Indian Social Media Landscape

A prominent name in Media and Publishing industry, Mr. K. Satyanarayan is deeply involved in the field of education and entrepreneurship. Mr. Satyanarayan was instrumental in setting up Cricinfo India before it merged with Wisden in 2003.

His blogs, Education in India, offers a distinct platform for academicians and others alike who seek information about the latest happenings in the education industry. From posts on grass root level primary education issues and scopes to changing scenarios in education across states to technology and seminars held at national levels, his blogs cover the spectrum of education like no other.

Most of the posts are direct insights and information that are made available in the simplest of manner. With a no frill and simple outlook, the blog provides information on issues such as admission into institutions, schools, submission procedure, constitutional amendments in the field of education etc.

His blog is also a great place to come across various articles on education from across the web. In fact, so detailed is his research that he has even gone to the extent of providing the information on education as debated in the parliament.

In his other blog he talks about his current industry, Media and Publishing, wherein the sustainability and growth prospects of various Indian languages are addressed. The prolific growth of Indian writers of books in English language vis-à-vis the dwindling number of writers who write in vernaculars is just one of the areas where he shares his views on.

Mr. Satyanarayan charts out the growth of education in India for the future generations through his simple writing style which is a mix of first person narrative and a third person account of happenings in and around the industry. Working tirelessly with complete dedication towards such a noble cause surely entitles Mr. K. Satyanarayan to be our Blogger of the Fortnight.

Read more from our Blogger of the Fortnight gallery.

Why I chose Public Relations as a career still remains a vague subject for many. Yet again, why I chose social media as my bread and butter in a market like India, still amazes people. I have to ask why?

For all enlightened minds unaware of Public Relations, it is managing the reputation of a brand/ corporate with constant outflow of information through a perfect blend of creativity in communication. Simple! You have information; you’ve got to inform the masses about it. You’ve got a reputation hitch; you’ve got to set it right through talking to people and using feedback they provide to modify your communications strategy (The Wisdom of Crowds, I tell you!).

Coming to social media, it just gets simpler. I will not brag about what social media is (Just go to our free e-book download, mate!) But here is how it just works better than the above-mentioned offline medium:

• It’s the in-thing! Well yeah! Since every trend, every thought, every discussion that makes a difference to our lives is up there even before it is on the news or in the newspapers (As an offline PR professional, I referred to Twitter religiously to catch up with all that was happening around the world, to gauge what the newspapers would write next). The dynamics of the word ‘fastest news’ have changed (as they have for ‘breaking news’:P).

• What’s working, what’s not? You get to know it immediately. Couple of fiery comments on your blog, and you go –“Well, perhaps I should rephrase this? ” Pat comes the Crowd’s reply- “Dude! I said remove this horrible commercial. Hear me right?” With so much room for heart-to-heart talk between the consumer and the brand that social media offers, any business will have to prove the favourite fact-We’re Listening! This is a must for any business, since the crowds run it!

• Power of Mass Intelligence and Collaboration: Probably where social media does a dance and a hop and a skip while conventional communication stands and stares. A pleasure it is, to see your consumers design products, collaborate for fun and knowledge and come up with new ad-campaigns (Flashback: ITC Bingo Mad Angles)!

• Better and Tangible Results: Looking at sales charts to trace back to what article, and which news worked for your business, is morose, futile and does not reward the efforts of the company or the communications agency (If number of articles, headlines etc. promised to the client could have changed the face of brands, advertising would have had its natural fall way back!). Social media is measurable, more so in terms of consumer reaction to your moves in the market (Flashback: Blogs on HUL changing the age-old formulation of Pears).

But here is why social media will delight focused communication professionals more than anything else: Your efforts translate into direct consumer engagement, not in a news article,the readers of which you wouldn’t have an idea of.