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#Patriotism 2.0: Are You A Digital Patriot?
Farhan Masood appears to be just an ordinary Pakistani at first glance. Inquisitive spirit in his eyes with a quest to learn and spread that knowledge. The unsuspecting people around him however were never once aware of what great feats Farhan has been performing and about his best, the one yet to come.
On August 9th, I received a DM on Twitter simply titled, “Show your patriotic colors for Independence Day, Go Green!” and shortly following that, an email with my original Twitter display picture turned “green” with a Pakistani flag superimposed in the background. In the true spirit of patriotism I jumped onto the “green” bandwagon. I began to notice others around me following suit to this flute player’s patriotic tune. Before you knew it, the Pakistani flag was fluttering around my social network and I too was enthused with the rejuvenated spirit of the fast approaching independence celebrations! It was only till I got into a meeting with him did I find out the astonishing facts behind this noble venture of Farhan’s. The entire movement began from the alarming rate of negative news being dowsed around on both social & traditional media about Pakistan. Farhan took upon the role of the crisis communicator unto himself and along with a few digital friends like Rumaisa Mohani, Awab Alvi, Faisal Kapadia amongst a score of others decided that the time was now. Pakiology, it seems was the birthblog of this movement which has now moved to its own domain here.
With Independence Day fast approaching, their rally garnered an astonishing conversion of 7000 Twitter & Facebook profiles. What started off with 37 members is now a movement with a subscriber base of a little over 14000 social profiles (as of 30th August, 2009), with several graphic designers and blogs joining in to volunteer for the cause. Those are the kind of numbers that brands pay good money to acquire in such short spans of time. These numbers include both Pakistani’s and foreigners, those who have titled themselves as “Friends of Pakistan”. “As an added incentive…” Farhan explains “we started turning people’s display pictures green ourselves and sending it to them in the hope of them rallying for our cause”. Farhan and the others started an ingenious method for the lazy social citizen by way of which you would send your picture to a Gmail account only to have it turned “green” and sent back to you. Those supporting the rally hail from all walks of life, many of them social media, some of them newcomers.
The whole experience has left Farhan completely humbled. Local media attention from notable platforms such as Dawn (The “Green” Revolution) and Geo TV has definitely been pouring in but no notable international coverage so far for a cause as noble as this. Farhan, who himself is a motivational leader heads up a local youth forum and is also an avid inventor working in the biometrics industry. He plans on forming a platform for social change by joining hands with other digital natives to spread the word and create better awareness about Pakistan. He also plans on forming a similar platform for different countries to parade their patriotism on the social web and help inspire those who share similar sentiments.
The reason I chose to share this insight with you all was simply because in a global newsroom surrounded by talk of corporate takeovers, mergers and foreclosures, we hardly ever hear of the little guy dreaming of big things. The mere objective of this entire movement was to rejuvenate a national passion, empower its people and show to the world that it isn’t “The Most Dangerous Place in the World” as Newsweek put it. Similar self-activated ventures by companies such as Talking Filmain and their recently unveiled documentary, Made In Pakistan (Trailer – Website) have also managed to sway public opinion both home & abroad while many more like Pakistan Rising are being nursed in their infancy both online & offline. It is the free-will of a group of citizens to take charge and make their homeland a better place to live in and should be the aim of all citizens of the human race. In a seemingly endless digital playground why must we let physical borders define our possibilities?
The story and struggle of a minority can inspire revolutions by a majority. Let it serve as an example that the digital age can inspire the human spirit rather than mechanize it and that the human spirit is alive and more vibrant than ever. If this post has garnered any amount of patriotic fervor (regardless of which country you belong to) I urge you to share this post with others you wish to reach out to.
