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The Alan Jones Facebook Experiment

Alan Jones is a right-wing radio shock-jock inwards Commonwealth of Australia - inwards the tradition of Rush Limbaugh or possibly fifty-fifty Howard Stern. He offends many people (myself included). But therefore I am an avowed liberal.

He has a moderate but rusted-on audience - nigh 160 G people - or a depression single-digit pct of the population. This is non the the biggest audience yesteryear release - but it is the biggest audience yesteryear hours listened because the audience is rusted on. They plow the radio on together with produce non plow it off. He has the largest average audience. He in all likelihood also has the most swing because the audience hews therefore closed to his view that he moves markets together with votes.

Jones is later on all fabulously persuasive alongside a microphone together with an mightiness to drown out all opposing views. He is really a "great communicator".

Whether yous convey offence at "Jonesey" depends partly on your personal politics. Jones does non offend my (avowed conservative/libertarian) trouble organisation partner (though I incertitude BP ever listens to him). He has ever been (in  a Rush Limbaugh sense) of import to the conservative parties inwards Commonwealth of Australia - he motivates right-wing voters inwards that swathe of outer-Sydney metropolitan seats which are crucial to electoral success inwards Australia. Conservatives (at to the lowest degree publicly) tend to similar him. The conservative press rally to a greater extent than or less him.

Alan Jones unsurprisingly is opposed to our single female, athiest together with left-of-centre Prime Minister*.  When he said that she (along alongside the Sydney Lord Mayor) should hold out sown inwards a chaff-bag together with dumped at bounding main it was interpreted every bit a joke. The joke went also far though when he suggested at a closed dinner that the Prime Ministers manly someone rear (who died that week) had died of shame. An anti-Jones stance that had been simmering below the surface for some years came ripping out.

Alan Jones has long been a master copy of savage personal assail politics. He is ofttimes sued for defamation together with inwards Sydney (sometimes fifty-fifty called Jonestown) getting on the incorrect side of Alan Jones tin hold out a career limiting move. He has a soapbox together with an audience together with he ofttimes attacks his enemies.

Many years of doing this together with Jonesey has many enemies - rusted on enemies.

Now Jones is victim of personal attacks mostly organized through Facebook. The tactics that "Sack Alan Jones" alongside 21 G likes on Facebook purpose don't hold off that different to Alan Jones together with watching Jones criticize their tactics has a affect of irony nigh it. The Anti-Jones-anti-mysogeny grouping Destroy the Joint** (also alongside nigh twenty G followers on Facebook) uses similar tactics.

There were also over 100 G signatures on an electronic "sack Alan Jones" petition.

Now every fourth dimension someone advertises on the Alan Jones present I acquire Facebook feed naming the offending party. Advertisers are staying away inwards droves. Here is a film presented yesteryear Destroy the Joint:



It is non looking expert for Jonesey now.

But non therefore bad either. His audience has gone upwardly prodded a lilliputian yesteryear contention (although advertising revenue has plummeted). And the right-wing News Corp press guide hold been relentlessly pro-Jonesey through the whole matter - alongside the press fifty-fifty maxim that the campaign has turned Jonesy into a "free speech communication martyr". Even the left-wing radio host Phillip Adams tweeted that "media scandals seem to guide hold the shelf-life of yoghurt... Jones has gone from dangling inwards the air current to dorsum inwards total swing".

Moreover some advertisers guide hold come upwardly back. Local restaurants - ones who produce non assist if 100 G people don't similar them every bit long every bit a few G people produce - were real fast to advertise. Indeed because nobody else was advertising they did therefore inwards quantity together with alongside peachy success. (A paid endorsement on Alan Jones volition fill upwardly whatsoever eatery inwards Western Sydney...)

Sure, some major brands guide hold advertised together with retreated - cowered yesteryear hundreds (maybe thousands) of people hitting their electrical load page. Personal-attack campaigning yesteryear the anti-Jones crowd withal industrial plant at to the lowest degree on some advertisers.

The Apple Adverts

Strangely Alan Jones started doing straight-to-the-microphone adverts for Apple - the most powerful consumer build of all. The message was clear - if Apple are non afraid to advertise on Jones present therefore the blockade must hold out over.

It turns out that Apple did non purchase that advertising. Jones was only giving away costless space. The anti-Jones crusaders would struggle that the Apple adverts were only business office of the Jones deception - a deception that Jones is dorsum inwards business.

Here is the question: tin a dyad of Facebook groups alongside twenty G members each together with a 100 G potent e-mail listing hold the rage? Is social networking to a greater extent than powerful than a fabulous communicator-with-a-microphone together with a rusted on audience? Can personal assail campaigning hold out sustained on Facebook? Note that the Murdoch press (which is real prominent inwards Australia) is - consistent alongside its political leanings - backing Alan Jones.

There is a direct stock marketplace agency of playing this. Macquarie Radio Networks - the fellowship that controls the Jones present is listed. But honestly the Business Partner together with I cannot decide.

So nosotros only had a bet. It is entirely $50 (we are non big-swingers here) but I intend the Jones present volition hold out gone inwards half dozen months together with that social networks supply real high together with sustainable advertising values together with negative feedback from social networks is a major-corporation nightmare.

The Business Partner - he thinks that over fourth dimension people volition hold out civil - they can't "maintain the rage". Over fourth dimension the anti-Jones groups volition fade together with Jones volition come upwardly dorsum - possibly a affect chastened together with less potent on the personal attack. But he thinks the results of those attacks (by Jones every bit good every bit yesteryear his critics) is to a greater extent than probable to hold out temporary. [Besides BP accepts Jones' line that the assail on him is an assail on costless speech.]

Five together with a one-half months from at nowadays nosotros volition declare a winner together with $50 volition duly alter hands.

It is the Facebook mob versus Radio demagogue - a powerful but admittedly uncontrolled experiment inwards social media versus traditional media. From an investing perspective from this nosotros volition larn a peachy bargain nigh the mightiness together with the limits to that mightiness of Facebook.



John

PS. We struggle to a greater extent than by together with large nigh the value of Facebook. We ain a pocket-size amount of that stock which I intend is unjustifiably inexpensive - but in 1 lawsuit to a greater extent than the Business Partner disagrees.

*Full disclosure: I don't similar our Prime Minister either - but for other reasons.

**The hollo of "Destroy the Joint" comes from Jonesy's assertion that women (namely the Prime Minister together with the Sydney Mayor together with a woman someone police trace chief) are destroying the joint.

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