Development Takes More Than Just a Speed of Light

(A learning Blog for Module 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10)

A stack of learning ... A year lap

Time really flies fast !  
I looked at the textbooks that I have accumulated within two school semesters with UPOU and I smiled with my eyes twitched.

Aaaaaaah.  I thought it was easy- to study development communication in an open university setting.  I suppose my eyes twitched because I wanted to have a clearer sight of the photo of my textbooks before the image become blur again.  To tell you the truth, my second semester with UPOU was not an easy ride ... especially last 3 months where we have to learn and think fast about social marketing and social mobilization. 

I was mistaken then.  Studies in an open university platform is never easy just because you need not to be in a classroom.  In fact, it is more challenging because you are on your own. 

This entire journey made me realize that my course itself bears the endurance and the kind of attitude that a social marketer or development communication practitioner puts in when one rolls out a social marketing campaign. 

Why?  

Perhaps because social marketing campaigns address some of the deepest needs and issues of humanity.

Perhaps because it promotes life itself.

Perhaps because development per se does not happen overnight.  It is laborious.  It has to be tilled with commitment and "world-wide" passion.

The last four chapters of my subject DEV208 which deals with Social Marketing and Social Mobilization took me into a long journey.  One that will really challenge one's intention about the course.  

The two key words - marketing and mobilization actually took me by surprise despite the fact that I have been part of our marketing team at World Vision- a development aid agency.

My reason is simple, development itself is really a bigggg word and in my context I am more than convinced now that World Vision as a development aid agency cant be all to all.

As such, anyone supporting a humanitarian cause or rolling out a social marketing campaign would need foresight, would need the ability to seek partnership opportunities, would need the ability to mobilize people, would  would need resourcefulness, would need the ability to go beyond identifying a societal problem ... Social Marketing and Social Mobilization are actually action makers in development work. 

The past four topics in my class at DEV208 has given me the opportunity to practice the skills that I mentioned above as I tried to map out social marketing and social mobilization for a topic on disaster risk reduction education for children (primary school students).

I think I did my best to at least pen my thoughts for a possible social marketing campaign.  

And I hope too that the experience will me construct my own bridge to the real world of social marketing

Below is what my social marketing campaign desires ... a sound and child-friendly disaster risk reduction education for the Filipinos. 

Source: http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/emergencies_16525.html

http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/emergencies_16525.html

Swimming Within the Social Marketing Environments (DF 4 Learning Blog)

I picked this image as an illustration of how disastrous it is when one does not know what to do in a disaster. Disaster Risk Reduction is the topic I used to illustrate the lessons I learned in module 4 of DEV 208. Image courtesy of my favorite crafts blogsite : http://mmmcrafts.blogspot.sg/

 
DF4 opens and ends with me zooming in and out the different factors that affect a social marketing plan.


My "heavy-weight" reading material blinks with the words

1) Social marketing
2) focus
3) Environment
4) SWOT

and goes to say "have" to "Map the internal and external environments".  I seriously did not understand the usage of environment in this subject until I painstakingly read and reread the stack of reading materials.

"I thought that "purpose" and "focus" were the same".  "I thought that "background" and "rationale" are the same too". I had to mentally ask myself these questions and had to find my own answer to be able to start mapping my answers.

I think I did with the best of my ability and understanding and with the help of the given resources, my classmates at DEV208, and of course the internet where it serves a plethora of information. THANK YOU cyberspace!

So what did i exactly learn out of  module 4?

1) Social Marketing wears two skins - internal and external environments

For any social marketing campaign, it is important how well you know in both the internal and external environments of the campaign.  This is important to have a good grasp of the both environment since most if not all social marketing campaigns though specifically directed to a specific audience, takes the entire community to move for the campaign to be more than just a one time event.  Social marketing campaigns are directed towards societal gains.

2) The Macroenvironment holds the baton

Looking at the illustration at figure 5.2 where it illustrates the factors and forces influencing the target market and the effectivity of the campaign efforts, one can almost conclude that planning for a campaign can be like swimming from shallow shores to the deep crease of the ocean. There are simply layers and layers of factors that one need to manage before the campaign is able to fully manage the target audience.

While the rings of influence encircles the target audience, it is noticeable that the government / political leaders is placed at the outermost ring from the target audience alongside factors such as nature, culture, and technology (generally categorized as the macroenvironment).  From the illustration they look far from the target audience - which is usually in the case of an ordinary citizen but its influence affects all and holds the sustainability of the campaign. This is such because the government makes governmental policies.

3) A social marketing campaign should deliver what it promises

Knowing that a social marketer has to balance both internal and external environments it may be so easy to get lost within the layers of messages that permeates within the ring of environments.  As such, this is where the science and best practices of marketing takes in full picture.  At social marketing campaign should not be overtaken by the complexity of a social issue that's being addressed by the campaign itself but rather it should be able to approach its goals in a very systematic way.

 

Nothing? Say Nothing to Communicate

A digital painting that I did in 21st February 2010.  That moment when I got nothing to say but I ache to make it known. 

"If you have nothing to say, say nothing." - Mark Twain


That was quite profound! It feels so deep when you don't have anything to say but you still have to say it  - well at least say nothing so that people around you would know that you got nothing to say.  Oh the beauty of communication captured like fireflies by Mark Twain.


Why pick such a tone of ambiguity when writing a blog on the beauty of communication?  And why communication?


