Unstructure

The conversation on this topic, frankly, has moved to the effects of digital technologies rather than the uses of the same… though, kudos to Namrata for outlining a comprehensive framework to reduce e-waste. I would like to talk about another digitally powered movement which has really impressed me.

As many would know, the world’s largest democracy (no, not America) is in the throes of government change through public consensus. I still remember, when I was still running around in my school shorts, that elections used to be a thoroughly single party affair – with the tri-colour flags/badges/banners of the all powerful Indira Gandhi led Congress party had all but an absolutely overpowering majority, not only in our minds but also in the halls of power. Things have changed since then with the rise of local politicians and more parties than Paris Hilton visits in a year, and the debate whether the change has been for the better or worse is still open. (next topic for Unstructure, eh editors?)

In my humble opinion, the country has developed in leaps and bounds in the past decade, surpassing any previous decade by a huge margin – but how much the government has to do with that development is suspect. For all that development, the youth of the country has emerged richer in terms of economic opportunity but poor in political empathy. Voter turnout in the previous two elections was predominantly of an older demographic by age, with a lot of critical seats being decided by voters in rural/semi-urban areas. The latter is to be understood, considering 70% of this country is still in the villages – but the non-involvement of the youth and the urban/educated lot betrayed a social apathetical malaise – which could not bode well for one of the youngest and fastest growing super powers in the world.

Then someone thought, maybe it is just a matter of education, convenience and the right messaging to get the youth back on the democratic track… and thus was born www.jaagore.com. Jaago Re (loosely means “Wake up!”), was started as a cleverly disguised marketing campaign by Tata Tea – one of the largest brands of Tea in India… with the tea acting as a catalyst for the youth ditching their soporific tendencies and registering to vote. When I first saw the commercial on television, I dismissed it as a gimmick. But the campaign continued unabated, with the website serving as the primary channel for anyone to register for voting – and before I knew it more than half a million people had registered to vote for the ongoing elections. And when I finally woke up, where was the first place I went to register to vote? You guessed it – jaagore.com. It was so simple, that  wondered, why hadn’t I done it so far. And I am sure that I wasn’t the only one… in fact a large majority of those half a million awakened people are young, educated and urban.

I think, digital technologies, headlined by the web, will achieve their greatest impact in terms of bringing people together, along with their thoughts and ideas. This is not just social networking, but maybe with digital technologies, just maybe, this world can have one voice – and that itself can be a solution to a lot of our problems today…

I implore each one of you to enjoy the simplicity of Jaagore… it is but a sliver of the impact technology is having on the world today.