In this “FILTY” world of ours, journalists have to slog a lot!

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What began as a personal interaction platform of sorts has taken on an extremely complex form, more elaborate than Chinese whispers.  I call it a ‘FILTY’ world. So what exactly is this world?  It’s just a word I coined using the first letters of #Facebook, #Instagram, #LinkedIn, #Twitter and #YouTube. The only saving grace in this high speed digital world controlled by man-tweaked algorithms are, to some extent, your email accounts whether it is Gmail or Yahoo or simply your official company email id and of course your own website.

FROM FILTTY TO FILTY

Till recently it was a ‘#FILTTY’ world, but thanks to the government of India banning TikTok, the Chinese app, it’s now come down to a ‘#FILTY’ world. On the face of it, the social media platforms came into being as a simple interaction tool, more on a personal level. But over a period of time, each of these platforms have transformed into multi-billion dollar entities with considerable clout and relevance. It’s fun no doubt. You can post anything you like, watch anything you like, read anything you like, entertain yourself as much as you like, and in the bargain, either waste an eternity or gain something meaningful.

I cannot comment on journalists covering other beats, but can definitely vouch for auto journalists. The professional chores of the latter have increased manifold. That led to a dilution of professional output and a mind boggling scramble to clock huge “numbers”. Numbers pertain to the number of views your posts / comments / videos have, the number of subscribers you have, the number of likes you have, etc.

Thus when #autojournalists as well as journalists covering other subjects started their pursuit for survival and supremacy in this digital world, they knew they had to get these huge numbers. The unfortunate part was that there was no level playing field and no standard to be maintained. All you needed were lots of time, ingenuity and deep pockets.

FOR PROFESSIONALS AND CLOWNS ALIKE

Let me give you an example. Being an auto journalist, whether I like it or not, I have to tweet, I have to upload videos on YouTube, I have to be active on Instagram, I have to also be addicted to Facebook, besides writing something or the other on LinkedIn (this platform is meant for professionals from varied backgrounds, but it is also slowly losing its sheen). And as a journalist I have to ensure that I do things sensibly and professionally..

But unfortunately this space is open to all, from professionals to clowns. The participation on these platforms involves a lot of hard work and time.

But then again, popularity on these platforms is not all about hard work alone or even polished performance. It can also be about no-holds-barred buffoonery. You can buy your fame here. Your views, your followers, your likes, etc can be bought with money. While individual journalists slog their hearts out to stay relevant in their profession by being an active participant on the social media platforms, and also by competing with all kinds of dubious characters, many of them just cannot match the clout of the rich. It could be CEOs of big companies, the companies themselves or rich kids who pour in insane amounts of money to stay ahead on these platforms. People sometimes endanger their lives trying to stay ahead of competition by doing dangerous stunts and acts. Many a times absolute crass churned out by some, become "viral" in no time.  

CHECKS AND BALANCES MATTER

I have often remarked to my friends that it’s only a matter of time when “auto journalism” will lose its relevance. I feel we have already reached the stage. Like parrots we say everything they (auto companies) want us to say. No one wants to probe into anything. No one wants to tell the real facts.

For example, the other day LML Emotion of Yogesh Bhatia unveiled three electric two wheelers. Every journalist went overboard praising his efforts and his future plans. Motown India was the only media outlet in the country that probed into it and found out that the concept vehicles were made by a company by the name of Desmania Design based out of Gurugram. The Bhatia controlled LML Emotion has not yet zeroed down on any manufacturing plant for LML electric scooters. He had earlier launched electric two wheelers under the brand name #Detel. #MotownIndia had reviewed their first product, #DetelEasy. It was a product that had far too many shortcomings. They stopped making that (presumably it was a product assembled made from Chinese components).

AUTO JOURNALISM AND ITS RELEVANCE

With OEMs (vehicle manufacturers) and CEOs of leading auto companies having a major presence on the various social media platforms, they really don’t need journalists to talk about their products. With their mega money power and a separate social media team at their disposal, they have followers and subscribers running into millions. And every time they put up a picture or video, they can “boost” it to dizzy numbers, all with the help of money. But I am sure these companies will continue to humour auto journalists and keep them by their side. Like I mentioned in my earlier column, they need their “cheer girls” and their “cheer leaders”. And if these cheer girls are very popular, they can also be asked to dole out an award, like a “car of the year” or a “bike of the year” or just a pretty “company of the year”. Am I right?

In the meantime, the only space that I thought I had saved for my personal communications was “WhatsApp”. But this too is now bombarded on a daily basis with press releases and pictures from various automotive companies and their public relations firms. Everybody is desperate in today’s world; it’s just not me alone!