Experiments in technology: India Election 2009

Online, mobile initiatives and innovations

Part 1: Technology as used by Parties/Candidates

Indian Elections came on the heels of the phenomenal success of the Obama win in the U.S.A.The tech-savvy and forward looking India wondered what political teams in India would learn from the really well put together Obama campaign. Online campaigns turned out to be backbone of the Obama campaign. Plus, being the largest democracy in the world, the world would be watching very closely.

Political leaders from India take pride in staying abreast of technology, especially in the communications sector. The open minded attitude toward technology as posted on Shri L.K. Advani’s blog, "In every single general election in India since the first one held in 1952, I have seen how the tools of communication have evolved. As far communication is concerned, I am technology-agnostic. My philosophy in this matter is simple: anything that works, deserves to be welcomed. In my own political life spanning six decades, I have enthusiastically embraced every new communication technology - from the early simple Casio digital diary to i-pod and i-phone."


Not to be left behind this time around, coming out looking like newbies in the communications tech-tools department, the political leaders listened to their advisors and said ‘Yes, let us do it’.

Let us take a step back and look at the ROI for the use of technology from the Political Party’s point of view:

a) Percentage of people with computer access in India is so small that does it even make sense to go beyond a basic profile on the Web. With about 6% of the Indian population having access to Internet on computers- numbers reaching around 15-20% in the metros, did it even make sense to pump money in to campaigns that would not reach a significant number?
b) Would it be too dangerous to not have a web presence and come out looking like clueless, un-tech-savvy (non-progressive) leaders especially for the candidates from the metros and the very tech savvy constituencies like Bangalore (Karnataka)?

c) There is a significant language barrier for most technology-based campaigns. Most tech-tools use English as a means for delivering messages while the number of people who can read, understand and feel comfortable with English, is rather low. The language barrier cut both ways- against the voters and, in the same way, against the political leaders who are not well versed in English.

d) With one fourth of the voters being under 25yrs of age and 70% being under the age of 40, using technology is one of the significant means for reaching these young voters and making a statement.

e) Another significant factor going in the favour of the online- direct ‘marketing’ was the fact that the leaders saw this as a way to bypass the Press/Media and get to the voters directly. Indian main stream media has been known to give pretty limited coverage of the candidates and the campaigns.

As Kiran Khalap, co-founder of brand consultancy Chlorophyll, said, "There are emotional and functional reasons for using technology: functionally, it is more cost-effective and more participative than say, a rally or an advertisement…. emotionally, they (politicians) want to be like the cool urban youth they want to connect with.” India leaders blog

It is important to note that during the campaign, when they decided to include online and technology based campaigns as part of their ongoing campaigns, most political leaders/parties were not really ready with the basic know-how of what to do with the tech tools available. They did not have even a basic profile on any social-network and had not really taken the time to understand how to use these powerful tools. Starting late in the game the parties had neither time nor resources (volunteers, workers) to put up good informative websites- some even seemed to have a good technical team. So it was start from zero.

After a decisive ‘Yes’- trying to meet the challenge head-on, the campaign teams looked at what worked for the Obama campaign and went through the check list. They did what was expected- copied parts of the campaign and tried to keep the Indian context in mind. Of course it turned out to be easier said than done.

We saw sites sprout overnight – some that were good and some that were not so good. Now everyone had a web presence- including on Facebook, Orkut, even on Twitter and YouTube channels.

A quick look at the tools used

Websites, mobile phones, social media and social networks- we had the following contenders, in the order of preference as observed as an outsider:

• Text or SMS messages: This was a clear winner. This tool is being used extensively to reach the masses. It is perhaps the one most capable of reaching a large number as India has over 380million cell phone users, though in reality the most passive. It was used well but again, if used for getting to masses was the main thing, then English as script was lost for those who could not read. Plus, after the few couple messages, these became a nuisance.

• Websites: Among the websites that cropped up, there was clearly very varied range in functionality, presentation and navigation. Most notable were: Rajeev Chandrashekar, Krishna Gowda, Bharatiya Janta Party, LK Advani, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia

• Facebook: Great global hype value- though very limited reach for Indian voters. The numbers ranged between a few hundred to a maximum of around 4,000.

• YouTube: Hype, entertainment, very limited audience in terms of Indian voters. Main reason being the lack of broadband connections and very slow data speeds (GPRS) on the phone. Numbers- did not cross over 100 views for direct campaigns.

• Orkut: Little hype – not a darling for global visibility but much better reach. Notable: BJP’s network of communities.

• Twitter: Great (currently greatest) global hype value. Very limited audiences for reaching Indian voters. Seemed to be a perfect blend of the mobile and the web on the face of it but mobile in India just did not work. Sample numbers: KrishnaGowda: 110 followers, updates 62. Rajeev Chandrashekar: 781 followers, updates 69

• Blogs: Medium hype value. Poor discoverability. Notable: RK Misra’s blog, Rajeev Chandrashekar’s blog, LK Advani’s blog

• Hi5: No hype value but some politicians wanted to cover them all.

• Mobile social networks: Still in its infancy. Observed a keen interest from the political parties and voters especially for data applications that used multimedia. The language barrier seemed to come down though data connections- cost and availability were the challenges. Some leaders went as far as pushing mobile applications for connecting supporters to leaders and to each other. (Notable: Ananth Kumar’s AKConnect powered by RockeTalk)

While it is great to see all these ongoing efforts, what was observed was that most leaders seemed to miss the point of using technology- giving the voters confidence that they could reach their leaders without running in to roadblocks. Gone are days when the leaders got away with talking ‘at’ the crowds. It is now becoming increasingly important to give the voters confidence that someone is listening to them and taking note of what the common person’s hopes, dreams and fears are.

Good technology means open communication- which in turn means allowing people to connect back, leave comments, giving them easy ways to reach their candidates- a point that most leaders missed totally.

Facebook, Twitter, Websites all done, no one seemed to have a clue as to what needed to be done next. Just having a web presence or a tech-tool isn’t enough to run a campaign. Making it known to the masses where they can reach the leaders easily is the key.

The mere fact that you are using the web/tech tools is useless if no one knows where to find you. My favourite analogy for this is winking at a hot beautiful girl in the dark- a total waste as you are the only one who knows what you did. Neither the girl nor the people around ever saw anything.

Running any kind of Web/technology campaign needs a dedicated effort, a team that keeps the content fresh and utilizes techniques to draw people in. And leaders who understand that they need to contribute their time and attention and interact frequently with the users!

That said, with very few broadband connections and unreliable and expensive data (GPRS) on the mobile phones mainstream tech-campaigns have a long way to go to really start making their mark. For those who are not familiar with the online trends, more people in India access the web from their mobile phones than on the computers. In fact, most students connect to the Internet through their mobile phones.

The defining moment for the web and mobile 2.0 will be the next election. The challenge will be to learn from the 2009 ‘experiments’ and keep the momentum going.

Note: Parts of this blog have been taken from an ongoing series. The series also has ongoing analysis of tools available, how they were used with updates coming soon on what needs to be done next to reap the benefits of the current efforts and to make these tools effective.

Coming soon- Part 2: Initiatives put together by volunteers, citizens.

Followed by Experiments in Technology Election 2009: Lessons Learnt

Election India: Online (Cyber) campaigning series 2

First- let me applaud the efforts and the open mindedness of most Indian politicians. They are always ready to embrace technology and try it out. It might take a lot of an effort to have them jump in with both feet but it is incredible that they willingly explore the options available.

Let us move to Bangalore- the technical hub of India. It is clearly one the most tech-savvy, affluent constituencies in India. As expected, from here came some of the most aggressive and innovative online campaigns for the 2009 elections.
Everyone was on Facebook- some very active, some not so active, some clearly with no clue about what to do next. From an onlooker, observer point of view- the profiles were there, the ‘friends’ turned followers were there- but the numbers- pathetic.

Youtube channel had 16 or 17 views.

Websites – sure saw some really good work there. Some of websites are very well done and updated regularly. Some even have lots of people interacting with each other. Special mention Congress website- did not work well, was too part oriented but a good effort. What I personally liked was the FriendsofBJP website that was put together by actual supporters and citizens and not just political leaders- much more effective.

Orkut- yes- the usual- go make a profile, make a community etc…. could have gone a bit beyond the basic.

Special mention- Orkut- at least some of the camps that had existing communities- had some traction. That said- a good percentage of the people who were on there, were not in India (USA, Australia being really active) and so not really the target audience.

Clearly traditional online approach was not working.

With two prominent, well read, well rounded candidates coming to heads, Bangalore went beyond that.

