Who would have guessed in 2004 that newly launched social network Facebook would end up with over one billion users across the globe today?

Who could have made the even wilder prediction that 2012 onward, Facebook would be the number one visited website in Pakistan (Alexa.com), outranking the all- mighty Google.

Today, the social networking giant’s growing impact in the country cannot be denied, and by 2015, with greater internet penetration, its influence in all aspects of our lives, from politics to entertainment will be profound.

Possibly revolutionary.

Pakistan stats

Total monthly active Facebook users in Pakistan: 8,648,000 (grew by more than 1,162,040 in the last 6 months)

Facebook penetration of overall country population: 4.69%

Facebook penetration of online population: 29.69%

Position in the global list of countries visiting Facebook: 27

Majority of Pakistani Facebook users are young:

13-17: 1,183,640 people

18-24: 4,275,900 people

25-30: 1,767,800 people

30-40: 1,135,320 people

40 and over: 503,080 people

There are 70% male users and 30% female users in Pakistan:

Male: 6,068,700 people

Female: 2,557,960 people

Top 5 Facebook Brands with Pakistan fans:

              PAGE                   LOCAL FANS

1              OLX Pakistan        1,621,693

2              Nokia Pakistan     1,191,454

3              Intel                       1,157,929

4              Ufone                    1,048,053

5              Zong                      810,776

Top 5 Facebook Celebs with Pakistan fans:

1              Akon                      1,302,719

2              Shakira                  1,219,284

3              Atif Aslam             1,207,911

4              Justin Bieber         963,422

5              Ali Zafar                925,408

Random Fun Facts

Dedicated to console gaming: 547,980 Pakistanis

Big on cooking: 458,200 Pakistanis

Have an interest in dance: 601,960 Pakistanis

Like literature or reading: 1,954,080 Pakistanis

Own old computers: 1,874,220 Pakistanis

Newly wed in the last year: 99,220 Pakistanis

Number of declared parents: 198,080 Pakistanis

Smart phone/tablet users: 1,424,280 Pakistanis

Like fashion: 2,179,280 Pakistanis

Relationship status single: 1,930,500 Pakistanis

Note: Fun facts stats are based on what people have included in their personal timelines.

All stats reflective of April 2013, and gathered from socialbakers.com, facebook.com

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, May 5^th, 2013.

Like Express Tribune Magazine on Facebook to stay informed and join the conversation.

Even those outside of the ‘liberal-fascist’ viewpoint are now beginning to understand that the months-long ban on YouTube is suspect, and few believe this issue is about blasphemous content anymore. The question is, who benefits from the YouTube ban in Pakistan?

Actually, there is quite a long list of those benefitting from the ongoing blockage of YouTube, including some very powerful players.

First of all, we have the establishment, who are reaping multiple benefits from the ban. The blockage of the video hosting site ensures that we no longer have terrorist outfits and banned organisations, ranging from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to Baloch nationalists, uploading daily or weekly video updates from within the country of alleged battle conquests, soldier beheadings, or worse, videos of men dressed in Pakistan Army uniform torturing people. On the one hand, the spread of the militant/extremist/separatist narrative has been blocked, while on the other, the negative PR against the establishment has been stemmed as well.

Secondly, we have the political parties breathing a collective sigh of relief with YouTube banned. Time and again, YouTube has proven to be a deadly thorn in the side of the political elite, increasingly so, over 2012, as more and more people started to understand that the online channel gave individuals the power (for good or ill) to attack, mock, even expose the wrongdoing of those in power. The little guy (along with the conniving guy) realised there was little chance of being caught uploading videos to YouTube, and a high probability of the content snowballing via social media all the way into traditional media.

Whether it was private phone conversations between politicians and their secret lovers, or yelling “Shut up” or cursing at a gathered crowd, or even your face crudely plastered on the body of a dog, the threat of YouTube fuelled by mobile phone access across Pakistan has left politicians paranoid and genuinely fearful of (ironically) the democratising effect of these technologies. Additionally, let’s not forget that some political parties are now directly threatened by the more web-savvy parties who have learned how to use YouTube to their advantage.

Thirdly, we have the media elite who are sitting pretty with the YouTube ban in place. Traditional media has built a rocky relationship with YouTube. On the one hand, YouTube is a gold mine of crowd-generated content and also provides a place for the media to take its own content’s reach further than ever before, and allow for unlikely social change (think Rangers Karachi killing video). On the other hand, whether it is in the form of the Maya Khan debacle, the Aamir Liaqat Geo scandal or the daily pummeling mainstream anchors and media owners take via YouTube videos bashing or exposing them, those that have the real power in the media are not happy, till now.

