In Conferences, Speaking
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I should have been in Abuja, Nigeria today. This would have meant that I would be in Nigeria for the 3rd time in 3 years. I was invited to be the keynote speaker at the Social Media for Social Good Summit 2020 but because of Covid-19, this session of mine took place over Instagram Live.

For me, one of the charms of professional speaking is travel, experiencing new cultures, tasting new cuisines and making new friends. I truly miss that part. Nevertheless, it was a good experience experiencing the virtual hospitality of my Nigerian friends and it was a good session.

The topic I chose for my keynote was, ‘Never Waste a Crisis: Leverage Digital to Make a Positive Difference During the Pandemic’. I took 5 real-life examples to illustrate the 5 ways of how we can make the most of doing good using digital and social media.

  1. Turn a loss into an online crowdsourced community: I spoke about how Jaspreet Bindra turned the unfortunate incident of his pet passing away into a crowdsourced initiative to raise funds to feed abandoned dogs in animal shelters.
  2. Leverage the power of short-form videos to communicate your good deeds or highlight others’. I highlighted how Amar Ramesh and his team at StudioA, creative photography and video firm created Big Short Films to shoot documentaries of people who do amazing good deeds for others.
  3. The Reverse Brain drain: Why Covid-19 is a blessing in disguise of realizing that we can work from anywhere and an office is an option. This helps certain people in the technology domain to move back to their villages and towns and continue to work using digital.
  4. Save Jobs by Embracing Digital: I took the example of Prakash Silks, a prominent showroom in Kanchipuram who used Whatsapp Selling to continue to sell their silk sarees through Whatsapp Selling thus helping to pay salaries for its employees.
  5. Invest in Learning: If there is one thing that we have gained from the lockdown, it is time. Put it to good use by upskilling our knowledge. No matter which domain or specialization one is doing, learning digital strategies will help them in their career.