The National Cyber Media Conclave
Neha Saluja
The Indian cyber media industry has evolved over the years and is today replete with innovative ideas and ventures. It is no longer a mere tool to send emails and do chit-chat but it has proved to be one of the strongest elements of the Fourth Estate.
The Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (SIMC), Pune organised National Cyber Media Conclave (NCMC) ’09, a media seminar on the 28th of March, in its campus at Lavale. The event explored various aspects of the cyber medium and its vast potential. A first of its kind initiative by any educational institution, NCMC brought together stalwarts from the cyber world on a common platform where they addressed enthusiastic young minds interested in cyber media, topics ranging from blogging to Open Source Software.
Eminent personalities of the Cyber media world like Kiruba Shankar, Co-founder, The Knowledge Foundation, Jasmeen Bhateja, Founder, The Blank Noise Project, Shivam Vij, renowned blogger, Delhi, Atul Chitnis, Senior Vice-President, Geodesic Information Systems, Namit Bimbhat ,CEO, Switch Media Services India Pvt. Ltd., Rashmi Dhanwani, Breakthrough, J.Mahadevan, Vice President Product, Bhartmatrimony and Shiv Bhaskar (CEO, The Viewspaper).exchanged their views with the students.
The event hosted two panels on the potency of the cyber media for knowledge sharing, social change and networking; and the emergence of the web as a medium for branding and marketing.
Kiruba Shankar opened the first session with an anecdote. He narrated how his wife fainted few days back and he needed a neurologist in Chennai. In this situation, he did not know how to get a good neurosurgeon, he posted a blog and within few minutes he received good number of responses along with the contact details of the doctor! This is what the power of cyber media lies- its immediacy and global networking.
Blogging was the much talked during the entire seminar. In a very detailed discussion, some concrete evidences were witnessed that clearly proved that cyber space is not only the personal space but also a medium of social change. ‘Pink Chaddi’ campaign wouldn’t have been a success until it got a support of thousands of bloggers, facebook and orkut communities.
The fourth estate – the mainstream media regarded as the guardian of the democracy has time and again manipulated the public opinion, misquoted personalities, focussed on its economic interest and made itself a mere corporate. Whereas, Blogs are the Janta Ki Awaz. Internet medium is a hope- a hope for an alternative to publish. More and more people accessing cyber has amplified its reach and impact.
Nevertheless, the credibility and control of the internet still raises few questions. Shankar has the simple answer to it and said that beauty of the internet is the wisdom of the crowd. Within 60 minutes of Mumbai Terror Attack, a Wikipedia page was created with the information collected by more than 994 regular internet users.
Lately, some legal experts have accused blogging as a tool, misused in the name of Expression of free speech. A genuine message was conveyed to the audience regarding the same. Speakers believes that the content being posted on the internet should be judged on three crucial parameters before clicking the publish button. Anything that slanders personal speech, national security and communal over thought should be strictly avoided.
Cyber as the vehicle for social change caught the interest of many and actually made them think the power of the virtual world is not virtual as it seems. Some realistic instances explain the rest. The blanknoise.com and ringthebell.org are the few initiatives that had marked great success in past few months to bring about social awareness and consciousness regarding sensitive issues like street harassment and domestic violence respectively.
The reason for it is simple that writing in the internet domain is just as writing your own diary, speaking your own story as an individual or collectively as an organisation and express your thoughts, your views anonymously.
The take of the entire session can be simply summarised in three words. Participate, support and partner.