National Cyber Media Conclave – An Innovative Initiative

The National Cyber Media Conclave, 09 was organised in Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune (SIMC) on the 28th March, 2008 at the Symbiosis Knowledge Village, Lavale, Pune. The event panned over the various aspects of the cyber medium through a daylong seminar by interacting with industry experts of the cyber media. The event highlighted the transformation brought about by the cyber media and marked the future of this ever changing and ever evolving medium.

The National Cyber Media Conclave hosted two panels of speakers and was inaugurated by clicking the mouse. The session began with the first speaker Mr. Kiruba Shankar (Co-founder, The Knowledge Foundation) addressing the audience on maximizing the social media connects. He gave a live example of how the internet actually helped him in crisis, spoke about technical writers and the connection of blogs with the mainstream media. Next up Mr. Shivram Vij (renowned blogger, Delhi) spoke about the initial differences between the mainstream and cyber media and how over time they have started supplementing each other. He also spoke about the Pink Chaddi Campaign. He concluded leaving the audience with the thought of the relationship between the social and mainstream media. The next speaker, Mr. Shiv Bhaskar (CEO, The Viewspaper) spoke about the cyber media being the ultimate fourth estate. The last speaker for the session was Ms. Jasmeen Bhateja, (Founder, The Blank Noise Project) who spoke about how this media can be used effectively for Social Activism. The dais was then opened to questions and answers wherein issues like social activism, Google algorithm, credibility, social vs. political uploads were answered.

The topic of discussion for the second session of the seminar ‘Emergence of the web as a medium for branding and Marketing’ saw a host of speakers such as Mr Rajesh Lalwani, (CEO and Founder, Blogworks) take the stage. Mr Lalwani elucidated how the evolution of Web 2.0 and blogs in particular, has provided organisations with a new channel to connect to their customers. The second speaker for the session, Ms Rashmi Dhanwani, (Manager- Media & Internet, Breakthrough) spoke about the successful application of various interactive, social media in the famous Bell Bajao campaign- an anti domestic violence campaign by Breakthrough. She also spoke of the use of innovative methods, like gaming, for creating awareness about issues like deportation in the USA. Namit Bimbhat (CEO- Switch Media) the next speaker for the session threw light on the evolving face of online video. The fourth speaker for session, Mr J.Mahadevan, Vice President- Products- Bharatmatrimony.com described how each new media tool, be it Facebook, LinkedIn or bharatmatrimony, satisfies a particular user need. The final speaker for the day, Mr Atul Chitnis (Senior VP, Geodesic Information Systems and one of India`s foremost technologists) spoke on the increasing application of Open Source Software in all electronic gadgets and how most applications would soon become paid services. A workshop was also organised in which Mr. Lalwani and Mr. Chitnis would interact with the students for further discussions.

NCMC brought together stalwarts from the cyber world on a common platform and addressed the students on various topics leaving them a lot more enthusiastic and interested in the interactive, involving, engaging and empowering cyber media.