Month: November 2022

Categories
Digital General

Twitter & Elon Musk

Elon Musk paid  44 Bill USD to acquire Twitter last week and take it private. This is the social platform that I have been active on since 2009. Over the years, I almost stopped using Facebook, have reduced my time on Whatsapp Groups and have never really done much on Instagram (got an account during Covid). I tried Clubhouse and didn’t stick around and was never a fan of TiKTok. However for the last 13 years, Twitter has been my social media companion. I like it for the following reasons:

  • Simplicity in usage – the product hasn’t changed much since Day 1
  • Forces one to be precise due the limitation on the length of the tweet. As someone said – “I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter.” I also like this as a consumer of content.
  • Has been less ad intrusive compared to Facebook & Google
  • Has exposed me to a wide variety of content and experts
  • Has transformed how I consume news – I have access to news, opinions, narratives across the spectrum of ideologies.
  • The social impact it has had – the uprisings in countries like Egypt, the ability to get people together for a good cause.

I have disliked Twitter for some reasons:

  • The top trends feature – some of which are manufactured by Bots and paid users
  • The trolling of politicians, media personalities, businessmen – instead of meaningful debate, twitter conversations are usually very hateful
  • Being misused to spread disinformation, though not as bad as Whatsapp or Youtube.

But on the whole, I have enjoyed this platform. Like everyone else, I am watching with trepidation the impact of the changes that Elon will do to Twitter:

  • The moderation changes – will it result in more hate, more disinformation, more entrenched positions?
  • The plan to charge 8$ per month for a blue tick – will it result in fake experts/spreading of false news? Will it mean that the “trusted” content creators will move away from the platform?
  • Will advertising increase on the platform – will the technology become better at targeting personalized ads?

Elon has created excellent companies like Tesla & SpaceX – he is an optimist and believes that the world can be a better place. So, I am hopeful, that what he does will be overall positive for Twitter’s consumers including me. For now, I am going to wait & watch.

Categories
Fire Safety General Uncategorized

Public Safety in India

It was horrific to read about the tragedy in Gujarat. A suspension bridge collapsed in Morbi and over 130 people died in the accident. This was a 100-year old bridge, which had been closed for repairs for the last several months and had re-opened only a few days before. While we await the results of the investigation into this incident, we need to reflect on the following:

  • As a society, we do not prioritize safety over convenience or profit.  According to NCRB’s report on Accidental Deaths in 2021 – out of approximately 400,000 accidental deaths, only 2% was due to forces of nature and 98% was due to causes like road accidents, fire accidents, electrocution, falls, drowning etc. These were all preventable deaths! Someone took a decision – delaying filling a pothole, overtaking a vehicle in a two-way road, using space for storage while blocking a fire-exit – which either a) resulted in the accident b) prevented rescue c) or both. In the case of Morbi, it appears that people in excess of the safe capacity were allowed on the bridge.
  • While we have strict laws to prevent such negligent behaviour, the enforcement and the legal system is woeful. There are cases which have gone through the court system for decades – one of them being the infamous Uphar fire accident. If a person believes that the risk of discovery is very low, or even when discovered, the penalty is negligible – they will continue to violate the regulations.
  • We do not believe that anything bad can happen to us – this is reflected in data on insurance policies. According to the Economic Survey 2021-22, non-health insurance penetration in India was at 1% compared to the global average of 4%.  How many of us look at where the fire exits are when we enter into a public space? How many of us remember what to do if we are caught in a crowd rush?
  • Safety is not an important topic during elections. Social issues, economy, education, healthcare, are all very important issues which get discussed & debated. Accidental deaths have not become a political issue and hence there is hardly any focus from the governments and political parties. As the 400,000 people who died, were distributed across the country, the impact is not felt nationally.

I hope Morbi doesn’t become another statistic but will trigger a conversation and debate on public safety. While we await a public shift on the issue, we should do what is in our control – a) create awareness – next time you write a review on a public space like a restaurant – give feedback on safety b) get trained on how to react in situations like a fire, overcrowding, water, related accidents etc c) and follow the rules – however inconvenient!!