WhatsApp groups – sharing my experience, as an experiment in progress

1. WhatsApp groups
Sharing my experience, as an
experiment in progress

2. Hi
This is about my experience with a few
WhatsApp groups that I created with the aim
of facilitating business reporting in Chennai.

3. Business Journos Chennai
The first group that I created, a few weeks
ago, was with the name ‘Business Journos
Chennai,’ to enable sharing of notes and
appointments among business journalists in
Chennai. Its members include journalists in
print and electronic media, spanning regional
languages and English, who I generally meet
at press briefings and other media events.

4. Exciting posts
In recent days, there have been exciting posts
in the group, such as when reporters were
covering the Chettinad AGM, and the court
proceedings in the cable television case. There
have also been many instances of sharing
among the group members, of appointments
for the day, and the contact details of the PR
handling a certain event.

5. Sharing notes
Yesterday, at a book launch, an industry captain
was the chief guest, and I was recording video
snatches of the proceedings. The event details
had already been posted to the group, and at the
start of the event, I posted a photo, too.
A group member who was not attending the event
messaged to me that he wanted to know what
the chief guest spoke. My response, as you could
have guessed, was to take a photo of my notes
and send him on WhatsApp, as also post on the
group page.

6. Hope
I’m hopeful that we will have more of these,
despite the newer constraints that journalists
in mainstream media face in the form of rigid
social media policies.

7. Feeder groups
To feed into the Business Journos Chennai
group, I created, over the last few days, the
following groups:

8. PR for BizJournos Chennai
PR for BizJournos Chennai, inviting PR to post
info about events that should interest Chennai
business journalists.

9. Useful events 4 BizJourno
Useful events 4 BizJourno, with institutions
such as chambers of commerce and industry
bodies as members, for posting info about
important business, trade, industry,
management related events in Chennai and
not for any forwards and quotes!

10. Startups with Stories
Startups with Stories, aimed at having as
members a floating population of startups
that want to talk to business journalists in
Chennai about their new venture, expansion
plans, funding and so forth.

11. Thought Leaders Chennai
Thought Leaders Chennai, with prominent
enterprise heads as members. Today morning, I
posted on the group this message: “Business
journalism, as we all are aware, has its blind
spots. Feel free, therefore, to flag possible leads
and stories that my colleagues in the Chennai
financial media can take forward. Will be happy
to share your inputs with my other group,
Business Journos Chennai. Thanks for your time.”
The posts, I anticipate, may often be tweets
shared, to save on time.

12. Plans
Further plans include putting together a group
of business law practitioners in Chennai who
would like to engage the media on some of
the decisions, on a periodical basis; and also
separate groups of thought leaders in health
care, education, and so on, all tying in with
the larger purpose of a more comprehensive
business journalism in Chennai.

13. Evolving experiment
As of now, this is an evolving experiment
which lends itself to easy replication.

14. Thanks!
Will be happy to listen in to your
thoughts…
D. Murali
http://about.me/dmurali