One-to-many model of communication broadcasted by mass-media is no more suitable to help us uderstand our consumer behaviour and its global implications.

I argue that postmodern mass-media culture increasingly relies upon an orientation toward its own economic growth through irresponsible use of advertising minimizing the space for consumer education or sperading awareness. Postmodern advertising culture more and more relies on the interpretive ‘communicative competence’ of its addressees. Suggesting both, increased potential for cultural commodification as well as avoiding its own responsibility for broadcasted content.

The analysis of various case studies presented in this work has emerged from a review of recent digital technology advancements. Mass-media failure to effectively communicate consumerism in post-modernistic media culture urged me to analyse population perception of Internet and social media and it’s potential to create a more responsible platform to affect general attitude toward consumer decisions.

Case study of Hans Rosling’s approach to statistical data collection and visual interpretation highlights how GapMinder application gives a decision maker(on governmental or institutional level) ability to compare various socio-economic dimensions of the researched problem helping to generate better understanding of associated issues and the extent of their complexity.

Case study of Jonathan Harris’s recent digital communication experimental work explores the notion of wisdom of crowds by enabling realtime two way participation on communication process. Relevant data sets can be searched for and innovatively visually displayed enabling participants to comparatively understand the context of displayed information set. Participant can scan content of Internet/social networks and recognize the contextual associations based on visualization of emotional relationships related to the subject of search. Harris’s approach to online communication enables participants to express themselves, receive ideas, discuss them with others, reflect on them. Visualization of collection of all realated ideas creates visual map of what seem to be general attitude.The expression of crowd and answer to commercial marketing based on paid-for, non-personal communication from an identified organization, body or individual.

Modern era enabled us to use latest technological advancements providing us with the capacity to communicate instantaneously across frontiers right across the world. Internet crated truly equal environment where we can no more hide behind our past preconception giving us the capacity to organize, take collective action and together respond to global challenges which we can no more resolve on the national level.

I would like to thank professor Iain Irving for his direction, assistance, and guidance during past three semesters. Professor Iain Irving’s recommendations and suggestions have been invaluable for the project and my future research practice.

I also wish to thank Dr. Alexandra Kokoli, Dr. Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan for their teaching support and guidance.

Special thanks should be given to my student colleagues who helped me in many ways. Finally, words alone cannot express the thanks I owe to Eva Pavlickova, my mother, for her encouragement and assistance.

1.1     Keynes vs Friedman – The struggle which changed the history

1.2     Predatory Capitalism Critique

1.3     Aims of Research

1.4    Objectives

1.5     Rationale

1.6     Structure of the study

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CHAPTER 2: Communication of Capitalism through Advertising

2.1     Capitalism and Advertising

2.2    Problem Identification

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CHAPTER 3: Many-to-many approach to Communication and Collaboration over Internet

3.1     Communication Revolution

3.2     Digital Communication

3.3     Social Networks / Collaboration

3.4     Internet for Peace

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CHAPTER 4: Innovative Data Visualization Approaches to Communication.

4.1    Data Visualization

4.2     Case Study 1

4.3     Case Study 2

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CHAPTER 5: Conclusion

5.1    Conclusion

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REFERENCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX 1

Post war period of relative economic success combined with the hunger for extreme growth brought forth another economic giant and thinker, the Nobel price winner Milton Friedman. Friedman’s western world followers Ronald Regan, Margaret Tacher and August Pinochet to mention few, listened to alluring voice of emerging financial markets to provide their countries with the fast cash solutions(Perkins)¹ to their political mismanagement agenda. Repayment to the markets was in the form of free market monetarism and resentment of regulations and limitations of Keynesian policies.

The struggle between Keynes and Friedman’s vision of sustainable global growth could be summarized in the following story well known among the financial sector.

One day Keynes and Friedman stand in front of the st. Peter at the gates of Heaven. When asked to account for themselves, Keynes claims that he tried to save millions of poor people from starving during the depression. Friedman on the other side states blandly that his goal was to get rid humanity of sin. How so, st. Peter asked Friedman? Breaking of rules is sin the professor replied so I tried to remove rules.

Video 1)

Limitless pursuit for economic benefits/money as the prime motivation for the companies and individuals operating within the capitalistic framework is understood to be right and is tolerated by general public. The economic growth is seen as the prime principle of any company’s existence. Local, national, social or even environmental issues come into consideration later. Human societies are forced to tolerate decisions made by global profit-hungry companies on their behalf, directly affecting their quality of life, environment and other local or national issues.

