Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US coupled with his meeting with CEOs of tech giants like Facebook, Google, SAP and Microsoft have initiated a wave of great hope and aspiration in the burgeoning tech savvy Indian populace. As a follower of current affairs and a conscientious citizen of the country, my initial reaction was similar, this notwithstanding my ideological leanings.
This mass behavior pattern on social media piqued my interest and I decided to unravel it further. Honest to my intellectual integrity, I wanted to first know what changing of my DP meant and whether it had any repercussions, hidden or otherwise.
This isn’t a sociological discourse on unraveling ulterior motives, but reading about this social media initiative did unsettle me and I’ll tell you why. By innocuously changing our DP as a mark of patriotism, you are giving consent to Facebook’s Internet.org campaign. That’s right, the same initiative against which Nikhil Pahwa and team launched a nationwide signature campaign, AIB made a video which went viral and people from all walks of life objected to on the basis of defeating the purpose of a free undistorted internet.
What amazes me is this paradox of public opinion – while on one hand there is vehement opposition against the internet.org initiative as it challenges the fundamental tenets of net neutrality, on the other hand creating your DP using fb.com/supportdigitalindia is in effect supporting this very demon.
This probably is a master marketing stroke by Facebook. Alternatively, there may be a correction statement that is released publicly when this issue does gain critical mass. For now though, one thing’s certain – tech based marketing campaigns are easily mobilized, especially when flavored with large doses of patriotism, and the debate on internet neutrality is here to stay for a while.
Should You Change Your Facebook Display Picture?
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