Mena Yousef

I hope this message somehow reaches you because I believe it’s something that needs to be said. I write this letter to you with some concerns.

As you may know, in the latest move that will no doubt further halt progress in Egypt, the Egyptian government has rejected registration bids from 8 U.S. non-profit organizations. This is yet another undemocratic stance among many. I can fill this page with other questionable actions Egypt has taken since the revolution but you are already quite familiar with them. My question to you is, what do you plan to do about his? We can sift through the Internet to find articles and publications about the problems anti-democratic institutions are causing in Egypt but at the end of the day, what are you going to do? It’s a simple question that requires a serious look in the mirror for you to find the answer.

Perhaps we can use this letter to begin a discussion about how the people who yearn for a free and open society in Egypt can be better represented. This could be a good starting point to search from within to find our own Martin Luther King Jr. that will promote peace, demand justice and find success at  doing so at the same time. And maybe, just maybe, we can stop our whining about what the Egyptian government is doing wrong and start to focus on what we can do that’s right. Point being, it’s time to stop blaming the Egyptian government for all of the bad things that happen. When issues do arise, what has historically been your response? Exactly…

Egyptians for a free Egypt are looking for leadership from you. We’re looking for our Dr. King. And we hope that you can rise to the occasion to show the world what you can do.

Telling you what you should have been told a very long time ago,
Mena

This past week, we learned that the General Services Administration (GSA) spent $822,000 on a conference in Las Vegas in October 2010, on the tax payer’s dime. While the media continues to pile on to this story, and analyze every last detail, it takes attention away from the real problem: government spending in general. I’m not defending the GSA’s actions, but what I would like to do is draw attention to the sad state of affairs when it comes to overall government waste. The revelation of GSA’s Las Vegas event is a footnote in a long and pathetic history of the government’s inability to control spending. Let’s see some examples that will make your blood boil, shall we?

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) released a report called Wastebook 2011, a report detailing the federal government’s egregious use of $6.9 billion last year. The 2nd Annual Hawaii Chocolate Festival ($48,700), Stimulating Online Soap Operas ($936,818), a sex study that looks into the risky sex habits of Qual ($175,000), iPads for kindergartners in Maine ($96,000), and my favorite one of all, $35.38 million towards the Presidential Election Fund, were all identified as wasteful spending by federal government. It’s important to note that the $35.38 million for the Presidential Election Fund goes towards parties and political conventions coming up this year. I’m glad they were on top of their game to make sure that money was quickly and efficiently allocated for their partying needs.

Do you get my point? It’s not just about the GSA. There’s a larger and more disturbing problem. Politicians love to talk, they love it. They love to lick their fingers and stick them in the air to see what you want to hear. It’s a complete joke that after years of discussion and banter, the federal government has done nothing to stop wasteful spending. It’s an even bigger joke that the focus is on an $822,000 event and not on the people who preach against wasteful spending then go pay $120 million of benefits checks to dead federal employees.

Click on the following link to see where I originally posted this article back in the day: 5 Ways to Integrate Social Media & Customer Surveys

Social media is all about being a part of the conversation. It’s about listening and reacting. There’s a common misconception around social media when it comes to measuring results. Many view social media, still, as a fad waiting to make it’s way out of the mainstream like a 1980′s one-hit wonder. However, there are still many people, yours truly included, who disagree with that school of thought. The ones who view the new era of marketing as the new cool kid on the block that will eventually move on, those organizations will be crushed by their competition – if they haven’t been crushed already.

Something else that involves listening and reacting are surveys. Here are the top 5 ways to use social media for your next customer survey campaign:

There are two areas where social media plays a role when it comes to national security: monitoring and propaganda. In its early days in 2003 (before it was called social media), it was used as a national security tool to combat terrorism, and is of course, still used in that manner by the U.S. government today. Back then, content syndication through RSS feeds placed on various blogs were a way where the U.S. can put out its message in the war of information against terrorism along with monitoring what the enemy was saying online.

So with the evolution of social media, what are some of the possibilities today for our national security efforts?

Monitoring
There are plenty of social media monitoring platforms out there that provide the analytics necessary to keep tabs on massive amounts of information and chatter taking place online through Facebook, Twitter and other online networks. These monitoring platforms provide a streamlined way to see what has actually happened and what has been said. However, as technology is evolving today, finding out what is happening right now (vs. what already happened) proves to be a more valuable asset. Real-time operational intelligence technology gives our national security personnel a way to react to looming threats before they even happen.

