NATIONAL CYBER MEDIA CONCLAVE

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National Cyber Media Conclave

Pune, 28th March:The National Cyber Media Conclave, 09 was organised by Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune on 28th March, 2008 at the Symbiosis Knowledge Village, Lavale, Pune. The daylong seminar, covering various aspects of the cyber medium, provided a platform for students to interact with industry experts and entrepreneurs who have made a mark in this field. The event highlighted the transformation brought about by the cyber media and also encouraged thought about the future of this ever changing and ever evolving medium.
The event was inaugurated in an innovative manner by clicking the mouse. The seminar comprised of two sessions.
The first session on the Potency of cyber media for Social Change and Networking, was initiated by Mr. Kiruba Shankar , Co-founder, The Knowledge Foundation who addressed the audience on maximizing social media connects. He spoke about the increasing importance of technical writers as well as the connection of blogs with the mainstream media. He also emphasized the credibility and controllability of this medium.
Next up was Mr. Shivram Vij, renowned blogger, Delhi who explained how mainstream and cyber media have started supplementing each other over time. He enlightened the audience about the power of online collaborations and major events like the Pink Chaddi Campaign.
The third speaker, Mr. Shiv Bhaskar Dravid, Founder , The Viewspaper termed cyber media the ultimate fourth estate. He spoke about the advantages of cyber media in terms of lower cost, environment friendliness and ability to act as a catalyst for change.
The last speaker for the session, Ms. Jasmeen Patheja, (Founder, The Blank Noise Project) spoke about how this media can be used effectively for Social Activism. To this end, she also explained the Blank Noise project.
The session concluded with a question answer round wherein issues like social activism, Google algorithm and social vs. political uploads were answered.
The second session of the seminar on ` 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. Social media has changed the face of consumer behaviour. “ On the Internet, people speak out and share customer experiences. Thus marketers must look to engaging in conversations with their consumers through New Media”
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. “ Video is the social lubricant in our lives” said Mr Bimbhat. He made some suggestions for the improvement of online video in the Indian market, stressing on the need for improvement in video quality and greater investment in online video publishing and distribution.
The fourth speaker for the 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 about the increasing application of open source software like Linux in all electronic gadgets. He also stressed on the point that the various Internet services which we currently consume for free would soon become chargeable.
The dais was once again thrown open to questions, after which, the seminar came to an end
All in all the seminar was indeed an enlightening experience for the students of the institute, both undergraduate and postgraduate.