New Delhi: Can social media really be social?

Can it connect strangers, get them to bond, be nice to each other, give a peek into their lives, share their love, passion, dreams with one another.

In a country like ours, can it break the ice between a guy and a girl in seconds? In a world, where we worried about privacy and stalkers, can it get to us to open our hearts, and our lives?

That’s what the #GreatInstagramExchange by National Geographic Channel set out to do. To get strangers to meet strangers, and then become friends through photographs that gave a peek into their world.

This first of its kind campaign is part of ‘Nat Geo Moment Awards’ (NGMA) – India’s biggest photography contest. NGMA is a massive, open-to-all, annual competition organized by National Geographic Channel. The winner of the contest wins a paid photography assignment with National Geographic Channel.

Debarpita Banerjee, Vice President, Marketing and Communication, NGC Networks and FOX International Channels, said, “All of us have an innate desire to capture our favorite moments and share our view of the world with others. Through Moment Awards, we hope to encourage creativity and bring out the talent of a million amateur and aspiring photographers in the country. The contest is not about technical finesse but about a moment which can be very simple and touching”

NGMA was kick started by the first ever edition of the ‘Great Instagram Exchange’. Based on the lines of ‘Secret Santa’, users could register on the NGMA website to be assigned someone’s handle, while someone else gets them. What do they do once they find their ‘Instapartner’? Dedicate pictures to that Instapartner for 5 days and show them the way they see the world.

These pictures can also become entries for the Nat Geo Moment Awards, by just adding hashtag #NGMA in the caption. Conceptualised and executed by Flying Cursor Interactive, the digital agency for National Geographic Channel India. The #GreatInstagramExchange saw over 3500 registrations in just 4 days

Parag Gandhi, Director Flying Cursor, says, “As an agency we always believed that NGMA had the power to unite people who loved illustrating their POV through pictures. We wanted to be able bring all these instagrammers together in the most surprising and engaging way, so through the property of NGMA, tthey could have a platform where they could bond, share, and forge friendships with each other.”

In fact participation has not been limited to India alone- Sri Lanka, Dubai, Malaysia have also participated.

source : Lokesh Shastri