What would you do if you woke up one day and realized that your small business – or your very large business – had branded a product with a name like “ISIS”? As you know, the Islamic State pretty much has the lock on that particular name now, despite the existence of everything from an Isis-themed television show from the ’70s (Isis was a goddess superhero on the show) to persistent attempts to rebrand the acronym (such as Obama’s favorite, ISIL, and the much-less catchy “Daesh,” whatever “Daesh” is supposed to be). For one app, the ill-fated “Isis Wallet,” the branding misstep arguably caused its failure.
As previously described here in WND, “Isis Wallet, which [had] the backing of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, [was] an attempt to compete with mobile payments firms like PayPal and Google Wallet. The idea is that your smartphone, which you carry everywhere with you anyway, could be used to pay for goods and services at point-of-sale locations equipped with ‘near field communication,’ or NFC. … Already struggling to catch on compared to competing mobile payments systems, Isis Wallet was dealt a devastating blow by the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The groans of Isis Wallet’s management could be heard for miles: Their carefully selected brand strategy [instead evoked] thoughts of this vicious Islamist militant group.” Even renaming Isis Wallet to “Softcard” could not save the app. It shut down at the end of March, its customers encouraged to download and use Google Wallet instead.
Random though these brand conflicts might seem, they are becoming increasingly possible thanks to the efforts of groups like ISIS where social media is concerned. The terrorists are increasingly tech-savvy. They know the value of using social media both to recruit and to propagandize. A recent study by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism declares microblogging site Twitter the social media app of choice where terrorists are concerned. There are perhaps hundreds of ISIS sympathizers on Twitter (one NBC headline called them, laughably, “ambassadors”), spreading the group’s hate and trawling for new recruits.
“The report identified American ISIS supporters who acted as online ‘spotters’ for the terror gang,” write Josh Meyer and Tracy Connor, “and the researchers who monitored those accounts for six months were able to watch recruitment of recently converted Americans unfold in real time. … The report also looked at how U.S. jihadists meet and recruit in person, uncovering small groups of apparent ISIS sympathizers in a number of cities.” The terrorist propagandists communicated primarily in English and were able to discuss a wide range of topics.
Extremist groups like ISIS have, in fact, expanded into multiple media formats, bringing their message to the masses in ever-more sophisticated ways. One such media outlet is al-Qaida’s online magazine, Inspire. The terror group uses Inspire to call for violence, propagate its vile theology and generally promote its goals. Just as Isis Wallet took great pains to distance itself from the name “Isis,” another business in the social media application business seeks to eliminate any link between their own brand and al-Qaida’s propaganda mouthpiece. Rasheen Carbin, co-founder and CMO of nspHire, fears his app is too close to “Inspire” for comfort. He says he wasn’t even aware that al-Qaida had a magazine until earlier this week, when one of his partners informed him of it.
“His wife heard a story on Minnesota Public Radio,” Carbin says, “that mentioned it. Naturally I thought of our app, nspHire. Inspire is a 5-year-old, English-language web magazine published by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula aimed at recruiting Brits and Americans.”
Carbin’s application is something that, in and of itself, is newsworthy. It directly connects job seekers and employers for real-time conversations through in-app messaging. It’s actually modeled after the popular dating app Tinder.
“We decided to create the app because of our frustration with job boards,” Carbin explains. “We previously ran one and used others extensively. We found that we were often getting either unqualified candidates or way more candidates than we could reasonably expect to consider. Our aim was to create a simple, fast way to view lots of candidates.”
The problem, Carbin explained, is that his “Tinder for Jobs” could become too closely associated with al-Qaida’s “Inspire” if both gain more exposure. That puts him, and his company, in the difficult position of investing time and money in a brand that could ultimately fail because of the unflattering connection in the brand name.
“We are trying to head this problem off at the pass,” he admits. “As we get more and more coverage for being a good recruiting tool, it’s important that people not confuse us with al-Qaida’s recruiting efforts. We’d recently been considering a name change, but when my partner told me about the al-Qaida magazine, it only increased our desire to go in a different direction.”
Carbin says his company’s management has not yet decided on a new name, but they’re hopeful they can incorporate current app-user feedback in the rebranding efforts. “We’re trying to be as thoughtful as we can about the process of selecting a new name,” he says. “We are troubled by the potential for terrorism in the real and virtual worlds, especially in light of the recent attacks in Paris. While we don’t generally take it into consideration during our day-to-day management of the business, we believe that free ideas and free markets are the best cures for the poverty and despotism that allow terrorism to flourish.”
This call to free ideas and free markets is one that will likely resonate with Carbin’s customers, even if they don’t see the connection to al-Qaida’s propaganda efforts. “Consumers probably won’t understand what we’re trying to accomplish,” he adds. “That’s OK. That doesn’t absolve us of our obligation to do the right thing. What’s good for America is good for us.”
Media wishing to interview Phil Elmore, please contact media@wnd.com.
Receive Phil Elmore's commentaries in your email
BONUS: By signing up for Phil Elmore's alerts, you will also be signed up for news and special offers from WND via email.
Name*
First Last
Email*
Where we will email your daily updates
Postal code*
A valid zip code or postal code is required
Click the button below to sign up for Phil Elmore's commentaries by email, and keep up to date with special offers from WND. You may change your email preferences at any time.