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India Social: How Social Media Is Leading The Charge And Changing The Country
In India Social, social media activist and influencer Ankit Lal takes a deep dive into India’s biggest social media campaigns and analyses how, in just the last ten years, platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp have changed the way Indians engage with politics, popular culture and social revolution.
From the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which unleashed the potential of the medium, to the 2012 #IndiaAgainstCorruption protests; from the rage-filled Justice for Nirbhaya movement to the citizen-driven fight for a free Internet with the #NetNeutrality campaign; from the controversial #AIBRoast to WhatsApp becoming the primary tool used to spread the agenda and ideology of major political parties – India Social unravels, for the first time, the behind-the-scenes stories of the most influential social media movements of the past decade. Incisive and insightful, India Social is the story of how they began, why they spread and the way they have reshaped democratic life in India.
From the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which unleashed the potential of the medium, to the 2012 #IndiaAgainstCorruption protests; from the rage-filled Justice for Nirbhaya movement to the citizen-driven fight for a free Internet with the #NetNeutrality campaign; from the controversial #AIBRoast to WhatsApp becoming the primary tool used to spread the agenda and ideology of major political parties – India Social unravels, for the first time, the behind-the-scenes stories of the most influential social media movements of the past decade. Incisive and insightful, India Social is the story of how they began, why they spread and the way they have reshaped democratic life in India.
312 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2017
6 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 20, 2020
It is true that social media has a real impact on our lives, the minute we get up from our bed we just check what is happening all around and this is our daily habit. This book explains the real situation which is affecting us in multiple manners. The impact of social media is both positive and negative which makes us question that are we using it in a correct manner. One thing that makes this as must-read is the author’s experience about managing social media. He has completed almost all the aspect related to digital media and digital platforms. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to know about social media.
January 6, 2019
It is not debatable whether or not , or even, to what extent Social Media has impacted our lives. We all know that. We all experience that every time we stop whatever we are doing to check our smartphones. Just a glance around your surroundings and you see everyone, without exception, deeply immersed in their smartphones with undivided attention as if searching the escape plan in case of Godzilla attack, and you would be wondering, what did really people do just 10 years before. Like everything else, Social Media has its positives and negatives. What is debatable, is whether the pros win over the cons, or vice versa. This book talks about mostly all the positives of the impact of Social Media on various facets of life in India, be its politics, technology, social change or entertainment.
Being the digital head of a political party, the author Ankit Lal, has the first-hand experience in influencing the election through social media. He is perfectly equipped to talk about his strategies of how he did that. And he does that to an extent, mostly giving it a positive twist, in this book while talking about the "India against Corruption movement" and "AAP's political gains during two state elections". However, it is far from being impartial and you could sense a strong bias against the opposition.
Moving beyond the politics, Ankit Lal talks about the impact of Social media in brining changes in social narratives and public policies, such as cases against brutal rape and acid attack, net neutrality, digital privacy, and some aspects of pop culture.
However, the book fails to meet my expectations of getting some eye-popping numbers or mind boggling analysis of some unheard of incidents, the likes of which we find in Malcolm Gladwell's books or 'Freakonomics' series. Sadly, in a country of 1.2 billion, a statement like "the post went viral with 20,000 likes" has got no meaning to me.
Despite, the book talking little about the ill-effects of social media like trolling, fake news, cyber bullying etc, in its conclusion, however, I found it far from being balanced. In my personal opinion, the ill-effects of social media outweigh the positives, and hence, you could call me biased against the positive undertone of the book.
Being the digital head of a political party, the author Ankit Lal, has the first-hand experience in influencing the election through social media. He is perfectly equipped to talk about his strategies of how he did that. And he does that to an extent, mostly giving it a positive twist, in this book while talking about the "India against Corruption movement" and "AAP's political gains during two state elections". However, it is far from being impartial and you could sense a strong bias against the opposition.
Moving beyond the politics, Ankit Lal talks about the impact of Social media in brining changes in social narratives and public policies, such as cases against brutal rape and acid attack, net neutrality, digital privacy, and some aspects of pop culture.
However, the book fails to meet my expectations of getting some eye-popping numbers or mind boggling analysis of some unheard of incidents, the likes of which we find in Malcolm Gladwell's books or 'Freakonomics' series. Sadly, in a country of 1.2 billion, a statement like "the post went viral with 20,000 likes" has got no meaning to me.
Despite, the book talking little about the ill-effects of social media like trolling, fake news, cyber bullying etc, in its conclusion, however, I found it far from being balanced. In my personal opinion, the ill-effects of social media outweigh the positives, and hence, you could call me biased against the positive undertone of the book.
February 4, 2018
Good book ankit jain
I liked the variety of topic covered and like a social media enthusiast it had lot of info to crunch . Not sure why you tried to balance your view and tried to play a Libra view to every topic than being hard hitting , nevertheless academically it was Interesting to remember the various incidents in past flared up on social media.
I was happy to find more reading material in your notes section
Thanks for well researched book
I liked the variety of topic covered and like a social media enthusiast it had lot of info to crunch . Not sure why you tried to balance your view and tried to play a Libra view to every topic than being hard hitting , nevertheless academically it was Interesting to remember the various incidents in past flared up on social media.
I was happy to find more reading material in your notes section
Thanks for well researched book
January 21, 2020
Loved reading this book. It's gives a concise and precise history of #SocialMedia in India. The book is replete with memorable events and the role #SocialMedia played in them. The final chapter is a great essay which in its own also traces the history of internet and social media in India. A must read for anyone who wants to understand this space. It's important that they understand this as the future is going to be Internet driven.
January 12, 2018
Nicely written book. Reminded me on all the things which have happened in the last 7~8 years. Now I guess we cannot underestimate the power of Social Media.
January 8, 2021
A collection of case studies of various events which led to rise of social media usage in India. Good to know from a person who led some of these events on social media.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews