The first one-minute video of the Media Buddhi A-Z series is here. It is on the word anonymous (‘A for Anonymous’). Here’s the video.
My biggest worry is that the one-minute format will force me to say stuff that is so banal, so lacking in depth, that it will essentially come down to my stating the obvious. And yet…sometimes the obvious needs to be stated, and I’m not convinced just yet that this format won’t work.
Why stick to the one-minute limit? And why is the video vertical? Because I’m hoping it will go far, and that those curious will explore the topic of each video on their own. The format is vertical because that is the current rage on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts. I’m guessing it will do well on Twitter as well. (This video is for now only available on YouTube Shorts though.)
There are three other things to say.
One, the intended audience for this series is the beginner. Someone who rarely thinks about dis/misinformation, polarisation, extreme speech and propaganda.
Two, the one-minute limit doesn’t allow me to use examples for each concept. Which can be a problem. After watching this video, a friend of mine wrote to me on WhatsApp, “see if you can add some real life examples which will help people to relate to the topic you are speaking.”
The problem with giving an example for each word in the series is that the best examples also tend to be the most polarising. I don’t want to lose someone just because I pissed them off. Still, I will add examples from the next video onwards.
Three, the video series is a bit like me thinking through this stuff in real-time with you. It is not the finished product and neither is it intended to be. It is meant to be a beginning.
For those interested, I used Instagram Reels as the ‘editing software’ and downloaded the video for other platforms. I’ll continue experimenting with the format. Some of these experiments might work, some might not. For example, the same friend who told me to add examples said, “you are too close to the camera. Your face almost covers 80% of the screen.” I’m fixing that, Arun.
Transcript of A for Anonymous
“A for Anonymous meaning … not known or identified. Anonymous people are a real problem in the age of social media and messaging apps. Now being anonymous used to be a good thing on the internet: It protected your identity and kept you safe. But the flip side turned out to be really bad.
So a person anonymous on the internet could be a really nasty troll who says the worst things. Like rape threats, death threats or worse.
Even if the troll is not anonymous, let’s say, is part of a number of people attacking somebody online, the sheer numbers give this troll anonymity.
But even if you’re not a target of trolls… you’re still the victim of anonymity every, single, day.
That’s because pretty much anything you read on the internet, like on WhatsApp comes with no source. No authorship, or worse, with a false name. That’s as good as anonymous.
So: anonymous people and [anonymous] sources — a big no-no. That’s Media Buddhi A-Z for today.”
For those who want to explore more, here’s a 6:40 video I did on trolling.
And here’s a piece I wrote titled, Trolling: Answers To 13 Questions You Might Have About It