AMAN KI ASHA What’s going on Online?

SOCIAL MEDIA OVERVIEW Both media houses have attempted to create

somewhat interactive websites with regular news updates, but not much else

They have a Twitter Account, however it has not been updated since early January 2010

The Facebook Fan Page has almost 17000 fans (an increase of a few hundred from when I first started exploring this topic 2 weeks ago…)

Seems to be generating a lot of discussion on the blogosphere and online discussion spaces

TIMES OF INDIA WEBSITE (CLICK ABOVE TO VIEW WEBSITE)

JANG GROUP WEBSITE (CLICK ABOVE TO VIEW WEBSITE)

FACEBOOK (CLICK ABOVE TO VIEW WEBSITE)

Unclear who the creators of the Fan Page are, or who is posting updates

Fans are posting articles, videos, links, photos, etc on a daily basis

The Discussion Forum is active, but overall lacks the punch and conversation a topic such as this could be creating…. Though on the other hand maybe people are staying away from stirring up a controversy

BLOGOSPHERE Blog search on Google pulled up 20000 results

Mixed opinions on whether this is peace initiative is a farce / a marketing gimmick / not needed, etc

Varied comments – outspoken, controversial, personal, cynical, hopeful, sarcastic

Highlight the cultural initiatives such as concerts, cricket games, etc – positive & negative views

Overall, the blogosphere resounds with cynicism and negativity

WHAT NEXT WITH THE TRAVELOGUE?

I want to gather some of the different opinions and voices from the web and create another short video, to see how authentic the voices are

Try and find out from young Indians and Pakistanis living in the States, what they think this campaign can achieve via social media, and if nations and people can change their perceptions of one another through a media campaign such as this?

Finally, I want to address the questions I raised last week –

Can non-governmental corporations create borderless media / mediums via which we can promote and produce better communication and peace processes between nations ?

How authentic are the voices we hear in such campaigns and what factors hinder the success of such initiatives?