No, it isn’t another uprising that I intend to talk about but a revolution that has strangely remained in the shadows for long now. For the past few years we have all noticed the way the feature phones gave way to smart devices and the way the internet has penetrated across the economic and geographical landscape in India… and yet, most of the communication was taking place in English. The truth is that a large percentage of people who have ideas to share and who need ideas to reach them, have remained side-lined and have had only songs, movies, and a few YouTube videos to infotain them. But words matter and more if they are in a language that is understood.
Over the years, regional languages in India have made some inroads and communication platforms like Whatsapp, Messenger, Twitter, Facebook, and others have a sprinkling of groups and individuals with updates that the regional audience empathizes with. But this isn’t enough. India has always felt the need for a platform where the regional languages reign because nearly sixty percent of Indians feel they miss communication that is understood completely.
One platform that was launched in June 2018 is Helo and is available for download as an app for smartphones. Pratik Shah, Co-founder of Alt News told me that Helo has the potential to ensure ‘that Indians nationwide can easily access information through credible sources that also allow them to better express themselves in their native language’. He added that such platforms need to stay away from the menace of misinformation and said that their ‘training sessions and knowledge exchange underscore our commitment to transparency and our high editorial standards when it comes to addressing incorrect or dubious information.’ Their strategic partnership with Helo reflects a commitment to create a safe environment for the exchange of perspectives and information, given the personalized, localized vernacular content on its platform. Helo is available in 14 vernaculars including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and more and possibly bridges the information gap for Indians nationwide, narrowing the digital divide for the larger population communicating in their mother tongues.
Let me add here that misinformation surrounds us like the winter smog in Delhi. Gore Vidal once said that ‘at any given moment, public opinion is a chaos of superstition, misinformation and prejudice’. This is truer today when we have 23.14 billion smart connected devices in the world. It is estimated that 3.7 billion out of the world’s total population of 7.6 billion are connected through the internet… this is obviously the right recipe for misinformation that is also sometimes called fake news. Fake news isn’t a menace that can easily be wished away and needs a platform to employ the power of AI with human intervention. Only time will tell if Helo’s local content moderation team with the proprietary tools and methodology from Alt News will effectively identify and mitigate the threat of content from unverified sources. However, it is good that these steps have been taken. Shayamanga Barooah, Head of Content Operations, Helo, understands the gravity of the way fake news has been infiltrating the social media platforms and believes that his organization is taking the issue rather seriously. They currently have a base of 25 million users on a platform that has easy-to-use visual interface, embedding tools, and performance aided by AI and they wish to ‘ensure that our platform continues to be a safe and viable source of the latest news and trending topics.’ Barooah added that ‘integrating Alt News’ tools and methodology into our world-class content moderation system, which is powered by our advanced machine learning algorithms and supported by a local content moderation team covering the 14 languages that we have on our platform, is a step in the right direction.’
What I think of Helo
Misinformation and fake news need to be handled firmly. Any online communication platform today must ensure the safety and security of its users. Even a few minutes spent with this app were enough to tell me that if I choose to be discerning I could access some interesting snippets of information from politics to environment in the language of my choice. However, if fun is all that I am looking for, the app has hundreds of users sharing the same nonsense that fills apps from TikTok to Facebook. There was a literal blitzkrieg of jokes, memes, quotes, shayari, and Bollywood news that can make anyone spend hours just browsing… but then I do not have those hours with me. I mean, why must I spend hours just knowing what someone did or why someone prefers a particular dress unless all this is needed for a purpose.
If this your idea of fun… then Helo is what you may like
What alarmed me was that I could directly share any update with a person or group as a direct or even as a Whatsapp message. Besides sharing and reposting an update, a user is able to even save one in the gallery. This, to my mind, is the right recipe for more junk updates to hop from one platform to another. Not just this, it is the entire moderation policy that aims to protect content that is, in some ways, compromised. If I am able to save an entire update, how can Helo claim to protect data from infringement?
I was able to save an entire update… this is alarming indeed
However, besides these minor irritants, Helo is aiming to increase communication in the regional languages which in itself is something worth a pat on the back. There are a lot of talented and knowledgeable people on Helo who are sharing information and analytical updates. If one follows the right people one can get good information in one’s choice of language. This is why Helo is still existing on my phone.
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Launch of Helo… a communication app in regional languages of India
Regional languages communication needs to transcend junk updates
Fun is never redefined… only rehashed
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Arvind Passey
18 December 2018