In the quest for looking for an effective medium to reach the masses, they found out that the cell phones (mobile phones) seem to be the logical answer. While many Indians live in poverty, they the use their cell phones, to learn about the world -bypassing the newspaper and TV. (Yes, there is that little issue of trust there as well). For example, they know who Obama is and are aware of the US and world recession.

Obama had used the Silicon Valley darling, Twitter, so it seemed to be logical to some candidates and they started paying special attention to it. Guess they thought- Twitter=Web + Mobile. One thing everyone one forgot to check- how many people on Twitter, were really on the mobile phone? And if Twitter on the phone actually worked. If it did- same problem- language- primarily English- or Kannada written in English.

The politician realized quickly that short ‘tweets’ or text messages wasn’t the ideal medium to reach, and possibly sway the voters as it did not carry that personal appeal, the charisma, the emotions that actually worked so well in India. Text really did not have the desired effect - where emotions really count…. Plus that would not be viral- would not help them reach more and more people. Would anyone show a text message sent by a politician to 20 other people?

Some of the leaders stopped and considered- computers may not be available. Broadband may be out of reach but India has a significant number of people with access to mobile phones that were capable of multimedia. Of these users, a good percentage, especially those with Internet access, rely on the cell phones to gain knowledge of world events, even in rural areas where mobile Internet access is limited.

For example, being in touch with the Indian youth on a daily basis for the last three years, I’m not surprised when a 19year old, from a small village in Bihar, asks me how I feel about Obama being President or another one in West Bengal comes up with issues like the US foreign policy. I am, at times, taken aback with some of the questions and the debates I get drawn in to and have to quickly turn on my laptop to find out about things I missed or haven’t had the time to get to. It does not surprise me that all their knowledge has actually come through – not TV, not newspaper or radio but rather a data connection on their phones.

It is this quality of the Indian population- the thirst to find out about what is happening beyond their immediate circle- that the politicians or for that matter any marketing campaign need to tap on. Yes, I consider Political campaigns a very sophisticated form of marketing. It is just that. The bottom-line is how many people you can get and market your plans or principles for running the nation with.

If there is anyone who understands what can make or break them, it is the politicians and the music industry. Just as the music industry understands that a Bollywood mega hit gives them the punch in sales- what actually keeps them going is the religious and yes, Bhojpuri tracks. Same goes for the Indian politicians. They know that the heart and the majority vote is rural India.

Right here, I need to stop and tell you that I have a new found respect for the political leaders. They are really smart people. They quickly figure what works and what doesn’t and what they need to keep feeding even post election. This is the first time I actually got the feeling that they wanted their supporters to stay with them during this election and then way beyond.

Now the desirable online campaign space really begins to take shape- to reach the masses what is needed is something that works on a mobile phone and can go beyond text- to audio and video. Using audio and video takes care of the language problem. You send an audio or video message and at the touch of a button, it plays. And hurrah you got something that is a winner! It has all the elements needed- no language barriers, multimedia- so much more appealing. Would definitely be something a group of people would ‘watch’ listen to together.

And that needs data or GPRS.

I know, I know - mobile data subscription in rural India is not that great but- here is the nugget- even if one person in the village has a data connection (not unheard of) the whole village reaps the benefits. Yes, they sit in groups and watch videos, audio and this is so much more effective than one person sitting alone at a computer. That guy with the data enabled phone- of course- is the classic ‘influencer’ a term used so often in social marketing.

The next important factor in creating a pool of dedicated followers and keeping it comes from the ability of the fans to be able to talk to the leaders. Get a feeling that they can reach them.

And more importantly for them to sign-up for the service.

Hmmm.. would anyone download an application that was being pushed by a political party? Sure- a few die-hard followers would. And they in turn could use it for the house meetings where the mobile phone video of the candidate would take center stage. Effectively- the message that was sent now can reach several other people. In reality, this in itself is not the right way to go even though it is a very good start.

Well- a first step was understanding the need to get the youth involved and keeping the channels of communication open as being an important part of the campaign. It took courage to actually leave a channel open for discussions, direct feedback. And to have those channels stay open even post election! The fact is that the leaders understand that coming election is important but really is just one election. They need to start working on online campaigning now to build those lasting connections and a loyal, relationship. Albeit, a little late in starting BJP’s AKConnect- a means to reach people on mobile phones with GPRS- is a step in the right direction. Hopefully Congress will also have some means of keeping the channels open.

