Winning hearts and minds

polo_pro · 07-25-2007, 04:23 PM

I was listening to NPR in the car this afternoon. They were running a piece on how "branding concepts" could be applied to the war effort. The liberal proponent made several analogies that seemed naive to me. Another commentator (who happened to be conservative or at least pragmatic) felt that key points were being ignored. Such as the fact that the "audience" (ie. Iraqi citizens) receiving the message was hardly neutral, lives were on the line (unlike when you chose Pepsi over Coke) and soldiers in full battle gear made very poor spokesmen.

Now let me say that I didn't bring up this topic so that the various factions here on SC could rehash their strong opinions about the war. I do have a point...and oddly enough it isn't about polo!

Should Segway INC be concerned about the same things as folks trying to "brand" the war? Is Segway INC's audience neutral? We know for sure they're curious, but they're apprehensive like the Iraqi citizens. Sure, the typical audience considering whether segways should be part of daily life doesn't have their own life on the line, but in both cases it's a matter of getting people over their fears. Nor are segways potentially going to destabilize the fabric of the society...but some people fearing any type of change might think it's possible!

Lastly, do you think people are going to be receptive to the segway message being delivered by a glider? The similarity would be soldiers delivering their message to the Iraqi citizens. In both cases, it can be daunting to the listener to express their true feelings and concerns.

ps - Now the obvious humorous tangent is if the military suddenly orders 1000 segways for their soldiers to help them "train". The soldiers would then go out into the general public trying to convert people over to seeing segways as we do. Thus soldiers would learn how hard it truly is to win the "hearts and minds" of the population (be it here or in Iraq).

And who knows, after years of use, maybe these same segways could be given to disabled vets, eh? OK, ok...this is verging on a pipe dream (oddly enough also showing how segways can spread world peace, eh?)! But this is off topic, so anything (except a big argument about the Iraqi war) is fair game.

quade · 07-25-2007, 04:54 PM

Well, this has actually been a part of the discussion I've been trying to introduce over the my entire short lived "career" so far on this web site; how does the general public perceive the device? I have, in other threads, used a few terms that seem to have outraged several of the forum regulars but that I truely do believe are a big part of the perception problem of the device.

Much like when the current President uses certain terms that he hopes rings a bell with his constituency, but all it really does is simply set off a huge negative in the world he's trying to conquer. It doesn't make a lot of sense for the President to say things to the effect that he is on a "crusade" to bring democracy to the middle east, when the term has such an overwhelmingly bad connotation there because of historical events.

I think it's in the best interest of the Segway community to steer clear of certain words in association with the device. In order to gain acceptance of the general population, the Segway community should steer away from any phrasology that would be perceived as separatist or elitist. It should be rather obvious that, you don't belong if you want to be separate or set yourself above others.

Human nature being what it is, if you aren't a member of "this" tribe, then you're the "enemy". That's just the way it works; on the road and in politics.

I would think that it would be far more useful to emphasize the similarities with other devices rather than point out the exclusive nature of "this" one.

hellphish · 07-25-2007, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quade

I think it's in the best interest of the Segway community to steer clear of certain words in association with the device. In order to gain acceptance of the general population, the Segway community should steer away from any phrasology that would be perceived as separatist or elitist. It should be rather obvious that, you don't belong if you want to be separate or set yourself above others.

Quoted for truth!

07-25-2007, 04:23 PM	#1
polo_pro Advanced Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Sacramento, CA, USA. Posts: 2,608	Winning hearts and minds I was listening to NPR in the car this afternoon. They were running a piece on how "branding concepts" could be applied to the war effort. The liberal proponent made several analogies that seemed naive to me. Another commentator (who happened to be conservative or at least pragmatic) felt that key points were being ignored. Such as the fact that the "audience" (ie. Iraqi citizens) receiving the message was hardly neutral, lives were on the line (unlike when you chose Pepsi over Coke) and soldiers in full battle gear made very poor spokesmen. Now let me say that I didn't bring up this topic so that the various factions here on SC could rehash their strong opinions about the war. I do have a point...and oddly enough it isn't about polo! Should Segway INC be concerned about the same things as folks trying to "brand" the war? Is Segway INC's audience neutral? We know for sure they're curious, but they're apprehensive like the Iraqi citizens. Sure, the typical audience considering whether segways should be part of daily life doesn't have their own life on the line, but in both cases it's a matter of getting people over their fears. Nor are segways potentially going to destabilize the fabric of the society...but some people fearing any type of change might think it's possible! Lastly, do you think people are going to be receptive to the segway message being delivered by a glider? The similarity would be soldiers delivering their message to the Iraqi citizens. In both cases, it can be daunting to the listener to express their true feelings and concerns. ps - Now the obvious humorous tangent is if the military suddenly orders 1000 segways for their soldiers to help them "train". The soldiers would then go out into the general public trying to convert people over to seeing segways as we do. Thus soldiers would learn how hard it truly is to win the "hearts and minds" of the population (be it here or in Iraq). And who knows, after years of use, maybe these same segways could be given to disabled vets, eh? OK, ok...this is verging on a pipe dream (oddly enough also showing how segways can spread world peace, eh?)! But this is off topic, so anything (except a big argument about the Iraqi war) is fair game.

07-25-2007, 04:54 PM	#2
quade Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Santa Ana, CA Posts: 1,335	Well, this has actually been a part of the discussion I've been trying to introduce over the my entire short lived "career" so far on this web site; how does the general public perceive the device? I have, in other threads, used a few terms that seem to have outraged several of the forum regulars but that I truely do believe are a big part of the perception problem of the device. Much like when the current President uses certain terms that he hopes rings a bell with his constituency, but all it really does is simply set off a huge negative in the world he's trying to conquer. It doesn't make a lot of sense for the President to say things to the effect that he is on a "crusade" to bring democracy to the middle east, when the term has such an overwhelmingly bad connotation there because of historical events. I think it's in the best interest of the Segway community to steer clear of certain words in association with the device. In order to gain acceptance of the general population, the Segway community should steer away from any phrasology that would be perceived as separatist or elitist. It should be rather obvious that, you don't belong if you want to be separate or set yourself above others. Human nature being what it is, if you aren't a member of "this" tribe, then you're the "enemy". That's just the way it works; on the road and in politics. I would think that it would be far more useful to emphasize the similarities with other devices rather than point out the exclusive nature of "this" one. __________________ Harry Potter may fly a broomstick, but I ride a magic lawnmower. Last edited by quade; 07-25-2007 at 05:12 PM..

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