station use a rotation method to program music (usually controlled by computers). They'll take a song, play it at, say, 9am the first day, 9:30 the next day, 10am the next... until the song is played and becomes familiar in every "day part" (thru every potential audience group). It may actually be played at many times of the day, with the rotational offset to move it though the rotation. Plan your campaigns, keeping in mind that people are into routines. They'll log in and do the same things everyday, at the same times, in the same orders, for the same reasons. By using a rotational campaign in numerous chat rooms, you'll reinforce the message with those familiar, and expose new audiences. Those familiar will answer the questions of the new people, without additional intervention on your part. That is a movement that has taken a hold. In Chat Zones, there are 3 ways to operate. a) Challenger Mode - A typical response to someone whose opinions you disagree with would read "Tony, I understand how you feel, but how would you feel... if the same thing happened to you". If opinions are running high against your view, and you believe you have the high ground, this is one way to clear a chat room within about 20 minutes. These people want to be in an environment where people agree with them. Running them out may be a good thing to do if it means altering the consensus, and that what they espouse isn't necessarily ok. b) Planter Mode - This is when you go to the chat room and just add a message quickly sending people to a url and then log out and move on to the next one. Do this when you're feeling frustrated just to take it out on someone. But seriously, this is pure marketing, without engagement. c) Controller Mode - This is a difficult mode to maintain, and can get you banned... not because you do anything wrong, but because you fully dominate the chat room. It may cause you to change email addresses (like on yahoo) or chat room handles to get back in. When you find yourself in a chat room where the prevailing ambience and level of rationality are not conducive to the revealing of facts, what you have to do is determine who in the room (other than the moderator) is controlling the flow of discussion, and address that person one on one. That removes them from the mainstream conversation (because they love direct discussion and acknowledgement for their leadership). It allows others to chime in. When that person disengages or says something really stupid out of frustration, move on to the next one. Do not respond to any additional direct responses once you have moved on. You might understand how two people, sitting side by side while in chat rooms as separate users, could alter the concensus and topics of any chat room. I learned this mode of operation from GoPac, Newt Gingrich's friends, when they were controlling CNN and MSNBC's chat rooms during the Clinton impeachment, and the Kosovo Conflict. It was very effective. Actually changed the news slant. Thanks for the education, once again, Newt. Our critics for using this technique can blame Newt. Public Chat Again, the American Public is not as stupid as officials would want us to believe. The problem Americans have is that they are uninformed, misinformed and manipulated by people who have spent billions to make sure the truth is never known. People in these rooms to do not generally purport to be experts... frequently, they are frustrated people mouthing off, or people actually in an inquiry. People mouthing off will get rational if you ask them to stop being obnoxious... or they'll make fools of themselves. Again, never argue. Share information, and teach people by asking them questions that cause them to put themselves in the place of someone else... to understand. Never argue, simply re-state what principle or idea you support. Let them appear to be the one who doesn't make sense. Ask other people their opinions first... let them feel understood.. that will almost always get you permission to explain your ideas. Why should other people listen to you if you don't listen to them? That would be a Planter Mode of operating. News Groups News groups are alot like chat rooms, only using it is more like email marketing. Look at your junk email. Each good one has a fun name to identify who it's from, a good headline, and then an advertising style hook in the first paragraph to get people to read it. News groups are like newspapers: they have a life after they are initially read. There is a record that search engines pick up on, so the messages may be read months or years afterward. Always include a link to a website such as www.democraticfundamentalism.org If you include a small graphic image, people will see your image, and the message on it, when they scan for images only in the newsgroups. People read messages.. but the first 3 seconds of viewing it are the most important. See how you can create opening statements - hooks - coined phrases... to provide a summary of your message in a headline. Then, give a more complete explanation. Working with newsgroups requires continuous effort, since the communities are always changing, and the volume of materials is enormous.
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