Politics in India is changing. And open lines of communication are going to play a big role in all campaigns and so is transparency.

P.S.
I have no political ties. I have had the opportunity to observe the ups and downs and what went through the typical political party’s mind while toying with online campaigning for the India Election for this year as part of my work.

Ananth Connect: An interesting take on the part of BJP candidate, Ananth Kumar’s take on Mobile social networkin, AKConnect is a downloadable application for the supporters and friends of BJP and Ananth himself. It is interesting to see that Ananth at once saw potential for something that would take him beyond this election –possibly in to the next one and the next. He saw the power of the networking, possibly even spotting new leadership from the group interactions that could take the Party farther. Only- drawback being that it was ‘launched’ too close to the election to be properly leveraged for this time. Then again, the purpose of AKConnect was not to go full thrust, but rather to keep the momentum going until- next election and beyond. Let us watch and see how well they actually use this powerful tool.

The ‘beyond’ this election is the key to this year’s online campaigning. Watch the space mature well in time for the next one. (Watch for updates on RockeTalk blog)

My prediction- there will be a clear move towards using rich multimedia applications (like RockeTalk) and the WAP. With a large percentage of phones and data connections fully enabled, India will bypass the ‘computer’ online campaigning and leapfrog straight to the mobile phones- full multimedia.

And now- if only the mobile operators/carriers could keep a check on the cost of data. (Yes, they would still make money- maybe even more…)

Election India: Online (Cyber) campaigning series

Finally, after a rather long break, I’ve put work aside and decided to get back to blogging. My inspiration? Well, inspiration came from interacting, on various levels, with the major political parties and trying to understand what really works- both with the Parties and with the people to reach the masses.

Indian Elections came on the heels of the phenomenal success of the Obama win in the U.S.A. The tech ‘savvy’ and forward looking India wondered what political teams in India would learn from the really well put together Obama campaign. Plus, being the largest democracy in the world, the world would be watching very closely.

Online campaigns turned out to be backbone of the Obama campaign. Not to be left behind and come out looking like noobs in the tech-tools department, the political leaders listened to their advisors and said ‘Yes, I’ll do it’.

Let us take a step back and look at this for ROI (Return on investments- love you N3WB!3S :) ) from the Political Party’s point of view. Percentage of people with computer access in India is so small that does it even make sense to go beyond a basic profile on the Web. Does it make sense to pump money in to a campaign that will not even reach a significant number?

At the same time, would it not be too dangerous to not have a web presence and come out looking like clueless, un-tech-savvy (non-progressive) leaders especially for the candidates from the very tech savvy constituencies like Bangalore (Karnataka).

Well, they were not ready with even a basic profile on any social-network or website. So it was start from zero. The campaign teams looked at what worked for the Obama campaign and went through the check list.

We saw sites sprout overnite – some that were good and some that were not so good. Now everyone had a web presence- including on Facebook, Orkut, even on Twitter and youtube channels

One catch though, no one seemed to have a clue as to what needed to be done next. Just having a web presence wasn’t enough to run a campaign. Running any kind of Web campaign needs a dedicated effort and a team that keeps the content fresh and utilizes techniques to draw people in. And leaders who understand that they need to contribute and interact frequently on the web!

Even Youtube videos got pathetic views. Was it that the Indian youth just wasn’t interested? Or was it just reaching the youth in places, settings they were most comfortable with?

So why the half-hearted, clueless attempts? Has a lot to do with the ROI and the efforts and the fact that these efforts start a bit too late to really put together a strategy. Or was it a combination of not too many people having access to computers and a lack of understanding on how to leverage the web or any online campaigns?

Hmmm… so traditional web would not work for Indian political leaders as it did it did for Obama. Now what? Well… how about the darling of the Indians, their mobile phones? That got them thinking.

Well, the traditional, megaphone (aka loudspeaker) on a rickshaw, auto, truck etc (believe me I’ve seen those things on some really weird things) was stale… There was need for something new. Something fresh… an attention grabber.

Why not use a simple SMS (Short message System Aka text message) to blast everyone? Oops but then there is the DND (Do not Disturb) list and the fact that a text message really does not have the desired impact. Plus, the cost adds up quickly.

