Successful public relations campaigns hinge on, well, public relations. The proliferation of social media makes it increasingly important for companies get out from behind canned statements and actively engage people in real conversations. As evidenced by Wal-Mart’s 2005 War Room, when corporations fail to properly connect with stakeholders, they can end up spending more money on crisis management in the long run. But tell that to Royal Dutch Shell.

This week marked an interesting point in the company’s history. On Monday Shell agreed to pay $15.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the 1995 deaths of Nigerian author and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and others. On Wednesday a provocative debate broke out on the social media web site Justmeans, involving a cross-section of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) industry veterans, thought leaders and activists. By Thursday evening nearly one hundred comments had been posted and a petition had been drafted asking Shell to acknowledge the bigger picture and go deeper in its efforts to rectify the past: 

“Justmeans, the largest online community of people interested in good work, asks Shell to actively engage in a pivotal stakeholder dialog. Over the past week we have received an overwhelming response to Shell’s $15.5 million human rights settlement. Presently, Justmeans community members are banding together in order to launch a grassroots campaign that elevates a meaningful human rights conversation and also provides the Ogoni people with further relief.

This campaign, which centers on a fundraiser and live webcast, will bring together experts, stakeholders, shareholders and the public in a town hall setting. Our core objective is not to “bash” Shell. On the contrary, we seek to build bridges of understanding and encourage the formation of constructive new policies and initiatives.

The Justmeans community appreciates the fact that Shell’s recent settlement avoids further drawn out court battles. Most agree that this is in everyone’s best interest. Equally however, the Justmeans community maintains a genuine concern for the future of the Ogoni people, as well as all citizens in areas proximate to Shell operations. We are therefore interested to hear from Shell statements that have not yet been publicly issued....Furthermore, in appreciation of the enormous upheaval the company’s stakeholders have faced, and as a token of the company’s ongoing concern, we urge Shell to commit $15.5 million to Ogoni and human rights-related charities on an annual basis.”

Many Justmeans community members view Shell’s one-time $15.5 million settlement as inconsequential, particularly in light of the $458 billion in income the company generated last year. After all, the Ogoni people (and Nigerian citizens in general) have been struggling against oil companies including Shell for over twenty years. Prisoners have been tortured. Lives have been lost. Arguably, an entire way of life has been destroyed. That’s why Shell’s denial of guilt and recent statement that “government and local communities must take the lead in ending conflict” sparked an intense, ongoing debate.

Oil accounts for 95 percent of Nigeria’s exports and 85 percent of government income. The Nigerian government has a vested interest in protecting its main income source and has historically used unmitigated violence to squelch protests and guard oil facilities. It therefore stands to reason that Shell is not only involved in the ongoing cycle of violence and oppression, but at the very root of it. In light of this, the Justmeans community wants to know: How can the company possibly suggest that others take the lead? Why doesn’t Shell take the lead?

When Justmeans founder and CEO Martin Smith asked Shell executives to answer questions and participate in the burgeoning campaign, the company declined: “Right now there is no appetite to engage authentically on Justmeans,” Smith posted. “We will keep trying.”

Shell is reportedly about to embark in 50-city media tour in order to help iron out the kinks in its public image. Clearly the company does partake in PR – only on its own terms and at its own pace. But meanwhile, while Shell shuns an influential group, Justmeans community members keep each other informed of breaking news and insights in real-time. If Shell won’t tell its own story in a meaningful way, then others will.