SHY TO A CAMPAIGNER

I had a different feelings about the use of social networking despite  attending  trainings and academic programmes on various occasions in the past. For me, before the training, social networking was like waste of time. In fact, I did not use social networking sites for my professional purpose. I had Facebook and Twitter accounts since these came into existence. But the use was almost zero until I participated in this training programme.

EYE OPENER

My attitude about the use of these tools completely changed with the training of the ICFJ . I now realised the importance and I  have started to use these tools regularly. With the use of facebook, twitter and other social networks, I have become like an addict in positive sense. The training helped to explore its importance, share experiences and ideas among the participants across the western and Arab World. More I use, more I become interested and more I like to dive into the depth of digital tools. It has given me new ideas. It paved the way for unlimited resources and contacts across the globe. It really opened my eyes.

DAILY USE

Thanks to the ICFJ that I have become a daily user of the social networking. I was sceptical when The Guardian newspaper , the first newspaper to embrace twitter, started to publish in twitter last year. Now I have started to use twitter and facebook on regular basis. I had to make so many calls and send emails for a brief time to discuss some issues with officials, now I  can catch people like  David Miliband, Fareed Zakaria  in twitter.  So are facebook and other social media. It has provided unlimited sources of resources with sharing ideas and professional interests and research. This will help me for my research and writing in the future. It is really exciting!

ADVANTAGEOUS

I learnt the technique of blogging. I knew the importance of links and how and what to  link.  Made links to important news media. Connected  friends in my blog. Added RSS. The ideas of adding video, image, audio and giving links to other sites was an exciting experience.  I renewed my Facebook and Twitter accounts.  I started to use Twitter and Facebook regularly. All these tools have different values and importance. They are fruitful. The importance of RSS cannot be compared with  Facebook or Twitter   as they have different features and value. These tools are better than the others for me.

Over 150 people  are connected with me in Facebook and Twitter within a short span of time- within a few days. This is amazing!

After watching the devastating scene of Haiti earthquake , we have campaigned for Haiti help. There is positive response from people. Some have donated through Oxfam  and  various other  UK organisations. It is powerful, instantaneous, effective and links us  all together. The links and interconnections is so strong that connects the whole world therefore Facebook is very effective.

BETTER USE

The beauty of online is the combination of  text , video , images and various other tools. We should utilise these tools appropriately following journalistic ethics, norms and values. These are also effective for campaign and research in addition to journalistic works. In addition to my regular professional works, I will also utilise these tools for the research of my book on immigrants, social networking and campaigning for freedom of the expression.