The pattern emerging is clear. The YouTube ban is a classic attempt, albeit in a new arena, by those in power to maintain the status quo by blocking access to information. The public has allowed them to do this because the ban was initially framed in the name of religion. While the world moves ahead to more nuanced political and social systems, it seems Pakistan is still living in a Karl Marx textbook.

Unfortunately for the powers that be, this system — as exemplified by this ludicrous ban on YouTube — will not hold. The way forward is democracy, which signals the end of such autocratic shenanigans. The Internet in particular is a largely democratic, if somewhat anarchic system, and all overt blocks and bans will prove futile. If YouTube is banned, people will find a way around it or find new online spaces to operate in. Ban Facebook? Ban Twitter? Ban all sites disseminating information contrary to the agreed upon narrative? Best be prepared for a backlash, because ‘democracy is the best revenge’.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2013.

While the New Delhi gang rape case has resulted in outrage that has spilled into the streets across the border, the plight of women who have faced rape and sexual assault in Pakistan has been largely confined to formulaic articles in the press, slow-moving cases in the courts, and frequent dropped charges due to bribes, threats of further violence and family pressure on the victim to avoid further ‘shame’.

In 2012, The Express Tribune covered over 150 reports on cases of rape and their follow-ups across the country, but the actual number of incidents is likely much higher as the stigma of rape, treatment meted out by police officials and low prosecution rates makes this crime largely unreported.

While statistics are few and far between, according to a November report by the Awaz Foundation Centre for Development, as many as 2,713 cases of violence against women have been reported in 15 districts of southern Punjab since January 2012, giving some measure of the scale of the issue.

As such, the reports below can only be considered a small snapshot of the violence being wrought on the women of Pakistan.

__________________________________________________________

2012: Rape cases in Pakistan reported by The Express Tribune

The stories below were selected based on the number of visits to individual articles, representing what visitors to the Tribune website considered vital reads for 2012.

__________________________________________________________

                                                                      Over 100,000 views

__________________________________________________________

Diligent student compiles list of 780,000 porn sites for PTA to ban – Web Desk

Who knows pornography better than a teenage boy?

Veena Malik denies nude photo shoot for FHM – Web Desk

Shot with clothes on!

The water car fraud – Pervez Hoodbhoy

Our media is chasing spectacle, not truth

__________________________________________________________

                                                                     50,000-100,000 views

__________________________________________________________

HEC releases Pakistan’s top universities lists – Web Desk

Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad leading

Veena Malik’s ‘holi’ moment – Web Desk

Veena Malik played Holi for the first time in India

PTA approved: Over 1,000 porn sites blocked in Pakistan – Jahanzaib Haque

PTA has provided a list of 1,000 most frequented porn sites in Pakistan

Militancy: Progressive voice for tribal women silenced in attack – Asad Zia

In Farida Afridi’s death, women from the tribal belt have lost a fierce fighter

Ultimatum to US: ‘Criminalise blasphemy or lose consulate’ – Rana Tanveer

Around 10,000 people participated in the main rally

Teenage beauty queen ‘stoned to death’: Report – Web Desk

Controversy surrounds media reports in the wake of her death

Morning show host Maya Khan fired from Samaa TV – Taha Siddiqui/Web Desk

The morning show host blamed “a vicious media campaign by rival groups”

Miss China crowned Miss World 2012…in China – AFP

Miss China won the coveted title of Miss World, triumphing on home soil

__________________________________________________________

                                                                      30,000-50,000 views

__________________________________________________________

Arfa Karim passes away: Whiz kid loses battle for her life – Aroosa Shaukat

16 years old, child prodigy, inspiration, youngest certified Microsoft Professional

If Malala survives, we will target her again: Taliban – Web Desk/Agencies

Will target her again if she survives because she is a “secular-minded lady”

Punjab announces 32,000 vacancies for teachers – Web Desk

first large scale recruitment by Punjab’s education sector in the past five years

Women paraded naked after ‘asking for girl’s hand in marriage’ for son – Owais Jafri

Jamila said that the men told her that they will teach her a lesson about honour

Bhoja Air crash in Rawalpindi: ‘No chance of survivors’ – Our correspondent/Agencies

All 127 people on board believed to be dead

Taliban ‘revenge’ attack on Kamra airbase – Shaheryar Popalzai/Nabil Ansari

Four suicide bombers had carried out the attack

Lucman, Bokhari run ‘planted show’ with Malik Riaz – Shaheryar Popalzai

What do you get when you leave the camera on during an ad break?