Video 2)

The current economic system which changed name from Keynesian capitalism to Friedman’s predatory capitalism rewards the most reckless taking higher risks in the order to gain the most regardless of the effects and implications to the wide public or local/global environment. The exploitation of either intentionally fabricated or real crises and imposition of mass-medial shock therapy creates atmosphere of fear – fear for job loses, financial security, social status, health care standard and others. Human susceptibility to insecurity and fear in turn makes ordinary citizens more inclined to acceptance of otherwise irrational or socially/environmentally damaging governmental or corporatocracical decisions.

Video 3)

The state in which current financial system appears to operate could be compared to the system where the road rules would be removed and the faster driver would be preferred over the most cautious one. The fastest and presumably most reckless reaching the destination in shortest time is rewarded with the bonus regardless on the number of offences or accidents caused on his way. General tolerance to such behaviour can be no more accredited to human inability to understand or control complex global systems in which our current economic system operates. This is the problem of values, constantly advocated by mass media advertising supported by unceasing hunger for economic growth.

We are systemically being blinded by global corporations using the financial reliance of mass media on advertising to increase demand and persuade wide public about our indisputable right for more. This constant ideologistic bombardment creates ad by ad social model revolving around capitalistic consumerism where our needs and values are being shaped by what we can afford rather than what is right for common good.

However do not be folded, this problem is not new to our society. So far we just have not been able to overcome it. The same challenge was described by Edward R. Murrow broadcast journalist in 1938 at CBS television convention; Television represents evidence of decadence, escapism and insulation from realities of the world in which we live. We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have built in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information, our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up from our fat surpluses and recognize that the television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse and insulate us. Then television and those who finance it, those who work at it, and those who look at it might see totally different picture too late.²

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1) John Perkins. Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded–and What We Need to Do to Remake Them. New York (NY): Crown Business ; 2009.

2) As stated during CBS television convention by Edward R. Murrow, in 1938.

Video1 ) John Perkins. Author. GreenFestival[podcast on the Internet].2Celsius Network; 2009 Nov [cited 2010 July 25]. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYJmyaSRBm0

Video 2-3 ) Naomi Klein. Collumnist. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism [podcast on the Internet] VideoNation; 2007 Sep [cited 2010 July 25]. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG9CM_J00bw

Human race experienced number of great struggles between ideologies which changed the course of history in last 2000 years of its evolution. During the history, communities as well as countries came to an idea that in order to succeed they have to exploit their neighbours or other nations – this is the foundation for old military empires from ancient China and Greece to the British empire to current post WW2 neocolonialism. The struggle of beating our opponents has been draining our planet of its most valuable resources.

No change has however been so predominant as the change during last 50 years. In this short time we understood that it is much more cost effective to shift our attention from the battlefield hegemony to the economic and financial domination. Army of economic analysts and bank brokers replaced armed soldiers and rockets. The globalized economic arena replaced trenches and muddy battlefield. However, do not be fooled, nothing else has changed. Only the face of the conflict had an facelift to look better when shown on TV. It is much easier for us to see colourful graphs and charts of economic vitality rather than to be exposed to images of war brutality or violence.

Video 4)

We live in the world where more than 200 000 000 of children serve as children labourers working in inhumane conditions making products often sold on our hight streets.³ Economically driven abusement of children of other nations means for the world of our children ever increasing violence . If our current economic system relies upon destruction of social systems and turning of millions of poor children into slaves what is the future for our children?

Video 5)

In may 2009 the human rights group – Amnesty International warned that the world wide economic decline was leading to the greater depression across the globe concluding that we are sitting on the powder cake of inequality, injustice and insecurity which is about to explode.

The Global Humanitarian Forum in 2009 concluded that global warming is causing 300 000 deaths each year. And we, general public, still ignore all these signs and countless others.

Video 6)

This all is happening in the time when during president George W. Bush first 4 years in office 400 richest people of USA increased their worth from a trillion dollars by 60% to 1.6 trillion.

This all is happening in the time when less than 5% of world’s population consumes more than 25% of global resources while more than half of the global population struggles to survive below the poverty level.⁴ The transference of the same economic model to emerging economic titans as China, India, Latin America and Africa leads us to one inevitable conclusion – our present system is failure, we have not wanted to hear that to provide the other 95% of world’s population with the same resources we use would require at least 5 new planets just like ours but without people.⁵

“One is innocent unless investigated” ⁶

is what Robert Baer the former Central Intelligence Agency case officer in the Directorate of Operations describes as the commercial tactics/policies of many international corporations in his book SEE NO EVIL written as encounter of real events Robert experienced in CIA services.

When founder and former CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates who decimated and distorted whole European operating system software market by signing secret contracts with all major hardware suppliers was forced to pay highest fine ever-imposed to an individual company in Europe, I believed the justice prevailed. Only later I understood that he was guided by the same strategy Robert Baer so often mentions ”One is innocent unless investigated”. So Microsoft did, and their actions destroyed the whole economic segment in Europe and Asia making it impossible to compete with Microsoft. The fine even as big as this one has not magically resurrected the destroyed segment back to life due to Microsoft’s advantage of market domination.

In the free market environment, big companies have learned that they can deforest great parts of Amazon, pollute rivers and seas or over-fish the stocks, feed the cattle with hormones to gain the market domination and even if uncovered and fined their market domination will not let them fall. Simply because governments realize they are far to big to be destroyed, they employ too many people and what would happen if Chinese come instead?

Margaret Mead, American cultural anthropologist once said: ‘never ever depend on governments or institutions to solve any major problems. All social change comes from a passion of individuals.’⁷

I believe global policy makers will not be able to prevent future environmental or social damage, nature or human labour exploitation unless the global problems are considered globally based on multinational data source convergence.

The reason why I originally embarked on this exploration journey was to criticize predatory capitalism operating in global arena where no rules stand above the monetary rules. However, more I see the problem more I understand the problem lies in the fact people are not approached with the innovative ways of interpreting statistical and scientific data. We live in complicated world facing increasingly complex global challenges where to survive our brain has to prioritize, select and interpret important data from ever increasing quantities of information available to us. That is why in this project I would like to explore this problemacy and attempt to discover an answer of innovative interpretation method unique to the field of my expertise.

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3) Council of the European Union. Council conclusions on child labour [document on the Internet]. Luxembourg: The Institute; 2010[updated 2010 June 14; cited 2010 August 10]. Available from: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/115180.pdf

4) John Perkins. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man . New York (NY): Crown Business ; 2005.

5) John Perkins. Hoodwinked: An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded–and What We Need to Do to Remake Them. New York (NY): Crown Business ; 2009.

6) Robert Baer. See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism. New York (NY): Three Rivers Press; 2003.

7) As stated by Margaret Mead, in 1941.

Video 4 ) John Perkins. Author. The confessions of an economic HITMAN [video on the Internet].AlJazeera; 2009 Oct[cited 2010 July 25]. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3ua5GWuneo

Video 5 ) Katy Kay. Comentator. BBC News [video on the Internet].BBC World; 2006 June[cited 2010 July 25]. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruh0O_mj1v0

Video 6 ) Comentator. theGlobalReport [video on the Internet].theGlobalReport ; 2009 June[cited 2010 July 25]. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kadmQ2I1gRw

The rationale develops from the necessity of producing effective communication platform to communicate increasingly complex global challenges emerging as a result of our socio-economic behavoiur. The intention is to analyze capability of Internet and social media to create advanced communication platform necessary for spreading awareness and generating social and consumer behaviour change based on well communicated understanding of our global responsibility.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of current communication approaches when dealing with the issues of Capitalism.

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• Analyse recent data/information visualization methods and their potential use in dealing with the issues of Capitalism.

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• Analyse Internet and social web possibilities for communication modern era issues.

In our everyday lives we often forget how an individual decision or action can change the whole world. We often forget the legacies of such people as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther or Joan of Arc which changed their era and even the course of history. These people were not born into high status or did not posses any predetermining qualities. They ventured through their lives and slowly decrypted the riddle the God prepared for them. They decided do stand and change the system they lived in simply to stay true to their vision of justice, truth and belief.

According to Wael Abbas high-profile Egyptian blogger and media freedom activist recently appearing on BBC’s HardTalk programme: “You either do something about the problem or you are responsible.”⁹

In my master project I decided to challenge the one biggest problem of my era and attempt to change it with all the strengths and weaknesses God has given me. I feel lucky to live in the era of great social, and technological changes only comparable with the times of industrial revolution.

