New Years Blog 2012

Aha! New Year! Any resolutions? Reflections?

None to be frank.  It’s a new year, a blank sheet and I am going to start scribbling afresh.

I may not have a resolution but I have a vision- internet advocacy. 

It’s been an interesting journey trying to figure out how we can use the internet for activism and perhaps more.  I stumbled upon the world history educatorsblog where an innovative history teacher gives different online tools to integrate education with new media. We in India certainly need to make education more interesting and less stressful. The tools discussed in the blog might also help elsewhere in things like journalism.

So, I want to open tuition classes where I will try and teach students using online tools and apps. Come, ask questions, explore and be curios not quiet. I am already teaching history to my 15 year old cousin using interactive  Age of Empires game package, history channel documentaries and qwikies. Check out this Qwiki on the Mauryan empire  for example


View Maurya Empire and over 3,000,000 other topics on Qwiki.

Interactive online education- that’s   my first vision.

Here is one more blog which deals with ideating. Having creative ideas and marketing them online is its main focus. The blog tries to explore how you can use social media to track thinking trends online and how you can become a thought leader by building an online community centered around the topic of your interest. Of course, you have to generate quality content and build a discussion around it wisely enough to make people want to follow you.  The people associated with this blog hold a live twitter chat under hashtag #ideachat on every second Saturday.  Here is the chat room and here are the chat timings. Anyone having a twitter account is welcome to participate

So, I want to write a book. The publishers may criticize it, reject it or edit it in ways I may not approve of. My plan is to build a powerful online community, publish an e-book and market it myself. Or, I can publish a book myself and use the internet to market it instead of roaming the streets begging customers and retailers to buy it.

That’s  my second vision.

While browsing through articles on new media I also came across quk.com which allows you to stream live videos even from your mobile phone. The free version of the site allows only 25 videos live streaming and the premium version costs only about $5 still expensive but kind of affordable.

This site can be a good tool for citizen journalists.

I work at a news channel with limited staff which takes a whole day to create one news bulletin aird at 8 pm I create stories to suit the interest of the channel.  A considerable part of or nes content is depressing.

What we need is a live online news channel which gives only good, optimistic news.

That’s  is my third vision.

The internet is at the core of my vision. I believe  It is at the core of our emerging society.

If it is not, we’ll put it there!

So come, let’s get wired in 2012 ! ! !

Happy New Year!