For example, during Super Bowl XLVI, the NFL used real-time operational intelligence for security purposes. Real-time OI gave the NFL the ability to be notified of a flash mob before it even happened. Policed and security were immediately alerted to the threat and it was thwarted before it even happened. Imagine what our hard-working military and intelligence communities can achieve through real-time OI through their national security efforts.

Propaganda
In the war of information, it’s clearly important to make sure your message not only gets through, but gets through to a lot of people. Social media gives people a way to talk back; to state their opinion; to essentially give the non-technical user a way to communicate with anyone in the world. Back in 2003, along with creating blogs to promote freedom and democracy, the United States created sites like the Iraq Business Center to let foreign and Iraqi businessmen connect with each other. Today, Facebook and Twitter dominate when it comes to propagating your message and giving it an opportunity to go viral.

Social media was first used as a propaganda tool to fight enemies and is still being used  in that fashion today. As we see social media evolve and try to harness its abilities, we shouldn’t forget where it all started and what it was used for initially. And most importantly, we should never underestimate its impact on not only selling our products and promoting our brand, but also its role in keeping us safe.

For the FY 2012 Outlays, the United States Agency for International Development received 1% of the federal budget. Pictures are worth a 1,000 words so take a look at this graph http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/156769.pdf.

I don’t understand why that in a post-9/11 world we ignore an agency that promotes international development. We argue and debate about how much we put towards DoD but turn the other way when we have a plethora of opportunities to give aid to countries and projects which effect our national security.

Take a look at that graph again. Mind-boggling, isn’t it?

The Obama administration is aggressively seeking insight into the latest developments in Egypt from Egyptian-American businessmen. Sources close to me, who wish to remain anonymous, have said they have been contacted by Obama administration officials at the highest levels in order to understand the latest provocative moves that have been made by the Egyptian military. Moves such as pressing charges on 19 American NGO employees, one of whom is the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. In the latest developments as of this week, high-ranking Egyptian military generals skipped town without meeting members from the Senate to discuss the situation in Egypt.

As one anonymous source puts it, “They [Obama administration] have no idea why Egypt is doing what it’s doing. They’re very confused right now.” My source then later further explains, “If the Obama administration is looking for answers on the Egyptian military’s dramatic shift in their relations with the U.S., they [Obama administration] will have a hard time finding those answers from Egyptian-American businessmen.” Apparently, the United States is known for easily giving up its sources when they deal with overseas governments on matters like this. In this particular situation, Egyptian-American businessmen have their interests to protect. They perceive any help to the U.S. government with insight into Egypt’s current business climate will negatively effect their operations.

After learning this, two questions come to mind: (1) Why does the U.S. government give up its sources when dealing with diplomatic issues? (2) Where does the Obama administration go from here? The first question reflects the perception of U.S. foreign policy that it’s nearsighted and it only serves its immediate interests without looking at potentially negative long-term effects of their policies. The second question is anybody’s guess at this point. My guess is that the administration will continue to seek out guidance from Egyptian-Americans across the country but will still yield little results.

Dear United Nations,

Your words and the letters that follow them are quite effective. I can only imagine how much brutal dictators in the world tremble at the thought of a UN vote which usually accompanies a token letter of displeasure. And the way you’re protecting the Syrian people right now? Absolutely brilliant. When I heard about that resolution which would have sent another UN nasty gram to Syria I knew that this was it: this was when the world would really feel the wrath and justice of the United Nations. Don’t worry about China and Russia shooting it down. Your press releases and press conferences make up for any failed resolution that one or two countries on the Security Council would vote against. Telling murdering despots they are naughty and should stop being naughty has clearly shown positive effects with or without a UN resolution.

How about those Copts in Egypt? Those sentences you strung together to stop the violence against innocent Copts and other Egyptians a few months back have clearly shown their effects these days as well. Personally, I feel that the combination of demanding an inquiry into the death of Ghadaffi while you stood silent when innocent Copts were being run over in the streets by tanks in Egypt was true world class diplomacy and the epitome of leadership. Kudos to you on that one.

Keep doing your thing, which is nothing.

Mena

I have no idea what I want to write about right now and this is the best title I can come up with. Some posts will hopefully spark some thinking and others will probably be my random rantings but nonetheless, I promise to keep things interesting and to provide great content so please check back!

By the way, it’s MEEEE NA, k? Peace!