I was born into socialistic country still part of Soviet Union. I lived there through the social revolution when communism was replaced by democracy and when unions and contemporary economic system was discarded by capitalism. I was there when velvet revolution split my country in two. I was there when so called American culture came knocking on our doors, when little shops were replaced by the super, mega, giga-markets, when it became fashion to judge ones identity upon what he wears or drives or where he lives instead of who one truly is. I was there when the friendly face of capitalism changed into the predatory phase. When we all had to understand that prior promises were just the trick to add new market to the global economic and financial system where strong can control small and where states matter no more. Instead, where corporations live in new era of economic and financial neocolonialism operating in limitless geopolitical arena with few constraints, generating profit for few by plundering environments and resources of the world of many.

I believe that it is my duty to expose these problems by offering an alternative visual methods based on collection and communication of statistical data freely available, but rarely clearly interpreted and shared with the public sphere.

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8 ) Simon Hutchins, director. The Cove [television broadcast]. Lionsgate; 2009 Jul 31.

9 ) Wael Abbas , blogger & media freedom activist. HardTalk [television broadcast]. BBC; 2010 Jan 10

Post-modernistic product or idea advertising in the digital era does not any more rely on words but rather on symbols suggesting the qualities associated with the subject of advertising. It is commonplace to recognize in contemporary digital media culture a tendency toward ‘hyperreality’ ¹¹, which is associated with the greatly expanded and intensified use of images in all areas of communication and culture.

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Video 7 )

The dominance of an ‘eye candy’ culture seems to degrade the importance of reality based on measurable facts. Open image interpretation de-emphasizes the cognitive generation of meaning which from the doom of civilization has been achieved through the linguistically mediated logic of text or speech. Because of the nature of interpretation reliant upon audiences past experiences or current interests it is very difficult to extract the truth logic from the image. Consumers exposed to ‘interactive’ image culture are expected and encouraged to respond with ever increasing ‘interpretive reflexivity’ deceiving our inborn sense of ‘communicative action’(Habermas) and deluding our logic and concentration from the cognitive generation of meaning.

Video 8 )

German sociologist and philosopher Jürgen Habermas in his research of communicative action maintains that the rationality of communication is logically different from any other rationalities as function, strategy, instrument, power, domination or exclusion. Habermas regards the linguistic medium to be primary, if not dominant, in rational social coordination.¹² Habermas argues that the human language evolution and it’s use is fundamentally oriented toward ‘reaching understanding and agreement’ (Verständigung) among communicating subjects.’¹³ Interpretive activity’ encouraged by the communication or collaboration oriented towards mutual understanding and agreement through linguistic exchange is what Habermas calls ‘communicative action.’

Problem occurs when human society whose communication evolution is based on rationality as a capacity within language, mainly in the form of argumentation is faced with advertising forms of communication, such as pure goal-oriented behaviour in form of image culture producing unmeasurable interpretation.

Myers suggests “as text suggest an attitude, a point of view, and a form of address, so can pictures. And as words play with meanings and associations, so can pictures.”¹⁴ That is why it is vital to be conscious of the function and power that is given to the image within the broader socio-advertising context of post-modernistic consumer oriented society.

When we are faced with images rather than linguistic facts, our inborn rational ability of argumentation and decision becomes easily deceived by our optimism and trust. Once deceived our rationality becomes captive of our interpretation.

Horkheimer and Adorno had argued that the Habermas in his book Enlightenment saw a particular kind of rationality enshrined as dominant in western culture, instrumental reason, which had only made possible the more effective and ruthless manipulation of nature and human beings themselves.¹⁵

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10) Susan Buck-Morss, The Dialectics of Seeing: Walter Benjamin and the Arcades Project; MIT Press; 1999.

11) Jean Baudrillard, Simmulations.Stanford (NY): Semiotext(e); 1983.

12) Jürgen Habermas, Theory of Communicative Action, trans. Thomas McCarthy, Boston: Beacon Press; 1984,.

13) Jürgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, trans. Thomas McCarthy, Cambridge MA: MIT Press; 1991.

14) Greg Myers . “Words in Ads Routledge” London New York (NY): Arnold; 1994.

15) Adorno and Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, trans. Edmund Jephcott, Palo Alto: Stanford UP; 2002.

Video 7 ) Coca Cola Commercial.[video on the Internet]. Coca Cola; 2007 Jan [cited 2010 July 25]. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1NnyE6DDnQ

Video 8 ) Communication is Power: Mass Media and Mass Persuasion. [video on the Internet]. Center for Humanities; 2009 Jan[cited 2010 July 25]. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQTrdL8K2As