How Not to Offend 1 Billion People in a Tweet

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (?????? ??????????) is a Sanskrit phrase from the Upanishads, which means "The world is one family."

The Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi used this phrase in a recent interview adding that "This is in our DNA, this is in our genetic system."

Digital natives will speak enthusiastically about the power of social media and the number of people that we can reach and inspire with our true voice. However, on the flip side, there is the risk that a tweet could suddenly go viral and offend over one billion people. Venture capitalist and Facebook board member Marc Andreessen learned this lesson the hard way much to his chagrin. 

It all began with a profound and I might add noble idea from Facebook that aimed at getting the digitally disconnected section of users from India online by offering them free Internet via Facebook’s ‘Free Basics Service’. This simple concept seeks to give those from the developing world the online voice that so many of us take for granted. It appears however, that there was a pretty big catch to the deal, and it wasn't long until the inevitable backlash ensued.

The new “Free Basics” service was only going to grant users access to certain websites including of course Facebook, while blocking access to the rest of the vast Internet. This evidently left many people fuming at the prospect of creating a digital divide between the rich, who had access to everything on the Internet, and the poor, who would only be able to browse certain sites and services. The result was an all out public battle that ended with Indian regulators rejecting the ‘Free Basics’ service and making a stand for net neutrality.

The Internet was built on the simple concept that everything online should be treated equally. However, it was not created to encourage the likes of Facebook and others to attract large masses of users to their platform, especially those from a country boasting one of the largest and fastest growing Internet communities on the planet, through a no-fee limited access service camouflaged as a free public utility. 

The key point here to note is that in many of the regions including in India where the Free Basics service was launched with local Carrier partners (Reliance Communications in India), the lion share of Free Basics users were not the digitally cut off group of first time Internet users that the service was actually intended for, but instead were consumers that already had existing data plans in place but who would start using Free Basics to access Facebook and other sites once their paid data access would hit its periodic data credit limit. It didn’t take long to see what was going on behind the scenes – that local carriers that were partnering with Facebook and footing the “Internet access” expense for Free Basics, were indirectly helping Facebook retain customers by allowing them to access Facebook for free, while subscribers from competing carriers who had not partnered up with Facebook would have to pay for the same access. 

It is estimated that India has over 400 Million Internet users currently and 130 Million of them log into Facebook at least once every month i.e. nearly 30% of India’s existing Internet population. Coupled that with the 100+ Million WhatsApp users from India, an App that Facebook owns, a percentage of whom may not have Facebook accounts, suddenly India starts to become a titanic source of Internet traffic for Facebook, an audience that is only growing by the second. 

Personally I feel that instead of giving unlimited access to a controlled Internet, Facebook could serve India better by giving free reduced access to the entire Internet! 

Meanwhile, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg provided the classic parental line of “I’m disappointed” but vowed to continue his crusade to ensure that everyone has access to the Internet even if it is only to literally a handful of curated pre selected, pre partnered websites including of course Facebook. 

This is the moment that Facebook board member and the legendary silicon valley VC Marc Andreessen stepped up and decided to be the Guru on Indian history and politics by controversially comparing colonialism with the resistance of Facebook’s free Internet offer. The tweet was later deleted, and a spokesperson quickly advised

“ We certainly don’t agree with and did not endorse Mr. Andreessen’s comments, and are glad that he has apologized”

India was under the control of the British for nearly 200 years before finally gaining independence back in 1947. Blaming anti-colonialism for rejecting free Internet services was naive at best, incendiary otherwise, no matter how well intended the words were meant to be. In the end the tweet simply implied the rather ridiculous and unfounded claim that India was economically better off under colonial British rule than it has been as a free independent nation! 

This controversy continues to fill our timelines only a few days after official figures revealed how India is now outpacing China's 2015 economic growth. 

Thankfully the Age of Empires is nothing but a distant memory and the notion that a nation of over 1.3 billion people is better off ruled by a little green island next to France is quite rightly considered as ludicrous as it sounds. The availability of clean drinking water and sanitation could perhaps feature much higher on a wish list than getting a billion people onto Facebook posting funny cat videos.

Getting such a large number of people online clearly represents an incredible opportunity for India and it’s citizens. But, large corporations are also drawn towards making this a reality for very different reasons, and stepping away from net neutrality is a very dangerous precedent to set. A two-tier digital planet, one for the wealthy who have all the choice they need, and another for the poor with access to only the limited resources that Corporate providers would offer, should be avoided at all costs. We have to avoid Internet gate-keepers that will stifle innovation and limit access to smaller yet vital websites unable to join the gatekeepers' club of preferred partners. 

We need a level playing field where everyone can seize control of his or her own destiny. Ensuring that an entire nation is online with access to everything the Internet has to offer will fundamentally alter the socio-economic fabric of a nation and its people. An open web can create endless possibilities, and I firmly believe that all users independent of their economic strata deserve more than just Facebook, Wikipedia, and some News and weather forecasts from their online experience. 

This is a crucial moment in our digital transformation where we must ensure that all Internet data should be equal. It’s also been 20 years since John Perry Barlow declared cyberspace independence with a manifesto that stated why governments don’t and can’t govern the Internet. As we continue to progress at lightning speed, this document from our past

serves as a timely reminder of our responsibilities and in many ways feels more relevant now than it did back then. 

Behind the headlines, there is also a modern lesson in social media from this controversial story. Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugging Mark Zuckerberg for the cameras, it was the people that unanimously rejected Facebook’s transparent offer. We also learned the power of a tweet that even when deleted will continue to spread your foot in mouth moment around the world.

So where is Google in all this hullabaloo considering its new CEO Mr. Sundar Pichai is of Indian origin. Well, as it happens Google has been quietly picking up the pieces and recently announced a partnership with Indian Railways - the world's largest network of railroads to install 400 Wi-Fi hotspots at the busiest railway stations with 100 hotspots this year itself. CEO Pichai's blog post highlighting the new project explains:

"Even with just the first 100 stations online, this project will make Wi-Fi available for the more than 10 million people who pass through every day. This will rank it as the largest public Wi-Fi project in India, and among the largest in the world, by number of potential users...."It will also be fast — many times faster than what most people in India have access to today, allowing travelers to stream a high-definition video while they’re waiting, research their destination, or download some videos, a book or a new game for the journey ahead. Best of all, the service will be free to start, with the long-term goal of making it self-sustainable to allow for expansion to more stations and other places, with RailTel and more partners, in the future"

Google's Wi-Fi project has been embraced by the Indians with open arms.

The events of the last few days have provided many talking points and illustrated the need for open debate on these important issues. My only hope is that we all recognize that this is a much bigger story than just an Internet gaffe from a tactless venture capitalist.

In the end it's about giving people, all people, rich and poor, a level of service that the entire world enjoys. I leave you with these beautiful words from the Upanishads:

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (?????? ??????????) - The World is One Family