Why I think SeeDiction will work: Co-creation and Political Movements

[Siwar Bandar]

Co-creation – the idea that the best work/thoughts may not come from so-called experts in the field (though their voices will be counted), but rather from the collective meaning created by groups. The hope is that the best ideas will ultimately float to the top of the pile and will comprise of a complex mash up of voices, perspectives and expertise. John Winsor calls it co-creation from the bottom up; posting that companies should loosen their control over the strategic process, and instead guide the right people to develop a consensus.

For our client – Seeds of Peace – one of the programs is specifically designed to allow Seeds to co-create, in a similar vein to Wikipidia. There is a clear preoccupation with the effectiveness of SOP and more broadly, intercultural dialogue. SeeDiction is a wiki-dictionary in which Seeds can create new meaning for old worlds. For example, what does the word Palestinian mean to them? The premise of the Seeds dictionary is that Seed are negotiating the long held meanings of particular words and with each other and coming up with their own new concepts and meanings. Ultimately, the dictionary will track how these definitions evolve over time. In this way, SeeDiction will inherently show that SOP is having a fundamental influence on participants, and answer questions about the effectiveness of the program.

So how and why will this engage audiences (Seeds, potential donors, other interested parties etc? Co-creation compliments and easily fits into political movements and organizations. Consider these elements:

1- More Willing Participants: It is true that co-creation is a bottom-up model that turns traditional marketing strategy on its head. However, we have to assume from research and other readings (See Forrester's social technographics ladder) that those who engage in strategic conversations are likely at minimum to have a predisposition, knowledge or opinion about the topic. We are not speaking to everyone, as some people deceptively imply about the co-creation model, but to those who care enough to participate in the conversation.

For political movements and organizations co-creation, players tend to exhibit relatively higher levels of passion and investment in the particular topic at hand. Bottom-up approaches will therefore likely benefit from more informed participants, who are more willing to engage and bring their own expertise to the table. This also means however that strategists will have to decipher through a lot more noise – given the controversies and the emotional reactions that political organizations may inspire.

2- A Place to be Heard: According to James Cherkoff and Johnnie Moore, the best way to get users’ attention is by giving them a platform where they can look good and ultimately be heard. Our research about Seeds of Peace clearly demonstrated that both Seeds and those more broadly interested/invested in the conflict were eager to share their views with the world. Some wanted to tell people how they thought intercultural dialogue wont work; while other wanted to undercut detractors and tell them that they are living proof that Seeds of Peace is having an impact. So many people were desperately trying to say something worthwhile.

3- Not a Blank Slate: SeeDiction is based on the idea that “people like to congregate around objects, play with them and create their own meaning” (Cherkoff & Moore). However users often shy away from blank slates. Instead SeeDiction guides the conversation by asking participants to create new meaning out of old (and often loaded) terms. The frameworks created by SeeDiction will hopefully provide enough guidance to engage audiences while given them the flexibility to co-create meaningful and interesting content.

4- Low Barriers: The wiki is perhaps amongst the most low barrier engagement platforms available online. What does this mean? SeeDiction will not be about SeeDiction. Rather, it will be about the people who are involved in it and their political viewpoints, rather than their technological aptness.

Co-creation, and in our case SeeDiction, is an especially effective tactic when it comes to political organizations and movements. Audiences exhibit high levels of passion and interest; a desire to be heard; and a proven willingness to create and modify online content. All these elements make political audiences particularly suited for co-creation.