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Enough of the new media naysayers, digital Indonesia sees explosion in unity
Pocket digital cameras make everyone feel like a pro photographer
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Pocket digital cameras make everyone feel like a pro photographer. Click here, and there, adjust the color, remove the spots using Photoshop, and - voila! - you are Annie Leibovitz. Or, are you?
These days, combine the most coveted gadget - none other than the BlackBerry - and mini-blogging site Twitter, and - voila! - you are the top journalist, giving minute-by-minute updates on last Friday's bombings. Or, are you?
Some of us have may have hidden talents that could land us a career at The New York Times. But a big chunk of "citizen journalists" practice a form of *reporting' that could land them a career at only an hysterical tabloid, or as a bad stand-up comedian.
You can tell these less than ethical citizen reporters by their excessive postings of images of bombing victims. You can tell them by the overly frenzied laments as to how this country is doomed to fall apart now. Their spreading of unconfirmed rumors, planting of unnecessary hatred, and jokes about a national tragedy are also clear signs.
Not just prayers and condolences, but volatile cursing dominated Facebook pages after the bombings. We were exposed to a lot of negativity, fear, pessimism, and other symptoms that the terrorist had actually achieved their goal. I had to politely ask one of my friends to stop forwarding horrific images of victims of the bombings to everybody on his contact list.
We are in the early, disorderly days of New Media citizen journalism. In a country where every driver and biker slows down to gawk at a skateboarding accident, the level of eagerness to be the first one to know and to exaggerately share information is extremely high.
The fact that there are around 300,000 BlackBerry users in the country, then, helps generate a wild stream of information that can lead to more confusion than clarification.
Was it a third bomb in a car on a North Jakarta highway? Was there a bomb found in a mall? Did it really have something to do with the results of the Presidential election?
In the right hands, though, with people with mature minds and thoughtful hearts, these New Media tools can create magic in a flash.
On Friday, right after the bombings, a group of creative minds kicked-off the "IndonesiaUnite!" movement. Hundreds immediately joined the Facebook group. On Twitter, active online socialites were motivated to tag every tweet they made with "Indonesiaunite!" The objective was to show the world that this country will not be beaten by any kind of terrorist act.
More and more people clicked to show their support. Stockbrokers, housewives, musicians, businessmen, students and anybody who could go online joined in.
Positive messages were spread, offering free lectures on Citizen Journalism 101.
Stop posting horrific images. Avoid apathetic and pessimistic messages. Give only verified information. Generate hope. Encourage spending in local stores to protect the Rupiah. Don't discourage travel to Indonesia.
In just two hours, "IndonesiaUnite!" became the number one "trending topic" on Twitter. It simply means, if Manchester United officials clicked the link, they would read how Indonesians were truly uniting to support their country. Nationalism has become the new black.
On July 17, 2009, we were put through a lot of tests, including one on how to control ourselves and our fingers. Do we impulsively spread whatever information comes our way without thinking of the possible negative consequences? Or, can we stay composed, collected and counter the fear with much needed courage? We need to stand united and strong.
Combining healthy citizen journalism with a heavy dose of nationalism, the "IndonesiaUnite!" movement has actually shown the world that the only thing torn down by the bombs were walls between ethnical, social, cultural, religious classes in Indonesia. The bigger explosion was the explosion in unity of such a large and diverse nation was.
- Ve Handojo
