Congress has enjoyed an undue advantage of a co-opted main stream media print and electronic, It’s contented in the knowledge that it’s messages and spins are being disseminated non stop. It totally ignored the new emerging technical tools naturally!
Plenty has
been spoken and written about social media in the past couple of years.
What is
social media? Web definitions
: Social media are media for social
interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques.
There are
13 most popular social networking sites. My focus is going to be solely on
Twitter, this is the platform which has emerged as the one that congress party
wants to dominate. Media and it’s venerable personnel are often heard complaining
about Twitter.
Twitter
became the natural choice for Right of center leaning people, these are well
educated, young go getter earning very decent salaries and extremely tech savvy.
The last quality of Tweeple is proving to be a real thorn in the side of
Congress and media. In real
world CBI and a collusive media can weaken the
cases or can pointedly refuse to look at clues and evidence. On the net that is
not happening, these tech savvy users not just pick up the finger prints but
gather incontrovertible evidence.
This has
lead to a running conflict with main stream English media and it’s venerated
population, who were more accustomed to speaking down to us people without
hearing from us. Twitter flattened the
Earth much to their chagrin. 2010 December I wrote my first article about the
pressure that was being exerted on main stream media.
Initial
reaction of main stream media was dismissive, as was that of the Congress party.
In the year 2012 Government brought amendments to Information Technology act
sec66A.
All this
while users of Twitter were multiplying at a reasonably high rate and almost
all were questioning the main stream English media for it’s slanted and at
times totally wrong reportage. Twitter is emerging as a primary source of
information and a hub for Political debates.
While media
continued it’s tirade against Twitter and Tweeple government went a step
further during Assam riots it unilaterally issued instructions to local ISPs to
block Twitter accounts under pretext of spreading rumors leading to exodus of
Indians from North East residing in different cities in India back to their
native states.
Tweeple
have played a very positive role in times of crisis and emergencies, be it Twin
blast in Mumbai in 2011, recent Assam
riots, drought in Maharashtra , and Uttrakhand
tragedy. Funds have been raise volunteers have gone on site to assist in
rehabilitation.
Political
leaders of various parties have also signed up and do interact with general
public. Mr. Narendra Modi had extensively deployed
Social media in 2012 Gujarat elections. This made Congress take notice and realize it
was miles behind on the social media front. In its typical arrogance it
deployed a few ministers and senior members to take on Mr.Modi. However the
response that came was not always from him, but from the general public and
that can be an unnerving experience for new user like
Congress.
Media in
the meantime came up with a theory that Social Media could influence between
165 to 210 seats in forthcoming General Elections. This was not a finding of
media’s own but from a Knowledge foundation body and the study was backed by
the Internet & Mobile Association body. This
study shows that that Social media users may be the new island of new vote bank
that conventional political class has to worry about. The report suggests that
by the time India goes to poll in 2014 the SM users number would remain close
to 80Mn. Add to this 25Mn NRIs those who now have voting rights. Even if they
are not present physically to press the voting button, they still remain huge
influencing block.
Based
on the SM users intensity, the study details there are 160-High impacting
constituencies, 67 medium constituencies and 60 other low or no impacting
constituencies!
Findings
such as these caused panic in Congress ranks and soon enough a new cell was
created with a liberal budget to make it effective and dominant player on
Social Media. But the problem was, they did not have the
wherewithal nor the block of the new tech-savvy SM users were not ready to be
influenced by its cosmetic means.
Twitter is
not a forum for gladiatorial competition, who is to explain this to Congress
and main stream media which just can’t accept the fact they no longer call the
shots and the world does not revolve around them. Expectedly Congress could not
cope up with the steady barrage of damaging
Tweets on a daily basis, besides having to live with a diminished effect of
media which was being challenged and exposed daily by Tweeple.
Ah there
was also an event “Who’s afraid of the Social Media” Paranoia in media and
Congress is palpable.
‘If you
have the money, you can bribe your way through’ had been guiding principle since
times immemorial for Congress. So it started the recruitment drive, to no
effect, hired journalists specifically for the Social Media cell results
awaited. In the mean times the challenges started to increase and arrogance
demanded domination, sycophancy dictated
positive outcomes to be placed before the presiding deities, what was then
going to hold them back ? Soon fake identities began to be created for the sole
purpose of posing a challenge to Mr. Modi. Unfortunately, all this came to a
naught, as the tech savvy opponents exposed all their dirty tricks.
Congress wants to win a modern day war with antiquated weaponry and political relics.
Trending a Topic
Trending a
topic on Twitter is juvenile, it’s no more than hearing a child state “My Daddy
strongest.” This is an activity which minnows in political parties can use to
ingratiate themselves with their senior party leaders who either are uninformed
or pre-occupied with far more serious issue. Trending neither establishes nor
delivers anything. At most it gets the bearer of such tiding to the seniors a
shabaash and a perfunctory pat on the back.
#Hashtag War
Hashtags
are created for a specific purpose or an event, which enable the creator to
impart a distinct identity to the event on Twitter and also carry our post
event analysis. #Pappu or
#Pappucii both is specific to a person and event cannot be hijacked by other
for reverse targeting. While #Feku is generic this was hijacked and employed to
target the creator. Congress Cyber Coolies appropriately
called as e-NREGA by netizens are persisting with this, due lack of
creativity to generate a specific Hashtag for their obvious target.
Hashtag
wars on twitter are like the show “Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain” This is
another illusion that Congress needs urgently, to infuse hope into its cadre
which is totally demoralized by what is unfolding before their eyes. No antidote
to that one man who seems to be demolishing Congress bit by bit everyday.
Congress
has already obtained a favorable verdict for one such battle from the pliable
and equally ignorant main stream English media #Pappucii Vs #Feku where it was
evident that #Feku had been used against the creator in higher proportion than
against the intended target. NDTV did start a new series Truth Vs Hype honestly
NDTV itself is a hype.
The next
episode of this Hashtag war unfolded on the 11th Aug when Mr. Modi
was addressing a rally in Hyderabad
Result of
this latest war is clear #Fekuexpress Vs #NaMoInHyd 1:3 is the Tweet ratio.
However using the resources at it’s disposal relics of Congress managed to
obtain a fake victory which they can now carry as proof to their leaders and
boast of good work done.
Twitter is
a democratic platform and democracy congress loathes. Twitter offers freedom of
speech, congress believes it’s a divine right accorded through the royal decree from Nehru-Gandhi parivar
(clan). It’s immune to manipulation and subversion, congress firmly believes
there is nothing that it can’t manipulate and subvert.
Coercion
and money power can and will be employed liberally to satiate the appetite of
the clan for dominating Twitter.
