Most of our readers feel that blowing one’s trumpet on the social media platforms will help get the desired attention. Some even stress that this is what everyone should do if one is to get some kind of attention. Yet many also say that though these platforms are necessary in today’s day and age, genuine work and talent will be recognised. However, they also opine that little sharing is okay, but going overboard is annoying

 It is sad but true that social media has now become a place where people proudly advertise bogus work, plagiarise, do not accredit other’s work and most commonly rhapsodise about their work. For instance, social work is organised in a community just to show off without making much difference in that community, but it is shared on social media for attention and recognition. However, on the other hand, some people who come up with some innovative creation mostly prefer to stay out of the limelight. From what I have seen and experienced, we have to show our work in order to get other people’s attention. Dan Harmon says, “Find your voice, shout it from the rooftops, and keep doing it until the people that are looking for you find you.” So, social media such as Facebook and Twitter are excellent forums for an artist to showcase his/her work. If you have a good work of your own, you should post some piece of it like a trailer for the world to see. It’s normal for a person to have fears over not getting as much attention as he thought it would. So what? Nobody expects us to write like Shakespeare or paint like Picasso. It’s good to show people our work and make them think that we are not being useless. It is said, “Do not care about what everybody thinks of you; just care about what the right people think of you.” And it is not blowing our own trumpet. It’s just showing people what we can do on our own. Waiting for our work to get recognition on its own might take years and we all know how important time is.

— Sanjiv Shrestha, Pharping

 I think more focus should be given to the work rather than its advertisement. A worthy deed will find a way of recognition by itself. Moderate publicity is okay, but compelling others to take notice of it by unwelcome tagging in posts and photos in the social media is quite annoying.

— Prakshit Raj Shakya, Kathmandu

 The world is in a state of massive and fierce competition. It seems that no matter how unique one wants to be, there is always someone who has done something in that field before. In a world that has over seven billion people, it is completely recommended that one publicise him/her work. A degree of publicity is appreciated. It is when this need for publicity becomes an obsession that it becomes annoying. Sometimes even too much sugar is bitter. If a good work is publicised and appreciated by people, it is at this moment that one needs to let his or her work talk for itself. So, staying silent is not a way to gain success but yet blowing one’s trumpets and moving past the stage of acquiring success to being annoying can equally be disliked.

— Udipta Bohara

 Social media is probably the easiest way to reach out to a large audience. Hence, it is used by many individuals, businesses and organisations to showcase what they have been doing by posting attractive photographs or write-ups. I think it is one of the best ideas for publicity. I do not think it is bad if they are posting genuine achievements but some people do so for cheap and fake publicity which overshadows some other genuine activities. There are many people who do not like to talk about their work and get their achievements publicised — they are satisfied with what they have done and enjoy doing good deeds anonymously. I think they should understand going on social media also means motivating and inspiring others to do similar activities or good deeds. Hence, I believe social media is one of the best means to reach your audience but one should avoid exaggeration to gain cheap popularity.

— Anonymous

 As per Hindu scriptures, any good deed which is performed with the motive of expecting something in return is not social work. It is rather a business transaction where you give and take. Unfortunately some high profile personalities in Nepal have such moral double standards. They do some social work (for which they deserve our applause), but their intense thirst for publicity and self-praise often leads to overshadowing of the work itself. In our society some selfless persons who have dedicated their entire life towards service to people also exist. But these great souls are overlooked by the media because they are not celebrities. I think a social worker must be modest and humble. Let God be the only judge. As Mother Teresa once said, “It is not between you and the world, it is between you and God.”

— Anonymous

 It is a world of publicity and advertisement. Showing off is today’s need. Social media is the best platform for this. In the world of competition we should sell our talent. Without exhibiting our work and talent, no one will notice you. We should talk about ourselves to create our identity and show our inner capacity openly so that others know about it and we can get recognition for our work. There was not much of a competition in the past. Good work and worthy contributions were easily recognised regardless. But time has changed and people who refuse to talk about their work which may be Oscar worthy won’t be  noticed while waiting for their work to speak for themselves. And they won’t get the credit that they deserve. Their work will remain unknown and there is a very less chance for the recognition and appreciation of their work. With change of time, one need to publicise one’s work and abilities with the help of social media. There’s one proverb in Nepali “Bolne ko pitho pani bikchha nabolneko chammal pani bikdaina”. Silence doesn’t work anymore and fetches you anything. Publicity is an essential part for recognition and appreciation of one’s work. So, I think in today’s day and age, if one wants attention for one’s work, one must absolutely blow one’s trumpet otherwise genuine work or talent won’t be recognised.

