Three Challenges for Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street has now been taking place for nearly one month and doesn’t appear to be losing steam.

There are signs of organization starting to come to life, and it’s becoming a technologically advanced “movement” that is using the digital space to spread it’s message the word.

I live three blocks from the park in NYC that is the home front for the protest, and spent nearly an hour on site Sunday talking with protestors and observing.

There are three core-organizing flaws that I observed and that are worth pointing out.

1. Leadership

One thing that I heard loud and clear is that the movement doesn’t have a “leader,” and the term is all but frowned upon.

If for a moment you think leadership should be frowned on, you’d be heavily mistaken.

Just like cars needing a driver, movements needs to be lead. Without a leader you end up with mobs of people and annoying people like myself saying, “But what are you actually trying to accomplish?”

2. Lack of a Message

I’ve seen coverage on NBC Nightly News, Drudge, CBS Sunday Morning, and many other outlets. Throughout all of the coverage what I’ve not seen is a clear message.

What you end up hearing is something a random protestor with their face painted or covered up saying something to hold the reporters attention.

That’s not getting the movement anywhere. They need to appoint people, especially at the NYC location, to be spokespeople. Companies do this. Politicians work this way… and it serves a purpose.

Messaging is wildly crucial and thus far, Occupy Wall Streets message is… well, I don’t actually know. Depending on who you ask, you’ll constantly hear something different.

3. Image

This isn’t going to be a popular item amongst protestors, but they have a huge image problem.

When you are trying to bring about change, and wanting to be taken seriously, you have to act and look the part. It’s just how the world works.

I’m sure this young lady is a great person, but is that really the image they want to project?

And, this one is almost disturbing. The mother of this 15-year old basically laughed when stating that he’s been without shoes for two days. The kid is lying on the ground covered up by clothes and pizza boxes.

I don’t know about you, but that image isn’t going to reflect well with mothers living on Main St.

This list could go on and on, but these are a few core elements that are preventing Occupy Wall Street from being much more than a pain in New York City’s butt, content for news organizations and a growing expense to tax payers.