Young Indians (Yi) Response Programme- Social Media, Boon or Bane.

Last Thursday (January 12^th, 2012), I participated in a debate on "Social Media" organized by Yi-Net. Yi-Net is an integral part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India’s premier business association, formed in the year 2002, with an objective of creating a platform for young Indians to realize the dream of a developed nation. This debate took place at the CII conference room, Mumbai, where my debate partner was Sanchit Korgaonkar. The format of the event is mentioned below

1)       One team member from each team had to give an opening talk not exceeding 4 minutes.

2)       Questions were posed by the panelists to each team. The answering team had 2 minutes to respond to the question. The opposing team was then given 1 minute to oppose the teams answer.

3)       Each team was given a chance to ask the other team 2 questions. For each question, the opposing team had 1 minute to respond with an answer.

4)       The second team member (the one who did not give the opening talk) was allowed to give a 2 minute closing argument supporting their viewpoint.

The event had three panelists and they were experts in the field of Social media. The most conspicuous feature of this debate was the interest the panelists took in the points raised by the teams. K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research, NMIMS and St. Xavier's College were the other three institutes that participated in the competition.

The whole debate lasted more than 50 minutes. The panelists asked questions on the challenges companies face when they opt for Social Media Marketing. There was a general discussion on topics ranging from Intellectual property rights to invasion of privacy. The panelists also discussed their personal and professional experiences in the field of Social Media Marketing and encouraged the participants to explore opportunities in this field.

Vijay Bhasker Reddy N

Master of Management
Batch of 2011-2013
SJMSoM