Daily Times

At the time of its birth, Pakistan inherited a few newspapers both in Urdu and English language. 70 years later, Pakistan’s media has evolved and stands at a point where the digital technology and internet are gradually taking over. From news to entertainment, it’s all happening online.

With the current pace, the digital media are making even the broadcast media look antiquated.Our modes of communication today are different than they were a decade ago. There’s WhatsApp that we use to communicate, email that we use for official/business correspondence; and our lives can practically be tracked using our “timelines” and profiles on Facebook and Twitter.We even get our entertainment from the internet.

According to a report by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), there are at least 44 million social media users in Pakistan. And according to another international report based on research by two global social media agencies HootSuite and We are Social also from January this year, Pakistan has 35.1 million internet users; out of which, 31 million are active social media users. The report goes on to note there are 140.2 million mobile subscribers in Pakistan out of which, 28 million are active mobile social users.

Last year, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) installed the “World’s Highest ATM” at 15397 feet height at Khunjerab Pass.

Vibrant digital economy

Pakistan possesses world-class financial integration platforms which form a vibrant digital economy. The country is now entering the world of eCommerce with indigenously built solutions. From inter-bank funds transfer (IBFT), making it seamless for anyone to transfer funds to any other bank account in a matter of few clicks, mobile banking accounts and mobile commerce, Pakistan’s digital economy is already taking on some of the key players in the region. As per State Bank’s quarterly newsletter Jan-March 2017 on Branchless banking, there are as many as 23.68 million branchless banking accounts in Pakistan.

Last year, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) installed the “World’s Highest ATM” at 15397 feet height at Khunjerab Pass.

Making money, contributing to foreign exchange

Socialising isn’t all that Pakistanis do online. They are using digital technologies to make money and contribute to the country’s foreign reserves. An April 2017 reportnoted that online freelancing in Pakistan has grown to $1billion. This is a remarkable figure considering the fact that the online freelancers haven’t had any significant support from the government side except in the recent few months with the emergence of government funded incubation centres for technology related startups and schemes like e-Rozgar scheme that aim to train new entrants in the online freelancing how to earn money using digital technologies.

The emergence of 3G and 4G/LTE technology also saw a boom in the Pakistani users purchasing behaviour. Many Pakistanis now use mobile apps for everyday things such as ordering food, online shopping, booking rides, hence significantly contributing to the digital economy. This trend has welcomed some of the tech giants into the country such as Uber,Careem, Rocket Internet, Netflix, iFlix, AltBalajito name a few.

The digital media are used for breaking news online some of which are reported even before making into the mainstream media. Where do you think the story about Chinese woman entering the cockpit of a PIA plane was first reported? The social media. Where did you first see the news about Mashaal Khan’s mob lynching? You guessed it right, the social media. The list goes on.

Newsrooms actively monitor social media

Newsroom in most media networks actively monitorsocial media and quotes what’s being publicly said on social media as sources. This has also helped the networks cut costs in terms of commissioning and paying correspondents in foreign countries. They, instead, simply hunt down people on social media and use them as “reporters” – a trend that has also given a rise to what was traditionally called the “citizen journalism”. This in turn also becomes a learning and economic opportunity for citizen journalists.

Who remembers Pakistani Twitter user SohaibAthar who live-tweeted US raid in Abbottabad that led to hunting down and killing of Osama Bin Laden without knowing what he was tweeting about and then made it to the global headlines? This is just one of many examples.

Tweets now make headlines

Public figures including politicians and celebrities actively use social media – most of which now make the news, some even the headlines. An example of twitter setting news agenda was the recent high profile sexual harassment case where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Naeem-ul-Haq admitted on Twitter that he “discussed” marriage with lawmaker Ayesha Gulalai and made headlines – only to claim later that his account was hacked.

Supplying Pakistani entertainment to the world

Digital technologieshave opened new avenues for the entertainment and fashion industries of the country as well. Pakistani artists now have more options when it comes to distributing their work in a wider audience and market. This does not only help the industry financially, it also helps the country to export its culture and image worldwide.

While US has Voice of America (VOA), Russia has RT and Sputnik, Qatar has AlJazeera and Iran has Press TV to reach out to the global audience and to present what their countries are all about, Pakistan has Coke Studio. Thanks to the digital media, Coke Studio is now a worldwide sensation. Its YouTube channel has close to2 million subscribers and every song is viewed by millions of people worldwide. Since the songs are uploaded with English subtitles, just read comments to know how truly global it is. Coke Studio alone has done what a propaganda TV network from Pakistan –we have PTV World that broadcasts in English but since no one watches it, it probably doesn’t count – could not.

Coke Studio now releases online same time as it is released on TV. There are other examples where brands have partnered with artists to produced digital-only content such as Telenor’s online movie OyeKuchKarGuzar.

Some of the success stories in entertainment industry include the “Justin Bibis” – Saania and MuqqadasTabaydar who made it to the news worldwide with their desi version of Justin Bieber song Baby.

Another notable example is Nadir Ali, a working class comedian and prankster from Karachi who started small and is now a comedy sensation with fan following in both India and Pakistan.

Singing sensations SarmadQadeer and JunaidAsghar broke it into the industry by first releasing their songs online and were later picked up by British record label company MovieBox considering the massive number of views they gained online. Pakistani entertainment production companies now have new avenues of making money as their shows are being picked up by entertainment tech giants such as Netflix and iFlix.

There are still issues such as digital divide and repeated attempts by the state to regulate and control digital media but Pakistan at 70 has entered the digital world. With a bang.

The writer is the Digital/Web Editor, Daily Times and can be reached at me@farhanjanjua.com and tweets @FarhanJanjua

Published in Daily Times, August 14^th 2017.