Pakistan’s first super model – Roland Borges

Rakhshanda’s love for Pakistan never died

The real Mahira – Anam Mansuri

Actress Mahira Khan writes obsessively

Pakistan maintains top slot in Google search for ‘sex’ – Web Desk

Number one slot for searching the term ‘sex’ globally for all years

11-year-old Christian girl accused of blasphemy – Qaiser Zulfiqar/Web Desk

The girl has been sent to a juvenile jail on judicial remand

Rs2.96 trillion budget for 2012-13 – Shaheryar Popalzai/Ema Anis/Ferya Ilyas

Scuffle broke out between PPP and PML-N parliamentarians during the speech

YouTube will not be unblocked anytime soon: Report – Web Desk

Officials determined not to unblock YouTube until anti-Islam video taken offline

Bhoja Air B4-213 crash: Passenger list – Web Desk

Number of adults: 110 - Children: 6 - Infants: 5

Cracks in PTI?: Qureshi vexed at Imran over by-poll boycott – Zia Khan

Some PTI leaders say Qureshi is angry at Imran for letting Gillani’s son win

Salma, Azfar and Naveen: A private or public affair? – Rafay Mahmood

After being married to Salma for 11 years, Azfar has tied the knot with Naveen Waqar

Aamir Khan to leave for Hajj – Web Desk

Khan was in Chicago shooting Dhoom 3 and returned to India

After 27 years at Engro, Asad Umar calls it a day – Farooq Tirmizi

Corporate Pakistan lost one of its most admired CEOs

Pakistani umpire denies relationship with Indian model – Web Desk

Asad Rauf admitted that his pictures with her are real

In Pakistan, underground parties push the boundaries – Reuters

“This is just epic,” says Numair Shahzada, bobbing his head to the beat

“Instead of bringing us all together in an omnipresent, multifaceted discussion, the internet has made sectarianism an almost default position.”

Author Patrick Ness said these troubling words at a recent writers’ conference in Edinburgh. What did he mean by these words? Those who have been regularly visiting The Express Tribune online and other local websites that allow comments or host forums (not to mention Facebook and Twitter) know the answer to this one.

A disturbing trend can be seen in how people engage with one another online. Sure, Pakistan’s emerging online community of over 20 million connected individuals have embraced the ‘democratising’ elements of the internet and are driving debates through comments, blogs and social media — but to what end? Is the medium creating a more democratic, open society?

In an earlier article, I argued that the internet may be emerging as “a system of control that is increasingly designed to present a myopic view of the world” based on how online entities like Facebook, Google and even The Express Tribune tailor-design their online space so you increasingly see only content you like, thus ensuring you willingly remain uninformed about anything you don’t like or (on the surface) aren’t interested in. This is perhaps, not as scary as the social phenomenon of myopia and ‘sectarianism’ within online comments and debates. At least Facebook and Google’s developers can change the algorithms that determine what you see; when it comes to online debate, no one is really in control.

So how exactly are comments sections, Facebook and Twitter creating greater social divides and more extreme, myopic viewpoints? The question seems counter-intuitive but in reality begs closer examination, especially when it comes to a nation as fragmented as ours.

Shias. Sunnis. Ahmadis. Baloch separatists. Sipah-e-Sahaba. The Pakistan Army. The PTI. The PML-N. The MQM. Ultra-nationalists. Liberals. Conservatives. Put members of these loaded terms into a room and invite them to chat — this would approximately mimic what the internet has done for Pakistan’s interest groups by way of interaction — but wait, does it translate into interaction? Not really. The Shias interact with the Shias. The Sunnis with the Sunnis, and so on. The only time one would ever need to interact with ‘the other’ is to attack, often en masse, by way of trolling or online campaigning. Any time one happens to peer into the online activities of  ‘the other’, they would see a myopic world of highly motivated, (read: dangerous) like-minded individuals, busy reaffirming and solidifying their own myopic views, thus reaffirming and solidifying the original divides that existed for the peering ‘other’. Is this scenario more likely or the idealistic vision of the groups unexpectedly engaging in a way that leads to social harmony? Anyone who has spent time within the Pakistani online space knows the answer to that question.

