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Elphinstone Disaster : Twitter, Government, MSM, and Us

Posted on : October 2, 2017 By
Elphinstone Disaster : Twitter, Government, MSM, and Us
Digital India Politics Social Media 

twitterIn the aftermath of the Elphinstone Bridge stampede, and deaths, it is good to examine the relationship between Social Media, Main Stream Media, and Politicians

Twitter, more than any other social networking platform, has changed the way Government interact and politicians interact with voters. Because you are on a platform with politicians and the who is who of society – lawyers, actors, journalists, authors, – and they deign to interact with you, the perception that your voice is bigger than it is, becomes amplified. We can speak to the Government, and the Government listens to us.

Politicians have used this well. Trump in the USA, Subramaniam Swamy in India – people without a traditional political base, propelled from the fringe to the main arena.

However, what is twitter really good for ? It is good for you hearing what you want to hear. Reinforcing our own biases. There has been enough and more written about the twitter echo chamber, and I won’t add to that. And, it is really good for optics – the reinforcement of the perception that something is being done.

Let us take for example the Rail Ministry, we have all seen, and felt ‘nice’ about the former Rail Minister’ Suresh Prabhu’s response to train travellers woes. Someone tweeted for diapers, someone else for a wheel chair, someone else for security – and it was all done. Proof – the government works.  Proof that the government uses social media to directly connect with the common man (or woman) to deliver their requirements. Proof that someone important is not just listening to us, but heeding what we say, and delivering.

Elphinstone Twitter

Elphinstone

(these are from the Railway Ministry’s twitter streams – original complainant’s id masked for privacy reasons).

And, this theory worked really well till the Elphinstone disaster. Tweet to get your passport. Tweet to get diapers. Tweet to get water. Tweet to get something that can be outsourced as delivery by someone else. A great method of chasing people to deliver services that were supposed to be delivered. We, the people, sadly began thinking, because transactional concerns began getting addressed that there was genuine change. How nice of a ministry – and it was genuinely nice – to deliver food to hungry passengers, or take up cudgels against over charging.

The media tracked Minister’s twitter accounts, put up stories. Stories got shared. We read them. Media got it’s eyeballs, ministers got kudos for being proactive, and we got our ‘good news’ fix – the perception that we have a government that listens to us – and delivers, because we ask. The sense that power has been transferred to us – the people.

And, then Elphinstone happens. And we all collectively realise that it is all a mirage. And, this is a fundamental unwritten rule of twitter. A tweet gets noticed when a higher followed account responds to a lower followed account, or when two highly followed account communicate – either to joke, or to spar, or to fight. The optics of efficiency were measured by who ministers, CEO’s, corporate handles, respond to -and how the response is, rather than what is being said and done.

What is missed out in all these exchanges is the nature of problems being solved. It is what in management terms would be called a hygiene factor- loo not working, fix the loo. Paper run out, get more paper. Coffee machine not working, get a new coffee machine. Hygiene factor, in organisations are of two types. there are those factors that lead to greater job satisfaction, and there are other factors, that if not addressed, lead to greater dissatisfaction. The same thinking is extended to customer service and satisfaction. There are certain things we expect as a given, when we buy a product or service. When those are lacking we are not just dissatisfied, but spread the dissatisfaction. Often people, when they complain on social media, about a product or a service, don’t expect instant resolution as much as an instant answer.  Half the negative chatter you see and hear on social media about brands, that you continue buying, don’t come from the quality of the brand, but the quality of response (or lack of it). And, this is exactly how the government has been using social media. Instant response for a relatively trivial problem.

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And, this is where the twitter for governance breaks down. It is great for delivering food, and diapers, and even speeding up passports being issued – but not so good for systemic problems. As the elphinstone disaster unfolded, and all of us reeled in shock, came another whammy – that there were 100 plus tweets over the last few years, all addressing the rail minister about the state of the bridge, and warning that there will be a disaster that would lead to a huge human toll.

There are more, but, you get the drift. There are two issues with these tweets – a) the minister or the railways didn’t respond. The media didn’t pick it up – because the minister or ministry didn’t respond. The media didn’t follow the news, possibly because ‘who cares for a foot overbridge in Mumbai’ used by the not so well heeled, who anyway aren’t our target audience;

While there were other sources like MP Sachin Tendulkar, or MP Arvind Sawant who brought up the issue of the crowded over bridge. They were assured that there would be change.

Former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had assured a Shiv Sena MP last year that a wider bridge would be built connecting Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban station. That didn’t happen and on Thursday, 22 people died and more than 30 were injured when a stampede broke out during rush hour on the narrow foot overbridge linking the two stations during heavy rain in the morning.

Who failed ?

Citizens who pointed out the problems of chronic over crowding ? Members of Parliament who took up the issue, and got a response, and assurance of improvement? or those in charge of the Ministry – politicians and administrators, who did nothing – except move files ? The day of the stampede and the deaths, the tender for expansion of the foot over bridge finally got released. abetted by the media, who is happy looking through star kid’s instagram accounts to put out news, but cannot follow a trend of complaints about a potential disaster. But, even the media is a minor culprit as far as this is concerned. Here i will lay the lay the blame at the door of the Government. There is no point having good intentions if you are a poor implementer. The cost of poor implementation is human lives.  It is a pity that Mr Prabhu was moved to a ministry where he could do less harm, because  this is a sacking offence. And, i am being kind – this is criminal negligence – and the person in charge ought to be charged with that.

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Role of the media :  The media has become lazy, indolent, and happy to feed off the scraps doled out by the government. Including following twitter feeds for insights, and press releases for information. While creating stories about twitter cat fights, and twitter dog fights, and glorious twitter responses – they forgot one vital thing – their job. Their job is not just to gushingly carry what ministers say. It is to ask why ministers or ministries aren’t responding to key systemic concerns. It is to ask, why monies sanctioned are not being used. It needs to stop wanting to be part of the Delhi mafia, and start delivering it’s job. Hygiene factor – can customers (you and I) be really satisfied with the media if the media is not delivering. ?

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