Of user-generated content, ego trips and responsible journalism

I was sent a link to this article this morning which talks about how the web is creating online ego monsters indulging in solipsism. At the first glance it made some sense.

Yes, the anonymity of the web does lend itself to (some) people making exaggerated claims about their achievements or compensating for possibly real world limitations by indulging in virtual world fantasies. But the article took an extremely one sided stance about the issue.

''There is something about the web that brings out the ego monster in everybody… Even in their quieter modes, denizens of the web seem to lug around huge egos and deeply questionable assumptions about how interesting they and their lives might be to others.''

There are blogs out there which bring forth social, political issues people are facing forgotten parts of the world which people would otherwise have not noticed or bothered about. Collaborative blogs that have offered critical and timely help in times of crisis. Blogs discussing art, poetry, literature, business and what have you. There are blogs functioning as online help lines – yes there is only so much one can help through an online medium but it at least offers people a platform to vent their feelings and know that many others in the world go through the same issues. But Mr. Kinsley decided to leave aside ALL of these areas and talk about sites that are only host content that is personal in nature. Fair enough! Nothing wrong with that…Except – please tell me how does some one posting about his life making him an ego monster?

The web has provided a platform for people to share their experience as they go through life. So many people post pictures, videos and write about their daily life on public sites. It’s an effective way for them to reach out to their families and friends, all at once rather than sending multiple emails loaded with pics and cluttering up everybody’s mailboxes.

What I consider most important is – that people’s opinions and thoughts expressed on the web through blogs and sites have brought about some objectivity to issues. When earlier we lapped up content dished out by main stream media and other so-called authoritative sources, now there is greater choice available to the reader. User generated content offers the much needed reality check. Just read through the comments at the end of Mr. Kinsley’s article and you’ll know what I am talking about.

Sites like MySpace help people connect with others, much like Orkut or Friendster or online chat rooms of yesteryears. People go there looking for fun, companionship, titillation or an ego trip. People also build serious interest groups and learn from each other. You just get what you are looking for and Mr. Kinsley’s post is a case in point!

Signed
Ego Monster!

I'M Irony

We see each other everyday
You and I…
Close enough to share
the same few inches of space
yet…distanced by the silence
that has filled the space for years
You ‘away’ in your world
And me ‘busy’ in mine

*IM - Instant Messaging

Life is a voyage that is homeward bound

Living away from one's country of birth can be the fulfilment of a childhood dream, the end of a quest for a better life, a compulsion, and sometimes a decisions that you spend your life trying to reverse. For me it has meant many things...it was definitely not the realization of any dream. While growing up I never harboured the secret desire to 'go west'. It started off as being just a transition into a post married life. I did not like the experience of living in cold places, being away from friends and family, without a job, of not having the comfort of familiar sights and smells. Not then...and not now though its been six years. Fortunately, I have not been in a situation where i've had to dig my heels deep into a place. Through the last six years, on many occasions I have travelled back to India and lived there. Such transitions put you in a 'constant comparison mode' - while you are in one place you are longing for life in another and vice-versa. But these moments of transition also give you a chance to reflect on what is it that really matters to you, what do you value, how do you want to live your life and more importantly where?

There are pros and cons to every decision. I have often heard people say - that outside india - the systems work & the air is clean and there is no filth on the streets and no potholes on the road and the standard of living is higher and there is respect for personal time and space and people don't cheat you and everybody is so literate and polite and courteous and its ok to see on celluloid - shahrukh khan go to the village & try to create electricity but ground realities in india are different!

My point is - yes - if you buy what you just told me and are happy living like that, if you chose to lead a systematic and ordered life and a materially comfortable life, please go ahead and live it. My choice is different. I chose the chaos, the colour, the noise, the warmth, the feeling of belonging, the rootedness, the comfort of familiarity, the pollution, the potholes, corruption, inefficiencies, faith, the sound of my language, sunshine, crowds, sweat, curious inquisitive people and everything that comes along with a life in India. I feel an inexplicable sense of peace and calm when i am there.The reassuring feeling that one experiences after returning home from a luxurious holiday. The home that may be a far cry from the comforts of the hotel you stayed in - but warts and all -it still is your home! I know so many people who have lived abroad for so so long that leaving everything behind and returning is a next to impossible situation - because of a feeling that their kids may not be able to live in india, they may not find work that suits their credentials, they may not be able to adapt themselves to the work culture of this country - but still yearn for life back home as it were. My point is know what you want and make that choice! Don't spend a lifetime yearning for one thing, doing the other and regretting your decisions when you look back. And for god sake don't travel on a road so far, so fast that you forget your way back home.

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I had this conversation with my mom (whose family had to leave their home town during partition & moving to another country was not a decision - but an unfortunate play of fate) a few days back who asked me

Mom: mujhe to samaj nahin aata ki basa basaya ghar, basi basayee zingadi ko ujaadkar log kahin aur jaakar kyon rehna chatein hain?
I dont know why people would want to uproot themselves from where they have been living and go and try and settle down somewhere else.

Me: (not very interested in the conversation) Paisa...mom...money!

Mom:Kitna paisa...kya karoge paise ka...humne to jitna mila otne mein zindagi guzar li...aur achhi hi guzari
How much money...what will you do with it...in our time, we learn to make do with what we had...and i think we led a good life

Some days back i was listening to the song from the movie naam (chithi aai hai)- that describes a father's plea to his son who goes abroad to earn money & before he knows it gets sucked into the situation so badly that is unable to get out ...and these lines stuck in my head...

Tune paisa bohot kamaya, is paise nein des chudaya...Aaja umar bohot hai choti...apne ghar mein bhi hai roti...

You have earned a lot, tis the money that made you leave your homeland. Come back - life is too short...we have enough at home to afford our meals.

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As I sit today and reflect on my choices, my conversation with my mom and the song i heard some days back...and though I think i can still trace my way back home, just in case i falter these thoughts will act as a beacon of light that will help me find my way on my road ahead. And I hope you find your way back home, too !

Home,india,living away from home,