05/09/2024
HOW MALAWI’S THINK TANKS CAN USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO CONTRIBUTE TO CHANGE AND NATIONAL DEV.
Over the years I have observed that politicians tend to fear people who know what they know and even know it better than them because it only shows how much the politician is failing or succeeding at. Information about how things ought to be is not something that should be reserved for a select few, in the hands of those who have had higher education and that is even worse because people like that, fill their heads but do nothing about what they know, for the most part making excuses is their daily bread. Many well-informed people in Malawi, have the precise know how of what we need to do per time to grow into the economy we desire to be, however I have also observed that their information tends to fail because of a weak dissemination strategy, to which I want to propose solutions to.
The end in many ways decides the means, an idea that is known by all will eventually have greater influence over the masses than an idea that is known by a few. People should not be ashamed of trying to look like they know better than someone else, it is evident for itself, its not pride. Often times the best of minds in our society tend to shy away from sharing their ideas because they are ashamed of being looked up to and hated, but also at times it is the pride of not wanting to be ignored, sometimes people get angry when their ideas are not listened to. The goal of the development catalyst is not to control people but to inform them sufficiently, to focus on what is within their reach and leave the rest to those upon whose lot it rests. If its about reaching the nation with your ideas, getting them to spread then focus on that, change takes time but happens faster when everyone else is trying to make it happen.
The ideas can be kept the way they are, complex and all, just make sure that the audience educated or not, are able to understand what you are saying. You cannot blame people for not understanding what you said, you are the one who wants to be heard, the hard work of getting people to understand is on you and not them. The question should be, wow how did you figure that out? And not, what do you mean?
Broadcast and print media has for many years served us well even though limited in many ways, the technology available to us today presents us with an all-powerful tool to encourage development in ways only imagined before. Malawi’s think tanks both individuals and institutions need to utilize social media and modern-day content containers to get their ideas to spread. But more important than the platforms are the packaging. An idea needs to wear many faces in order to be seen by different people. The faces an idea can wear can be blog posts, short video, music, short film, merch, podcasts, Q and As etc. When it comes to social media, one size doesn’t fit all.
Suppose I have an idea on how to deal with the nation’s debt, how do I get people to listen? Conventional wisdom will tell you that speak to those who can do something about it, however I disagree because I have observed that if people see that others listen to you they are more likely to listen to you, the days of the invisible expert are over. How else do you explain something that cannot be explained in another way, that’s where creativity comes in and the audience becomes engaged. I would ask myself, the solution I present, how does the problem affect the people, because a story only matters if the audience can relate to something in the story, they need to empathize, if they don’t see their problem in your solution, you have lost them. So that is determined, the next step is to package the idea according to the taste of the audience, its not all the time youre to do such but oftentimes its necessary, remember its about the end-user and not the speaker.
The ideas that dominate a society’s conversation tend to decide the direction of that society and the government can’t do anything about it. It is important that what the government is trying to do to get the country moving, that idea should be inserted in the society’s conversation, else the progress will not happen. The same goes for really smart people who have the ideas and insights to help Malawi, leverage on digital communication technology to spread your ideas and package your ideas with the end user at the center and not you. Conversations that matter can also go viral and dominate the society as much as entertainment does, it’s the just the approach that is at fault.
