Social Networks: A Driver of Movements

The unprecedented events unfolding in the last couple of weeks through the Anna Hazare led campaign for the Jan Lokpal Bill have opened many eyes to 3 significant themes. The first, of course, is that the largely tepid middle class in this country are capable of being stirred to action when the cause is something that affects their own cost of living. The second that our parliamentarians are occasionally capable of rising above their pettiness and come together for a common cause, as on that wonderful Saturday full of thoughtful speeches so amply demonstrated. And last but not at all the least, that it will be people who are able to use the power of media in all its formats and who will win every conflict in future.

The last should not be a new revelation, particularly to the highly intellectual and tech-savvy readers of this column. After all it was the effective coverage of the Gulf War that shot CNN into prominence decades ago and the Obama campaign in 2008 was given the cutting edge by their ability to mobilize public support through the use of social networks. Team Anna may have had their ups and downs in their dealings with our crafty politicians, but they came through with unerring consistency in their embrace of both traditional media and the effective use of social networks in their campaign for the cause. The very fact that intelligent folks in my college Facebook and LinkedIn groups can suggest that Arvind Kejriwal would be better prime ministerial material than Rajiv Gandhi and Kiran Bedi would beat Kapil Sibal in a contest for Chandni Chowk shows the extent of influence this campaign has exerted on the thinking classes of the country.

A recent chat with Googles newly minted corporate business team was interesting. In the vistas of individual and group communications, it opened for the use of social networks for business and industry benefit. After a few years when all of us have got comfortable in exchanging trivia on Facebook, watching humorous videos on YouTube, and tweeting on the fall of Dhoni in a moment of frustration at Indian cricket, the possibility of using the circles on Google+ to exert widening circles of influence in teams, firms, industry bodies, and even whole societies presents one of the biggest opportunities for engagement in our lifetime.

A word on the aftermath of the Anna campaignweeks and months after the Ramlila grounds have returned to their dusty normalcy and the I am Anna Hazare caps that so many millions bought have been consigned to a trivia cupboard, the whole explosion would be worthwhile if we all take our responsibilities seriously. No speed money in personal, team, or corporate existence would be a good resolution to make. For our industry, this cannot be a big distance to travel and it will make all the difference!