Rogue Counselor

AN OPEN LETTER TO FACEBOOK AND INVITATION TO EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT CONVERSATION

(Click here to participate in the Facebook conversation.)

(Audio version of the “Open Letter” available here…)

 

December 26, 2019

 

Dear Team Facebook,

 

My original post read: “On the one hand, we listen to this subconscious competitive mantra forever telling us to “Go big or go home.” On the other is this comfortingly passive scripture, “The meek shall inherit the earth.” Is it any wonder that we are all going through this collective catharsis at this time in history?”

 

I write this letter today with genuine curiosity and wish to refrain from the tired judgments, cleverness and snarkiness. There has been enough of that. This letter is about encouraging sincerity and authenticity.

 

On December 21, 2019 I agreed to pay you $30 to boost my post for 5 days. I very much appreciate that to this date, December 26, 2019 that 4,391 people had seen the post and 25 had clicked on the link to view my short film and Kickstarter campaign.

 

I would appreciate if your team and the readers of this letter might help me understand how a boosted post received no “Likes”, reactions, shares or comments of any kind – not even the obligatory critic came out to troll! It seems plausible that, due to the somewhat cryptic nature of my last post, many readers might have been confused. However, it really stretches my boundaries of belief that no feedback of any kind was forthcoming from my hand-chosen target audience. Not even any one of the 94 members of my own Karmic Margin Call Project public page responded.

 

I turn now to my readers.

 

If you are seeing this post, it means that you have an interest in one or more of the following areas. (According to Facebook’s analytics, if you are even hearing this message, it’s a 90% chance you are male between the ages of 24-44. This was not the audience I had intended based on my carefully selected criteria, but I’m open to accepting this may be my target market – silent as they may be.) Please let me know in the comment section which category is MOST of interest to you in order to refine future messages. Providing there are no technological glitches, I will also provide a link to a press kit and short film you might find relevant and interesting.

 

The categories named to identify my target audience included:

Activism

Internet Activism

Youth Activism

Spirituality

World Mental Health Day

Quality of Life

Suicide Awareness and Prevention

Performing Arts

Interpersonal Relationships

Stop Bullying

 

Now in good faith, and with some trepidation, I submit to paying another $30 to boost this post with the hope of sparking a deeper conversation. To date, my fund-raising campaign has only raised $36 in pledged donations out of a $50,000 “all-or-nothing” effort. This unemployed teacher and artist is now $-24 in the hole because he decided to put his faith in the Facebook brand. More importantly, he is putting his faith in the notion that people truly want honesty, a safe space to express oneself, and support with engaging in emotionally intelligent conversation.

 

Considering my film explores the exploitation of social capital as the root cause of war, this experience will probably be represented in the first act of “2×2: Make Art, Not War”. Please help me understand how the Facebook company wishes to be portrayed in this narrative during the second act. I recognize platforms like Facebook and Twitter may or may not be directly responsible for both right- and left-wing propaganda, but an emotionally intelligent conversation focusing on preventing future conflict may be warranted.

 

My hope is that you will find this letter as an opportunity to provide “win-wins” for everyone, and not as confrontational or derogatory. Your organization plays a pivotal role in the enabling or disabling, of moving toward or away from, all war efforts. Even an entry level employee plays a key role in guiding the psychological development and healing process of any interpersonal conflicts. It is these interpersonal conflicts which lead to the exploitation of social capital. My hope is that the gravity of this responsibility is recognized on your part and that my message will not be contained or quarantined and allowed to naturally circulate.

 

I can accept if my second boost yields the same results as I resubmit this message for your approval. I’ve now said what I’ve come to say. As I assemble a marketing team to help me analyze the data you are providing, I leave you with the same quote from my Pitch Film…

 

“It’s your move now. It’s your move.”

 

Sincerely,

Michael John Shoeman

Producer/Director, 2×2: Make Art, Not War

Administrator, The Karmic Margin Call Project

 

(As impressive as that may sound, I am still a broke and unemployed. Your support is greatly appreciated!)

Audio Version of this Letter