Some way to use a low cost vehical- something multimedia that would engage the people, seemed to be the way to go. (TV ads cost too much and do not have the desired effect) This meant they had to experiment with new, unfamiliar mediums the youth- 18-45 yrs old were using like ibibo, Frenzo, RockeTalk etc

Next time: The real on-line campaigning efforts in India: Reaching out to the youth

Things that make me smile

The best book ever! If this does not make you smile, I don't know what else can! It was the best discovery I made while looking for a present for a four year old.


Truly the best of Dr. Seuss!


So real. So typical. Never fails. Brings back childhood memories.


Anne- the precocious little know-it-all. Can’t help but smile! My first glimpse - a snippet overheard as read by a really good reader to her brother. Got me to read the series. The movie series is equally good too.


Hellooo… am I the only one my age to be listening to these classics? What a riot! If you haven’t done so already- please spend the $.99 and buy the Camp Granada track .. promise you will laugh till you cry.


The sweetest, best of Disney ever.


Robin Williams and a beautifully done, heart-warming story. Best combo.


The little nash rambler … one of the best of the oldies…


What a hoot! Uma Thurman at her best!


Sway. Last dance… the beat.. the voice.. the music… guess I’m an old soul at heart…


I can watch this movie any time. I mean really… whats not to love about this?


How can I resist the Bollywood classics? My RockeTalk friends would never forgive me…


Aamir Khan… think I fell in love over again… man it is a treat watching him when he was younger. This movie is a blast!

OK. OK.. I’ll do a full thing on Bollywood classics … and a RockeTalk special on things and people who always make me smile…

While I'm still trying to figure out how to insert audio in to my blog, you can check out some of my favorties, in my and my friends' voices posted in my gallery on RockeTalk.. if you don't have RockeTalk on your phone, please visit Rocketalk from your mobile phone http://m.rocketalk.com

RockeTalk ID: Amita

And yes, this is not the full list.

The True Art of a Start- is by Instinct: The entrepreneurial spirit, Stretching the funds, A woman’s perspective, Meeting of soul mates

My first steps into the Tech world in a very non-tech way. One afternoon, I got a call from these friends of mine who had started their new company-.

RockeTalk. They wanted me to give them an honest feedback. The Good, the bad, the ugly- all of it. After a bit of convincing - notice it did not take too long- I was game to start playing with this very basic phone application that they showed me which in the Founder’s words was basically ‘SMS on steroids’.

There was something about this concept- maybe it was the Founders’ enthusiasm, yes it was two of them, that made me say yes. In hind sight, I had a suspicion that they had read Guy Kawasaki’s very firm advice and exercise in his ‘The Art of The Start’ to rely on the smartness of women. Well, they hadn’t.

Their reasoning: I came from a background of working, volunteering, with Non-profits/NGOs. I was involved in event and artist management. I had a strong Arts background – Psychology and Sociology. And that I was a people’s person. Loved talking…lol.. OK so most women do.

I was rolling my eyes by now. I read between the lines –all that talk about my background was a crock! It was my ‘volunteering spirit’ that drew them to me. Great entrepreneurs that they were, they were trying to get as much help they could for-FREE or at the cost of a couple tall Mistos at their favorite Starbucks! I saw that appreciated the effort.

I was, at that point, intrigued enough by the application and decided I would devote a much disciplined hour or so everyday to play with it (after all I had my day job too) and by the end of that week, come back with feedback.

I started off, created a username and within minutes had people pinging me! I was taken aback. I was told that the application was a neat way to send voice, text and picture messages painlessly- something that the promise of MMS had miserably failed at, to my friends and my network and here I was getting pinged by random people from- Russia, all over Europe, South Africa! And how did they find me? Well they said they just searched for a female user and there I was!

I was beginning to understand the application better. I was seeing it in a totally different light- very different from what the founding ‘tech-team’ thought they had put together! In the founder’s words, ‘Of course, I had to be able to see if my other friends were online and yes, I need to be able to search for my friends.’ Unknowingly they had introduced two very powerful components to their multi-media messaging platform - presence and search.

Soon I was getting voice messages from all over the world. From places- Turkey, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Canada. I was enjoying myself and was spending every spare minute I had, staying online constantly, talking to this mélange of people round the clock, at times waiting for some of them to get back on.

From my interaction with some of the people online, I knew I had in my hands something with great potential, something that could change the way people interacted. There was a flood of things racing through my mind. You got to remember I came from a non-profit background and had very strong views about the World, global understanding and working with people who did not necessarily know English. This was perfect! OK you’ll say I had a very naïve view of the World but I still believe this is the best tool. (More on this later) but I had run a business of my own and knew that everything needs to make money- even non-profits.

Needless to say, I could not hold back for the week to get done. I called and told them coffee was on me and that they could count me in every way! They knew the minute they saw me that they had indeed found a soul mate.

Factoid:
Man Smart. Woman Smarter (How could I resist)

Men have 6.5 times more gray matter in their brains than women do. Women have 10times more white matter. Gray matter creates processing centers in the brain, and white matter creates the connections between them. In other words, men have lots of areas for processing concrete data -- like mathematical equations -- and women have lots of connections that allow them to see and process patterns [Source: Live Science] :)

Kashmir: Updates- as it happens

Let me first and foremost declare- I am not a born Kashmiri- Kashmir is a place where I spent some great times.

One of my last happy vacations with my family was in Kashmir.

One of the first crushes I had was on a Kashmiri guy.

Some of fondest childhood memories included some great Kashmiries- as teachers, as 'massi' (mother's sister) - I know this concept of 'massi' being someone other than mom's natural born sister is somewhat hard to understand.

Some of my friend in School were Government of India scholars from Kashmir.

Some of my current friends are from Kashmir.

I will, by-n-by, get in to the good times. Everyone needs to keep the good times in mind- it just helps keep things in perspective.

I lived through some of the nasty times Punjab went through. Had real close encounters - things I was told never to mention ever. I guess I was too young to understand but as I grew, it made me a bit more open to looking at the big picture and look at things from the flip side.

I was double-minded about letting some of these posts go live. Not all depict my point of view. I don't agree with all of them but then I thought- who am I to decide? What right do I have to keep information away from the world? I have my own somewhat strong opinions about Kashmir and the general unrest in that area. And I will get to those slowly but at present the focus is Kashmir.

Kashmir: Paradise lost?

It was around 10:30 in the morning, I had just started work with RockeTalk. I was going out for coffee with a friend. My phone beeped- not something it did often as RockeTalk was in its early stages and we had that occasional person who stumbled upon a blog Andy Abramson had written a few days ago. I casually looked at my phone, expecting to start talking in slow English to someone from Eastern Europe- who would want me to send a picture etc. but instead, there was no voice. I sent a quick ‘Hello, how are you?’ A text message came back. I asked ‘Where are you from?’ and a quick text came back- "From ISK. Do you know where that is?”

My mind was racing as I read the text- ISK…ISK.. yes I knew.. don’t know from where I made the connection- Independent State of Kashmir! And my excitement showed in my voice as I sent this message across. A very excited, OMG came from the other side, how did I know what he was talking about? After all I was from California. The guy had hoped to run in to a pretty blonde and here was talking to me.

Kashmir- wow- the true Paradise on Earth, I could not get over my own excitement to be connecting to this young man and we talked- we talked for 6-7 hours. We talked about everything- the current living conditions to the fact that he was Muslim and I was from a mixed heritage- Sikh and Hindu. And the fact that he was genuinely surprised to find someone sympathetic and willing to see the Kashmir situation from an insider’s point of view. He was surprised to find that I knew a lot about Kashmir. And then, we found ourselves talking every day. About what was actually going on in Kashmir, understanding the people’s point of view from an insider.

As luck would have it, I had spent the summer before talking to a friend from the Indian Army, who had just come home after serving in Kashmir was depressed and time and again told me that he had not joined the Army for this. He never imagined he would have to fight his own countrymen to stay alive. And then came this meeting with a group of officers who wanted us to run a help-line using RockeTalk, where the people who had gone through trauma – families of soldiers who have served in Kashmir.

Along this time, a realization dawned on me. I was using this technology, which was something so cool- something I was just about to understand the power of. As a kid, while reading Hardy Boys books, I was fascinated by this device that you needed to scan and set channels to catch what people were randomly saying or something that was specially directed to you- a HAM radio- that caught signals from throughout the world. This was exactly what I was doing- on a much simpler level.

I was getting the first hand views from people all over the world about what was going on in their neck of the woods without any filters. No media hype, no government filters.

