The Department of Communicative English conducted their annual Media Fest on January 16, 2013. This year the theme for the Fest was, “The Keyboard to New Media – Internet Overload?”. The event was preceded over by the College’s Principal, Dr. C.S. Elizabeth, Karan Medappa, Public Relations Professional and Freelance Model, Islahuddin, Manager of Qyuki and Rakesh Kumar, Radio Jockey at Radio One.

New media refers to on-demand access to content anytime, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community formation around the media content. In 1984, Rice defined new media as communication technologies that enable or facilitate user-to-user interactivity and interactivity between user and information.

The Panel Discussion that was held in the first session of the program was the highlight of the day.The Panel Discussion focused on the theme, “The Keyboard to New Media – Internet Overload?”. The Panelists included Karan Medappa, Islahuddin, and Rakesh Kumar. They briefly discussed the pros and cons of the Internet and the safety that one needs on the internet. “How much is too much?” was a common question that was echoed by each one of the panelists. Mr. Islahuddin spoke about how the times have flown – from the times of the ‘kabutaar’ letters to online communication. He also stated that the Online medium can swing both ways – good and bad – and it really depends on how we use it. Echoing this was Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Radio Jockey, who states, “How much of the internet or information is actually on your hands?”. Karan Medappa, on the other hand, stated the importance of content and the importance of Public Relations in a fast changing world.

To break the serious tone of the first session, the Rock Gospel Band, Apocalypse performed. Their performance was spread over a period of half an hour. Their performance garnered much appreciation from the audience. The Guest Singer, Kekri – a runner up of Naga Idol, also held the audience’s captivity and had gotten a lot of support from the audience. Their performance can be seen on YouTube, at this link.

There were various events spread through out the day and included Ad Presentation, Internet Spoof and Photography. The participants participated in all the events with great enthusiasm an showed great interest. The Paper Presentation saw participants talking about various topics, ranging from getting noticed on YouTube to the power of new media in social media. The event, Ad Presentation, saw a lot of participants enacting out a advertisement to promote the chosen topic and saw an variety of talent come out. Topics varied from Women safety to promoting a new motorbike.

The fest ended on a successful note, with an ever eager audience and participants from various other colleges. One of the participants of the Fest stated, “I have learned a lot at the fest today, especially about the New Media. Along with the learning that I had today, I had a lot of fun and an great experience.

source: http://www.coolage.in / Home / by Pooja Svathi Mahesh, Jyotivas College – Bangalore / January 19th, 2013