As internet specialist and author Clay Shirky points out, the internet can be seen as “just another implementation layer for special interest groups”. Where does this leave the oft-cited ‘silent majority’? Silenced. As Ness further stated in his talk at a writer’s conference, a culture of self-censorship is becoming the norm as individuals and yes, even seasoned columnists and reporters seek to minimise conflict (flame wars), social isolation and online witch-hunts perpetrated by the rabid hordes of a highly motivated minority. Many change their online personas to fit the views of their particular community, further polarising viewpoints. Many others avoid engaging altogether.

A 2012 report aptly titled, “Social media in Pakistan: catalyst for communication, not change” noted that, “The risks posed by social media in Pakistan include their succumbing to the same ideological divisions that afflict Pakistani society and even becoming a haven for extremist online communication.”

I am afraid, much to my dismay, that this is what has happened to large swathes of our online space already.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2012.

Time and again, I am told that as the head of a news website, I am corrupting the role of the editor as the one-man purveyor of internalised wisdom by relying on site analytics — the statistics that tell me what stories catch reader attention — to guide my decision-making.

I am also told that because everything on the web is happening in real time and my competitors are just a few clicks away, the online news space, much like television, is in danger of becoming a giant echo chamber, with editors forcing their staff to chase after and duplicate their competitor’s best story or blog to garner the same number of clicks, likes, tweets and shares. Everything is transparent online, so why not mimic the best, i.e., that which seems to attract the most public interest?

These are the challenges an editor faces in the online world. What must one do with the constant bombardment of feedback from your audience? However, this is also a reality which will inevitably force its way into the lives of editors working across all mediums, for the future is an online, interconnected one. A recent poll of nearly 800 editors by Editor & Publisher and Ebyline found that “Half said audience or traffic development will take [up] more of their time and more than a third think they will be on the hook for driving revenue soon”.

Additionally, 40.7 per cent of respondents said they spent more time monitoring other media than they did three years ago. While these same editors still believed that original reporting was far more important to a story’s success than its “shareability” or search engine optimisation, such a mindset will simply have to change.

More editors will be working online, and more importantly, reading, viewing and experiencing news online. They will be forced to admit (at least, in private) that there really is no point in their reporter slaving away weeks for a fantastic investigative report only to see it fail with a headline that does not contain all the keywords and a peg that does not connect the story to what readers have indicated they are interested in. Editors will begin to keep an eye on which of their stories attract more clicks and explore those issues further to possibly give them more column space or air time on TV. For example, take a look at how the efforts of online campaigning over the Burma violence successfully translated into news reports, columns and prime time TV news slots.

Is this the death of  ‘real’ journalism? What happens to the old editor, the one who spends the majority of his or her time counselling staff, setting the editorial policy, developing stories with reporters or just plain old vetting edited stories? Is he/she dead?

Well, some will be. This is the evolution of journalism and it is the editor’s job to take on all the challenges that come with becoming increasingly tangled with the audience we serve. If the internet is the only medium that allows for two-way feedback, it is the most important medium, even now, in its relative infancy in Pakistan. It is time for editors to learn how to listen to the audience. It is also time for editors to learn how to effectively market their content to the audience so that what people want or need to know is not lost in the information glut that defines our times. The public is king.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2012.

KARACHI: Women in short skirts and men with gelled hair, among others, are really upset at being ‘misrepresented’ in a recent article on Pakistan’s party scene.

“Yes there is illicit smoke. Yes there is alcohol. Yes men and women dance together, but this doesn’t mean you can write a report clubbing a Taliban commander’s viewpoint with those of us who like to party…To do so is to frame the story in a ludicrous narrative of extremes. You’ve made us [Pakistanis] look bad yaar,” says one Lahore-based party goer who wishes to remain anonymous.

Rapper Adil Omar who was quoted in the article is similarly angry at how he has come off in the story.

“I have been grossly misquoted in a Reuters article. My management/legal team expect an appropriate rebuttal and apology,” tweeted Omar, adding that, “No, the woman I have tattooed on my arm is not half naked… [She] only has exposed shoulders.” Omar went on to state that he was not wearing baggy trousers, but was instead donning a traditional kurta on top of jeans.

