India and the Internet: To Inform and Engage [WSJ]
By PRASHANT AGRAWAL
online.wsj.com
Given you are reading this on the Internet, you have probably seen the ads for L.K. Advani's website. As a purveyor of the only (or one of the few) dedicated Indian political sites, we were grateful for the Internet advertising onslaught.
However, the Indian general election of 2009 will not be remembered for its use of the Internet.
Contrast that to the 2008 U.S. election where Barack Obama's rapid rise was in due part to his use of the Internet. The man behind Obama's Internet campaign, Chris Hughes (a facebook founder) just made the cover of this month's Fast Company, a U.S. business magazine. Hughes and his team effectively used the Internet to galvanize Obama supporters across the U.S.
His team, according to the magazine, allowed supporters "to create groups, plan events, raise funds, download tools, and connect with one another. And by the time the campaign was over, volunteers had created more than 2 million profiles on the site, planned 200,000 offline events, formed 35,000 groups, posted 400,000 blogs, and raised $30 million on 70,000 personal fund-raising pages." Those are heady numbers and no other candidate worldwide has used the Internet so effectively.
In India, the most supporters any politician has been able to garner on any social network is roughly 10,000, or less than 1% of Obama's numbers. Yet, politicians will be well served to take heed of the Internet's potential. India has the right ingredients for mass Internet action.
“Citizen initiatives are showing the reach and potential of the Internet in India.”
Two factors will drive such action : (1) increased Internet penetration and (2) a young population. India's Internet user base is expected to go from 50 million to several hundred million in the coming years. Like India in general, this user base is skewed heavily toward the young. Obama's use of the Internet was driven by sophisticated, Internet addicted youngsters.
There are at least a dozen potential Internet stars in India. Devoted followings create a loyal user base. Nationally, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, and Narendra Modi are among the three most likely to develop a mass Internet following. Regional stars likely to emerge include: Mayawati, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Chiranjeev, and Jayalalitha.
Two newcomers to the Indian political scene -- Shashi Tharoor and Rajeev Chandrasekhar -- have the charisma and resumes to build dedicated Internet followings (full disclosure: we are working with both of them). Others with potential that may surprise many would be Nitish Kumar and Raman Singh, chief ministers developing a reputation for effective governance.
Given that one can't raise money in India, which the Obama team so effectively did, Indian politicians will have to use the Internet in other ways. (1) To get out the vote: Milind Deora and his Internet team are making sure that people get out to vote on April 30, which is the start of a three day weekend. A politician could use the Internet to galvanize young voters and garner votes. (2) Build local cells. Obama effectively supplemented the Democratic party apparatus with his volunteers. A savvy Indian politician could do the same, building dedicated teams across India (or across a state). (3) Engage the voters. Obama's team effectively engaged voters, making them feel part of the campaign. The campaign isn't just about informing, but engaging through blogs, discussions and groups.
Two groups here that have effectively used the Internet are Jaago Re and No Criminals.org. Jaggo Re has helped several lakh voters register, many for the first time. No Criminals.org has partially built its organization on the back of the Internet. CV Madhukar, one of the founders of the NoCriminals.org initiative said that "people from different walks of life have come forward and begun to participate in the democratic process." Citizen initiatives are showing the reach and potential of the Internet in India.
This election won't be about the Internet, but the next one will. We will see maybe million-person groups generated by politicians of all stripes. |
