‘If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” -J. F. Clarke
I’m hardly the first person to make this observation, but among the plethora of possibilities presented by the Internet is the opportunity to be unkind without consequence. The anonymity afforded by our screen names and questionable profiles (“fauxfiles”?) gives us the hit and run capability that emboldens the cowards among us.
As an educator and speaking professional for over ten years, one of the so-called “rules” of public speaking is a rule to which I closely adhere. It applies too other aspects of life as well, and I have often found it extremely useful to utilize tenets of other industries in my own. For example, there are principles of in-person networking that can be applied to social media networking. There are principles of real estate investing that can be applied to education. Innumerable coaching and sports analogies can be applied to just about anything.
this philosophy in particular, an admonishment to speakers to “know their audience,” is applicable to marketing.
when I speak to groups about disability awareness, I am quickly reminded that my audience is not stocked with attendees who see things my way. My job isn’t to point my finger at them and say, ‘Be nicer to people who are disabled because it’s the right thing to do.” If the “right thing to do” were sufficient a reason to do anything,we would not have crime. So, my job isn’t to spank my attendees in an effort to shame them into behaving a certain way. Rather, I see my role as more like that of a cultural anthropologist, excavating motives, interpreting the data, seeking to understand how the pieces fit together and how best to improve upon our interactions with one another.
To do this, I must know my audience. Speaking to a roomful of disability rights advocates does not achieve my purpose. Presumably, they already “get it.” Nor is my audience a roomful of individuals with disabilities. They are living the experience about which I speak, they are the proverbial “choir” to whom I would be ‘preaching.”
the same is true in marketing. the goal isn’t to create a market for a product that doesn’t exist, the goal is to identify an existing market and help them meet a need.
The point is, the Insights web destinations are not for the tech-savvy, html-markup sophisticates who are experts in web site accessibility platforms and protocols. My target market are the individuals who are struggling to find practical information about how to cope with their parents who are disabled, or those who are seeking ways to manage their own disability. they would be unlikely to troll the many jargon-intensive, informational tech blogs. they are unlikely to grasp the finer points of- Using tables for structure, layout and design rather than separating style from content using semantic markup ie css and (x)html. If you understood that sentence, my offerings may not be for you. I know my audience. For those who seek to further their own interests at the expense of others, however, this is a matter of no importance. They would simply prefer to humiliate. It’s faster.
Let’s back up and punt, shall we? the bigger picture is that if we do not possess dignity ourselves, we cannot give it to others. Criticism, flaming, ridiculing only weakens our message. Instead, examine the good works of people who take chances every day in guiding others through the minefield of differing viewpoints. the landscape is fraught with bias and resentment and past pain, which only serves to cloud our judgment and permit us to be hurtful. We humans have a long road ahead of us as life becomes more difficult, seems more savage, faster paced. If we allow ourselves to suffer the indignity of the pettiness of those who would silence us, we have no voice to lend to those who have no voice of their own.
It is a profound commentary on just how marginalized professionals with disabilities must feel that for some, it seems necessary to betray or belittle each other, despite our shared goals, our shared drive to improve the lives of others. For those of you who are advocates for people with disabilities, teachers of awareness, accessibility, crafters of assistive technologies and who actively seek to promote our abilities, thank you. If your efforts seem only to garner you scorn, ridicule, humiliation or sabotage, keep up the good work. You must be doing something right.
LL