Numair Shahzada, now notorious online for being the “this is just epic” bobbing-head guy from the report in question is livid, tweeting that, “The writer has portrayed the Islamabad party scene in such a vulgar light.” “She makes me sound like a blubbering high idiot. This interview took place at Mocha. Not at a party. I don’t appreciate this,” tweets Shahzada. “Not cool man. Parties are not this shady and not that big a deal and our country is not as screwed up as depicted here.”

Creeping conservatism

While most Pakistanis abhor the Taliban’s violence, there are many who share their beliefs (but perhaps don’t wish to partake in terrorist activities) – particularly on online comment communities such as The Express Tribune’s website. The original article published online garnered over 100 comments, many of them bashing the ‘liberal-western-secular-nudist’ culture that commenters felt aptly captured the ‘malaise’ that has ‘infected’ Pakistan’s elite.

“Islam should be our guide force…we should enforce Islamic punishments to end this evilness…and we should start tableegh in all elite schools” said one angry commenter.

“They are sons and daughters of our brutal, blood thirsty ruling elite,” said another.

“This is the other side of extremism!” said yet another.

Lonely liberals

Despite the conservatism sweeping through Pakistan thanks to military dictator General Ziaul Haq’s  drive to Islamise the state in the 80s, an online voice or two still bravely dared to ask:

“Man… how do you get into such parties?”

Serving as the ‘voice of reason’ to a debate spinning well beyond the original report, Tribune Blogger Faraz Talat weighed in saying, “It’s their money, their bodies. They can sing, dance, wear miniskirts at their own party places…it is nobody’s business. Unless they’re pouring booze down my throat, it really doesn’t concern me.”

Spinning yarn

Whoever said journalism is a stab at narrating the truth will be disappointed to learn that ‘spin’, particularly in ‘soft’ stories about fashion events or dance parties is not just the norm, it is enforced, often vigorously by editors who demand the same under the seemingly legitimate banner of ‘colour’ and ‘balance’.

Nowhere is this truer than wires stories emanating from Pakistan, where the emerging fashion scene is planted jarringly against the backdrop of terrorism; where dance parties are amped up to be an ‘underground scene’ but a stone’s throw away from an irate Taliban commander.

Balance, it seems, equals exaggerated doses of two extremes juxtaposed against each other to give the reader fantasy, and farce.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2012.

Veena Malik is ambitious, there is no doubting that. The controversial actor has now hinted at the possibility of joining politics in the future.

Malik spoke to The Express Tribune exclusively after news started to float that her father was joining the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and had wished that she join the party with him.

“Whenever there is something wrong going on in society my blood boils and sometimes I wish to be a part of this system so I can change things,” said the actor. She however added that, “At the moment I’m just concentrating on my acting and singing career, and travelling to know this world closely!”

Malik said her father had hoped that her career path would be that of a lawyer or a politician. She went on to say that her father has “great” knowledge of politics and is a “very good speaker and very intelligent man”.

Freedom first

When Malik was asked what issues she would focus on if she joined politics, the actor said “the freedom to live a life the way one wants to be.”

She said that food, clothes and shelter were secondary as most people in the country did not even have the right to think or speak their minds.

“We are forced to live our lives in a certain way, we don’t have the right to question things forget the answers!”

Earlier in January, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Mushahidullah Khan had called for actor Veena Malik to be made a member of the Senate in the next elections, since this move would at least ensure senators attend Senate sessions.

_____________________________________________

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Here’s a scary thought — the internet is a system of control that is increasingly designed to present a myopic view of the world, using your personal data against you to ensure you get exactly what you want, fulfill all your desires and interests in exchange for ensuring you never encounter any material that is challenging or presents a counter narrative to your preferences.

Currently, the range of preferences seems limitless, but inevitably myopia will result in tunnel vision and the fear is that rather than being a force to unite people, the internet will be an alienating force, dividing people, quantifying them into digital groupings and tribes who only interact with themselves and the information they wish to consume. You may already be trapped in a ‘filter bubble’ on Google or Facebook without knowing it, or perhaps knowing it and loving it, but left woefully devoid of perspective. To quote Mark Zuckerberg here: “A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa”.

