Mumbai: The potential for digital & social media in India is unmatched, from the perspective of creators, platforms, engines as well as the audience. To address India’s Social Media Powerhouse, Republic Media Network hosted the first edition of the ‘Social Media Summit.' The event will be telecast on the channel this weekend.
The event brought together the best minds from different digital and social media avenues, from big-tech to Indian unicorns, from social media stakeholders to voices from the government - onto a single platform.
The summit kick-started with an off-the-cuff one-one session with Facebook India managing director Ajit Mohan and Republic Media Network editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami in a freewheeling conversation about regulation, accountability, and how platforms need to comply with the law of the land under the theme “Bringing the World Closer."
“Over the last six months to a year, there has been an incredible amount of conversation about social media, its regulations & responsibility. These conversations are not in isolation but linked to the fact that internet penetration, usage, accessibility has grown dramatically over the last decade,” said Goswami. “When we conceived the idea of Social Media Summit, it was to ensure that we take two steps back away from our roles as stakeholders & users, and look at it as something in which the future of the country is vested in.”
The event had several sessions, which included discussions on the fight against fake news, and social media market. ‘The Fight Against Fake News’ panel discussed the issue of misinformation and fake news. Moderated by Counselage India, managing partner Suhel Seth, the panel featured author Dr Ratan Sharda, Aarin Capital Partners chairman Mohandas Pai, brand guru Harish Bijoor, senior advocate Gaurav Pachnanda.
The ‘Buck Stops with Platforms’ panel deliberated if there is a need to regulate platforms and discuss whether platforms are above accountability. It featured scientists Anand Ranganathan, Supreme Court advocate and founder Cyber Saathi N S Nappinai, Supreme Court advocate, Digital rights activist Lizzie O’Shea, and senior advisor, ministry of I&B, Kanchan Gupta.
Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar addressed the summit on the impact of the social media influencer phenomena. The Keynote address focused on the potential of change and reach that being an influencer provides and the counterbalancing of this with brand integrations, social responsibility, and being real with the audience under the theme ‘Influencers on Centrestage.'
The ‘The Social Media Market’ panel deliberated on how equipped Digital India is to deal with this energised growth of social media. Moderated by the US immigration attorney Karthikeya, the panel featured Food Darzee co-founder Dr Siddhant Bhargava, magicpin co-founder and CEO Anshoo Sharma, Mullen Lintas chief creative officer Garima Khandelwal, and MYn founder and CEO AS Rajgopal.
The panel ‘Social Media: Bane or Boon’ panel was dedicated to truly understanding the conundrum and possibly finding a solution to the baffling new issue the world faces. Featuring ANI editor Smita Prakash, actor Madhoo, Sinan Aral, Professor David Austin Professor, and Shefali Vaidya. The panel was moderated by defence and strategic analyst Major Gaurav Arya.
The centrality of social media platforms to the creation and distribution of content will be a defining tenet of the Indian media landscape for the foreseeable future. Koo co-founder and CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna embodied the glorious potential of the Indian entrepreneurial spirit and the aspirations he has with respect to Koo’s future in his Keynote address under the theme ‘Future Social Media.'
The panel on ‘What’s Next for Social Media?’ deliberated on the new and emerging challenges with respect to social media platforms. Moderated by Republic Media Network executive editor-news Niranjan Narayanaswamy, the panel featured Trell CEO Pulkit Agarwal, Dentsu CEO APAC and chairman India, Ashish Bhasin, Verse Innovation co-founder Umang Bedi, and advocate Dr Pawan Duggal.
