Stumped by the Anna Hazare phenomenon, the government last week hinted foreign parties were causing the problem. Perhaps, the government is speaking the truth, albeit in a twisted way. The mobilisation of support has its roots in a slew of American-origin tools ranging from mobile phones to social networking sites. The 24-hour non-stop coverage of events is a handout from CNNs war reporting days. So it’s fairly clear then that had America not unleashed new media technology on the world, we would have had a different view of things. The government should look closely at using the same tools to canvass support, rather than ignore it.
The best example of canvassing a mass following and support is probably President Obama's presidential campaign. He had a Facebook page that kept people abreast of his campaign and he used it to deliver his message, uninterrupted. Along with other things, it helped America elect its first non-white leader. After a gruelling season of running the country, when Obama wanted to put pressure on Republicans on increasing the debt ceiling limit, he turned to Twitter and the entire nation focused to see if the other party would relent.
When Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted man, was shot dead, the first hint of it came from a then unknown, now celebrity, software consultant Sohaib Athar who tweeted that a loud bang had rattled his windows in Abbottabad. At the very least, it snuffed out wild rumours of whether the covert operation happened at all.
The Arab uprising came about after an image of a Tunisian street vendor setting himself on fire hit Facebook and other websites. He wasn’t the first to set himself aflame, but his picture was. The London riots in which youngsters as young as 11 gathered to loot and pillage, collected in various spots in the city because text messages would tell groups where to collect and at what time, as the British police tried helplessly to browbeat the technology-led mobilisation of people.
In Hazare’s case, everyone knows that the canvassing is happening through mobile phone messages, topped by compelling images on television sets. Team Hazare’s savvy use of technology outsmarts that of the establishment. When Hazare was in jail and rumours about his poor health emerged, which could have damped enthusiasm, a cleverly recorded video message on the mobile phone quelled rumours. Images of a calm smiling Anna played out loop-on-loop on networks, in what will no doubt become an iconic image that bolstered the crowd.
By ignoring the social medium that now includes mobile devices, Twitter, Facebook and blogs as a means of canvassing opinion, the government is letting itself be defenceless in the new age of communication.
Letting party spokespeople do the talking, in the old-school style seems to have backfired with a nation whose population is heavily skewed in favour of the Facebook generation. This generation understands and communicates more effectively through simple messages running into 140 characters. When, instead of that, they get lengthy speeches, it is lost on them.
Hazare, 74, sends out messages that are simple and well timed. When he first announced that civil society would engage with the government for a Jan Lok Pal bill, it was exactly two minutes past 9 pm — just enough time for all prime time news anchors to roll their headlines and cut straight to him.
The government can try all it wants to get its own perspective to the people, which is very important, but unless it gets the timing and the medium right, chances are it's going to feel outwitted.
Anjana Menon is Executive Editor, NDTV Profit