Sounds ridiculous? Let me play the devil’s advocate and take a look at the philosophy that drives The Express Tribune’s website: social friendly, give the consumers what they want, let them have a say in what is important. We have a most popular, most commented and most emailed box, telling others what everyone is interested in. Our blog site is designed so that the top five blogs displayed are automatically chosen based on algorithms around the number of comments on a post. The third party widget at the bottom of each blog that offers other stories “you might like” is built to display related blogs, but its algorithms also aim to show the blogs that get the most clicks. Increasingly, you will see the same blogs appearing in this widget again and again and again. It’s all automated. The editorial selection is, therefore, made by clicks and algorithms, not editors. I freely admit that a fair amount of editorial decision-making on the website is based on real time analytics data that indicates what trends are catching the audience’s attention.

How about taking a look at Google, which is increasingly attempting to make search tailor-made to your user profile. To quote an anecdote by political and internet activist Eli Pariser from his TED talk: “I asked a bunch of friends to Google ‘Egypt’ and to send me screen shots of what they got … when you do read the links, it’s really quite remarkable. Daniel didn’t get anything about the protests in Egypt at all in his first page of Google results. Scott’s results were full of them. And this was the big story of the day at that time. That’s how different these results are becoming”.

Being a fierce internet advocate of the idealistic ‘the internet can do no wrong’ bent, I find it hard to accept that the online space will become a place where we only see what we want to see, not what we need to see; a world where freedom is an illusion maintained by new centres of control. In the battle over the draconian Protect IP Act and Stop Online Piracy Act, I was firmly on the side of Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo, Reddit et al. in believing the legislation was aimed at systematically curbing freedom of the internet, but I had to pause for a second when I read the Recording Industry Association of America’s  response to the online onslaught that effectively killed the legislation: “It’s a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as gateways to information, intentionally skew the facts to incite their users and arm them with misinformation … it’s very difficult to counter the misinformation when the disseminators also own the platform”.

So if online companies — news or otherwise — have political will and are ready to act on it, using it to sway public opinion in their favour, is this the shape of things to come? Will assumed oases like the The Express Tribune website provoke and challenge, or feed into the illusion of a Pakistan based on the profiles of the users visiting the site. It’s definitely not such a black and white online world right now, but it is worth pondering what will happen when we move from organic, human gatekeepers of information to digital algorithms — The Matrix, anyone?

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2012.

It was the end of 2010 when our publisher, wrapped up one of our meetings with a casual “So I guess this is it huh? 12-13,000 people a day is the daily limit for a Pakistani newspaper in English.” He had that look in his eye; one of a wild dream of online publishing glory lost, but at least we tried our best and did a good job. I remember looking back at him incredulously and saying, “Not at all. This is just a fraction of our reach – we’ve only begun to explode!”

It is now 2012 and I am taking my daily dip into the vast ocean of Google’s real time site analytics. It’s only afternoon and we have 726 active visitors on the site – we’re averaging 75,000 unique visitors a day now. My comment moderation team is cracking up as they approve comments bashing ET for “biased reporting” against Imran Khan. They love having the freedom to approve any/all comments bashing the newspaper – besides, one of the moderators is a PTI supporter.

I feel calm and in control. What was once a desk of four people stuffed in a room that was meant to be a store room back in 2010, has exploded into a team of 15 in its own hall with access to over 100 reporters across Pakistan. A lot has changed, and my team can feel it too. We still frantically take notes from the TV as breaking news happens, but at the same time the phone is ringing with our own reporter calling in the updates; he’s finally realised the importance of his byline making it to the website.

As I switch over from browsing analytics to scanning Twitter for news leads, I try to remember when our paper fundamentally made the switch to an unofficial ‘digital first’ strategy. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but the website is sucking me back into its 24-hour cycle. I’ve got a direct message on Twitter asking me to report on the target killings in Karachi. I pass the message on to my shift in-charge who dials our Karachi crime reporter. Our crime reporter will be emailing a few paragraphs and a police quote from his smartphone – deadline: 15 minutes. Another 15 minutes for one of my subs to edit the story and add in the necessary contextual background. I thank my Twitter friend for the update, and remind the team to follow protocol and send the story over to the city desk for the print edition; convergence at its streamlined best.

The blog desk is sorting through their roster of regular bloggers to see who can address the latest spate of killings with a fresh angle while squabbling over whether an incoming rebuttal to an Imran Khan op-ed trumps a blog on an Islamic SMS spam. I’m free. Sort of. I still have to decide whether introducing a word limit to our comments section would actually play against or in favor of the trolls that inhabit our site.

I love my job.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2012.