About 30 bloggers meet up at the Royal Rodale on Friday the 6th March 2009 for a discussion on how they're all playing a role in activating a different part of Pakistan to the local and international audience. Anyone who was there, and the few who had joined them through the live webstream on
http://justin.tv/ciopakistan and Skype, would probably agree that the discussion went places and was full of emotion. And why shouldn't it be? Blogging is about the personal expression - Activism is about the personal belief. Put both together and you're bound to have fireworks.
Much discussion was spent on the political blogging and the debate whether or not the personal opinion should influence the masses who don't realize the difference between an opinion and a verified story, a lot of really interesting points of discussion were touched upon. A few points are highlighted for further thought and archiving:
- A lot of the individual efforts need to come together.
Everyone means well, but rather than break up the audience and split their already-attention-deficient time, consolidate and collaborate. But for that to happen, you also need to have the need to let go and share the fame or whatever reason you want to engage in the greater good.
- You can't stop the negative image.
Pakistan isn't the only country in the world that has a negative side - every country does. The reason it's more 'in your face' right now, is because we don't create as much hype or excitement about the good stuff. Farzal's resolve to create a place where we can share the "talking points" list about what we have, will help generate a content deluge for this.
- Fariha and Farhan Chawla's point to blog about problems and solutions was also liked. Point one finger at a problem, and you'll have 3 fingers pointing back to you, making you a part of the entire equation! If you don't know the solution, reach out to someone else on the Blogosphere who CAN perhaps suggest a solution. This brings us back to the collaboration concept.
- Badar Khushnood shared a great deal of examples on what is already being done in Pakistan and abroad and how bloggers are taking the level of engagement up to a whole new level. Work together and complement bloggers who have different specialties. A very valid point to get the tech bloggers (Umair, Imran and others) who are in a position to help others more effectively promote content, to work together.
- Make a change, one at a time. A lot of the "resolutions" we requested the bloggers to create, seemed quite generic. Rather than digesting the entire world and winning the Nobel prize, let's be the change one person at a time. Change the mindset of one person or one friend. Litter one piece of garbage less. Start with one and work your way up. You'll be able to keep track of the progress.
The meet went on for a long time and different people appreciating various parts of the discussion. Perhaps the need here was just to get into a room and talk. The more platforms for discussion are created, the more discussion we will have, creating more empathy for the other perspective. Believe it or not, everyone has an agenda. We all know what we want to do for the promotion of Pakistan and we're all essentially doing similar activities to get there. Having more open discussion to assess exactly where we're all coming from, is essential. After all, we need to know where we're coming from, to know how to get to the destination together.