It has been a month and four days to be exact of my second semester with the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU).  Nearly eight months ago, I joined the queue of working professionals who are pushing for more learnings.  Thanks to distance learning, UPOU is able to take me in while in Singapore. Now I am in my second semester doing Masters in Development Communication. Easy? No not at all I had mountains of adjustments.  Like having to study four times the speed of seconds.  Like having to master the art of speed reading.  Like having to force yourself the discipline of time management when work demands 101% of your time, when family expresses their love by surprise week long visits and you just have to reciprocate by being with them... when you are married and your spouse silently wages war to get your attention, top it with school timelines, tons of readings, learning blogs ... the list just goes on and on.  It seems endless but surprisingly I see it adjusting into the kind of fit that I have in mind, hearth, and will.  


So why blog about communication?


I do because of three reasons ...


Firstly, I find it easy to start my class participation in my subject DEV202 - a study on Development Communication, Concepts, and Approaches,  by writing my thoughts on communication as a student of development communication.  


Secondly, I do because I think I am a natural communicator.  Yes I talk a lot and I have difficulty stopping even if I got nothing to say.  But please don't get me wrong, I am not talkative (ask my friends) I just like to talk, listen, and exchange thoughts especially on topics that  touch the heart, like topics about family, home, children and topics that bring in creativity like nature, food, music, and the beautiful world.


Thirdly, I do because over the 12 years of my career in the nonprofit world, I have seen the  immense power in communication.  I work for an international relief and development aid agency.  I am part of the marketing team of my organization and my specific role requires me to help keep engagement touchpoints for our supporters.  There are a lot of engagement touchpoints that we do but in all of these the common ingredient is communication or the need to communicate. I communicate development.  We communicate development so that it spreads inspiration and gives opportunity for our supporters to be moved to action.

Trying to relax my chin and muscles before hosting a  special gathering for  our organization's supporters 

So, in this blog I won't use what the title of this blog says because I got something to say.

I want to learn to communicate ... communicate for development... that's why I am writing this blog.

Cheers :))

Shower of Blessings

May you see it
and experience shower of blessings.

Happy Displeasures

Today is somewhat like a happy displeasure.

So you'd ask...

I say quiet displeasure because Im in this state where there are so much that I want to write or express but there are no words coming out... as in i can't seem to articulate them.

It is a discomfort to not being able to articulate your thought lest yourselg.

But, in this discomfort lies a trace of happinness. Why the contradiction?

I hope i don't make a fool of me by thinking that im happy at the same time sad. But yeah that is the truth - I experience sadness because I think i am very far now from myself. I can't hear my own voice. I can't read my own writings. I can't seem to understand both the spoken and unspoken words. Yet, in all these I hold a cup of peace as my min freely wonder from one thought to another from one feeling to another. Are my sensibilities bouncing or scattered?

I really don't know but I guess I'll be fiine.

The road is not over yet.

Someone Must Be Looking After All of Us

Today is actually wrapped with sadness knowing that a father of a good friend of mine is in a very critical condition in the hospital.  "Children are thanking papa" read the sms sent by another colleague who is at the hospital now supporting my friend.

I lack the words to describe the sadness that wraps around all of us - friends of this family.  Just not enough words to describe the feeling ... but despite this

We are one to say that this feeling of loss is temporary and that someone up there is holding us close to HIS heart ... we may feel pain and all but these too shall pass ...

Praying thanking praying thanking for a Father up above us all who looks after all of us.

Green Love

is better on a weekend. But why not embrace a green lifestyle?

Attempts...

to capture the shape of my mind.
I'd like to think that the seat of my being- the mind is a host that wears different thought shapes. Some may be round, triangle, pointy, rectanglr, straight, and curve.

It really depends on what kind of thought rests or sits.

I explain

sa usa ka pagtuki ug problema unsa ang ug asa dapat mu landing ug mupujo imu mata?

1) Kun unsay nagpa problema sa problema?

2) Kun unsay wa mahitabo?

3) Kun kinsay sad an ug unsay angajan buhatun sa nakasa?

4) Kun nganong wa buhata ang dapat buhatun?

5) Kun nganong wa ka mangutana sa dapat ipangutana

blah blah blah? Imagina wa pa gihapun mahuman ang problema hurit na ang oras sa memorya sa sajup

Ang solusyon? Napawng!

Syalan ba ini wooiiioii

Cool is How Cool

Once I came across a video tutorial of a professional speaker.

Amongst the things she said this remains in my head- "Life is a series of sale transactions." Profound as it sounds but half of me believes 101% to what she said.

In life often we find ourselves confronted with small and big selling points that all wrap a day. We may not notice it but a day is indeed made up of bits of events. And how a day turns is a result of small and big decisions that we go through that day.

Although some parts of a so called day remains unrevealed, we can still find ourselves unfolding deciding selling convincing delivering ... deciding and deciding. That basically makes up ooir day.

So indeed life is made up of a series of sales transactions.

So we need to be cool to be able to survive the "hellish" world of sales and marketing. If we sell we should be the first to eat ice and be the first to not to react first ... so be cool self.

Pink Carpentry

Who says carpentry is just for men? Well, thankfully nobody did (speak).

Today is Saturday and naturally I would join a number of meet ups where almost everybody is free to join.  I am talking about the usual Saturday routes - market, "hawker" centers, grocery stores, and today  I have an addition to my list - carpentry store.

Yes, carpentry store.  This spot has long been around the area where hubby and I do our Saturday lazy walks but I wonder why I don't have any recollection of being wowed by its  Saturday affairs until this morning...

The two photos above this line introduced me to a peculiar Saturday affair with a plainly dressed woman. The setting tells us - Carpentry in the hands of  lady.  She wears Bermuda pants, plain top, and if you look closer yes she dons "beats" headset while her hands commands the electric saw. Wohooo! Rare days indeed and so I snatched it with a snap.

My telescope today tells me that nothing beats in the beauty of those seemingly ordinary days.

Today I zoomed in and found an electric saw colored pink.