And then yesterday something happened, something that rattled me. A RockeTalker sent out a video taken in Sopore and sent out real time for the world to see- a scene from the street. It was as if someone had smacked me in my face- I knew what the purpose of the video was, I knew I had to do something. But what? I could not see what I could do. ABC News already had a small coverage on it so it was not something I could just give to a station to air. But I knew I had to get it out there for the world to see. RockeTalk, was too small an audience for this. This was the people of Kashmir reaching out to the world.

I had to do something. So here goes- my first interaction with this stranger- an ID I had seen come online several times in two years– but an ID that never responded back whenever I tried to ping.


Kashmir me aag. 18 log mare gaye, 86 zakmi hogaye. Use me se sopore k 6 mare gaye..
(Fire in Kashmir. 18 people dead, 86 injured. 6 of the dead from Sopore...)




Me: Sopore? Him: Sopore kashmir ka ek khas shehar hai
(Sopore is a main town in Kashmir)
Me: maloom hai.
(I know)
Me: Suno. Kisi ka pata lagana ho to kaisai.. SMS to nahi chale ga..
(listen. If I need to inquire about someone, how... SMS will not work..)
Him: Nahi SMS nahi chale ga
( No it will not work)
Me: Mere dost hain waha
(My friends are there)
Him: Aap ke dost ya ha hai? Kon
(Your friends are here? Who)
Me: Kashmiri hain
(They are from Kashmir)

Him... went offline

About 8-9 hrs later......

Kashmir me azadi ki shama jal gaye, abi tak 143 zakmi hogaye aur 58 k lagbag mare gaye. Us me phr se sopore k 2 aur srinagar k 2 aur bandipora k 5 aur palhalen ka 1 mara gaya.
(Freedom's fire lite in Kashmir, as of now, 143 injured and 58 died. Out of these 2 from Sopore, 2 from Srinagar, 5 from Bandipora and 1 from Palhalen)



Me: Rukko. Suno. Tum abhi kashmir me ho?
(Wait. Listen. Are you right now in Kashmir?
Him:Haan me kashmir se hu. Aur kashmiri he hu. Me sopore se hu. Aur kuch?
(Yes i am in Kashmir. And I am from Kashmir. I am from Sopore. Anything else?)
Him: Aaj indian news kyu khamosh hai? Jo yaha par marte hai wo kya insaan nahi?
(Why is the Indian media quiet today? Are those who are dying here, not human?)
Me: Dekho, jo haalat hai unse to nipatna hi ho ga. Jo munasif samjho karo lekin apna khyaal rakhna. Bahut der se ye sab chal raha hai. Shayad waqt aa gaya hai. Parbar digar tumhe aur wahan sab ko salaamat rakhen. Itni durr se to dua hi kar sakti hoon. (See deal with the situation at hand. Do was is needed but we careful. This has been going on for too long. Maybe the time has come. May the All Mighty keep you and everyone there safe. I can't do much else sitting here other than prayer)
Him: Pehli bar kisi hindu ko aisa bolte huwe dekh raha hu.. Khuda aapko sab kuch dy jis ki kimi ho aapko. Meri duva Allah se hai.. ,
(First time heard a Hindu say such a thing. May Allah give you everything that is lacking in your life. That is my wish from Allah for you...)
Me: how old are you?
Him: 23 me chal raha hu
(23 I am going)
Me: Allah Haffiz. Apna khayal rakhna. Yaad rakhna tumhara pehla farz apne ghar ke taraf ka hai. mein ne dekha hai maa-baap pe kya guzarti hai. Jo bhi karte ho soch samajh kar karna. Haalat me garmi hai lekin jaan aakhir jaan hai. Khairiyat batate rehna
(Allah look over over. Take care of yourself. Remember, your first duty is to your family... I have seen what parents go through. Whatever you do, think it over first. The situation is bad but life is life. Keep me posted on your well being.)
Him:Khuda Hafiz Me: Khuda Hafiz. Khairiyat batatay rehna. Video, pictures meri dusri ID pe bejte rehna. Kuchh khaas to nahi kar sakti but waqt aa gaya hai ki jo bhi ban paye, karoon gi.
(Allah be with you. Keep me posted on your well being. keep sending me the real things that are going on- videos, pictures. I can't do much but I can try)
Him: Theek hai agar zindagi ne saath diya to send karta rahoon ga.
(OK will keep sending if I'm I alive)