WhatsApp Vs Signal: Battle of The Messenger Apps

So one morning I wake up, check my Twitter feed, switch to WhatsApp, out pops a notification telling me that the messaging app now intends to share my data with its parent company Facebook and I have to accept it's terms by February 8 or it will kick me out of its platform. Of course I don't like the idea but I don't like the tone either. But do I click on "accept" right away because I don't want to lose my WhatsApp account ? After all it is where all our interpersonal communication take place, email now is strictly for official correspondence. However, I clicked "not now" hoping there might be a way out from this forced consent. I have never been a big fan of WhatsApp, so perhaps it was time to look for alternatives.

Posted By Danish 1:13 AM

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Aadhaar Challenge: A Perception Battle

Lately my Twitter timeline has been providing me with some sort of amusement at what seems to be a counter-campaign by the UIDAI and its supporters to control the narrative or at least fight the perception battle to the relentless anti-Aadhaar campaign being run on the micro-blogging platform by online activists since last few years. It has perhaps became important for UIDAI to take initiative as the discourse on Twitter has largely been controlled by those opposed to it and a part of the mainstream media, since the media inevitably picks up the dominant narrative on Twitter. Also, with the Supreme Court judgment on Aadhaar coming out any time, it might have seemed imperative for the UIDAI to undo some damage to the reputation of the Authority on social media, which would undoubtedly be important if the Court makes the Aadhaar truly voluntary. Whatever be the motivation, the fact is there is a Twitter war over Aadhaar in progress and its an interesting one. 

Posted By Danish 12:49 AM

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Privacy is a Right, Sharing a Pregorative

As I write this,the could-be-epochal Privacy Vs Openness Debate is raging on, Zuckerberg and his men are now announcing the changes they have been making to offer users more control over their data. However, I must admit that the whole privacy issue  in context to a social networking site seems a bit confusing,after all, social networks are all about sharing information. In fact, its not just social networks, sharing data is one of the fundamental aspect of the Web 2.0 paradigm.

Posted By Danish 2:29 AM

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