Followers, Views, Likes and the Blue Tick

In the good old days, some of us used to pick up the morning #newspaper to read the latest news, whether it was on #politics, #sports, local development or #business. The more voracious readers amongst us spent their time reading the Edit page where senior journalists and writers penned their views.

#Entertainment was limited to hearing songs on the #radio. #News and entertainment on #television were primarily confined to #Doordarshan which was, looking back, so primitive in its presentation.

Then came a time when the restricted television space in India was thrown open to private parties. Information and entertainment came in like a deluge and I remember my generation (I am in my late 50s) could not believe it.  With economic liberalisation in 1991, came dramatic changes. I was in my late 20s when I saw a different world through these new television channels. Even then, the news was still broadcast in a dignified and mature manner.

Then came #Google. It helped you to find any information around the world with a simple click of the mouse on your computer. #Socialmedia sites followed within a decade or so with #Facebook, #Twitter, #YouTube and #Instagram. All rules of good old reporting were tossed out of the window. While television channels started going berserk with their “Breaking News”, social media sites delivered news and views at the speed of light!

Like the great Indian “#guru” or the foreign televangelist with his or her multitude of followers, both foreign and Indian, social media users came to be recognised for their followers, likes, views and the fancy blue tick (in the case of Twitter). You could buy your followers, pay to get more views, pay to get likes, and eventually land up with a proverbial blue tick. It was as though nothing else mattered in this world except for your social media standing.

That’s where some old school journalists lost out big time. Suddenly they realised they had become redundant in a system that did not bother about the veracity of news, but the velocity with it could reach millions of people, however insignificant those millions could be! That brings me to my profession- that of an auto journalist.

Today, all an auto company needs to do is have its own Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts and then pay up and get all that they want…their followers, likes, views and the tiny little blue tick. Why send out their press releases to a bunch of #journos or #influencers? Why get their vehicle reviewed by some bloke and spend insane money? Just get a smart team of corporate communication guys and girls and buy your way into all these social media channels (in fact, that is the norm today).

Pray, why do companies even bother to entertain auto journalists and influencers? Maybe, it’s for the kicks!! Or is there a “Car of the Year” or “Bike of the Year” award hidden somewhere?