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Utilize the power of social media to organize protests

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Supriya Rai
New Update

BANGALORE, INDIA: The recent protests in New Delhi against the gang-rape of a 23-year-old case served as a classic example of how efficiently youngsters leverage social media to organize and agitate against the government by standing united.

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During the agitation, many fora on networking sites, such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn and the like, gave a good platform to share views and plan events.

With Internet penetration increasing by the day, and more and more people getting tech-savvy, what better way than social media messages and mobile communication channels to interact with fellow citizens and manage agitations or protests.

In this background, you can follow these six simple steps to network online and be in touch with the outside world.

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1. It's very important to have an online presence, even if you don't like to share each and every moment in your life. Being on networking sites like Facebook and Google+ will help you stay connected with both your contacts and others. It also keeps you updated on latest developments.

Also, don't assume that not many Indians are not on networking sites. After all, Facebook has the second largest user base in India. Hence, communicating with a huge network is made really simple and very efficient.

2. Take initiative and set up Facebook pages, complaint/suggestion boxes, online petitions or groups on Twitter or Google+ and don't wait till someone else creates one.

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3. There are a lot of professional communication channels online, including some online petition networks, such as the one run by Google. Google says that one can organize a grass-roots petition by collecting web-based signatures from supporters of any cause using its application, which has a form.

4. Google Groups is another efficient channel to manage a group of like-minded people and to participate in online discussions on any issue. And, it helps a great deal, if you are in the company of youngsters, who are naturally tech-oriented and are familiar with these mediums.

5. You can use your smartphone effectively, for shooting images, videos and sending them through MMSes. Even quick SMS forwards will help a lot in circulating the message. You can also consider having video links with major networks that can be activated quickly.

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6. If you can, set up mobile communication centers with large screens, on which people can watch the proceedings at agitation points. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is used similar centers during his successful election campaign. The idea is to reach out to as many people as possible.

So, are you ready to face any situation by networking online?

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