— Sunita Khatri

 The value of one’s work be it charity, photography or write-ups, solely depends on the impact it is able to create. In today’s era of hyped social media, the attention anyone’s work gets either by positive or negative publicity is undoubtedly able to garner recognition but the question lies whether their work justifies the objective it carries? Not every recognised work gets appreciated, but every appreciated work will get a proper recognition. Whilst anyone’s good work may not be widely talked about as someone’s mediocrity, but the impact of their work on the audience it has come across will speak for itself. So, if one’s work/talent is genuine, less publicity might get them less attention, but its value will never go unrecognised and unappreciated.

— Kajal Rai

 I don’t like to brag because I think we should not boast about our achievements. We do not get any benefit from announcing our successes, but we might make other people who do not do well feel bad about themselves. If we boast about good results, we should also share our bad results which most people hide. Instead of boasting or bragging, I can study hard and better as a student and get full marks. And let others see how well we are doing without telling them.

— Bhawana Gupta, Class  IV

 It feels good to be appreciated and recognised. I want to let people know of my capabilities but it’s hard to get name and fame without publicity. I have seen many famous artists, writers, scientists and celebrities gaining popularity through publicity. So, I think publicity and advertisement is essential in today’s world for recognition and appreciation.

— Subhamitta

 Marketing oneself and creating a high profile image is probably the ultimate desire of most of the human beings. This has been a trend in the recent scenario. On the other hand, there are also people having great

potential who believe in their work rather than going for publicity — they don’t desire for attention. They don’t believe in blowing their own trumpet but still reach the height of success.

At the end it is the one with talent that triumphs.

— Malina

 There is a famous saying — ‘Advertising turns a passing fancy into a dire necessity’. That is why advertisements via various brainstorming sessions is the need of today’s generation if one wants global attention and brand recognition for one’s work. Genuine work or talent won’t be easily recognised regardless which I have experienced myself. Quality products without any recognition or brand don’t have value in modern market. This is how modern people have been influenced by social networking sites. This tendency has resulted in tribulation and woes for many aspiring dreamers who believe in a moral philosophy — ‘Work hard in silence, let success make the noise’. As such many hidden talents and creative people have been extinguished and this is quite heartbreaking. Hence, I think that one needs to blow one’s trumpet as much as possible in order to grab everyone’s attention.

— Sanjog Karki, Tansen-6, Basantapur, Palpa

 As humans it is natural for us to seek attention. We are social beings and want social recognition. But these days we go overboard in an attempt to get recognition and appreciation from others. But if someone’s work or talent is worthy enough of appreciation, one doesn’t need to publicly blow one’s horn to gain attention. It is said that when you are good at something, you tell everyone, when you are great at something, they will tell you. Even in today’s age there is no necessity to blow one’s trumpet. Genuine work and talent are recognised regardless. That is why Rolls Royce doesn’t need to air television commercials to sell its cars, Ferrari doesn’t put up hoarding boards. And a world class painter doesn’t need to post a selfie featuring him holding a brush against the canvas. He would rather sell his painting for millions. And we should focus on how we can do well and not to let people know what we are doing.

— Prashanta Babu Neupane, Chabahil, Kathmandu

 Our world has been changing rapidly by social media platforms in both positive and negative ways. Advertisement, self-promotion, media’s influence, social platform wars and engagement as well as current global economic interests are some of the very strong driving forces working behind the global rise of self-publicity and self-promotion. Politicians, celebrities, world leaders, media houses, NGOs, governments, multinational companies are aggressively advocating their interests on this platform for their self-interests. And global society is being strongly influenced by them, but whether they are talented enough and deserve any monumental support is certainly questionable. Nonetheless, we go for advertisements and promotional glory rather than identifying or recognising true talents. The power of promotion is such that it turns creative garbage into wealth. For instance, several poor quality movies or literary or art works have turned out to be financial successes. All thanks to their good promotion. However, all that glitters is not gold. We as the readers or customers or

observers or members of the public have to assess creative work based on their merit only and not by the glare

of publicity.

— Saikat Kumar Basu

 I prefer to publicise my own creativity of my writing skills in the social media. This is the age of advertisement. Publicising my work in the social media helps me to improve my writing skill. With the feedbacks that I get, I can improve my mistakes in the upcoming days.

— Saroj Wagle, Dumarwana, 04, Bara

 Plato had said, “An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.” It is true that some people do less work but they absolutely blow their trumpets. They market themselves well and become famous. But other kinds of people don’t publicise their work. In my opinion, those people who do genuine work without any recognition should be recognised for their works and should be rewarded regardless. But in our society, people who publicise their work on social media for recognition and appreciation are appreciated and rewarded.

— Resham Kumar Sunuwar, Bouddha, Kathmandu

 Now-a-days it has been a trend to share each and every moment of life, achievement and progress on social media. Millions of people share their views, ideas and thoughts on Twitter, Facebook and other social media every day. Genuine work will be recognised on itself, so there is no need to publish and share it on social media. You don’t have to share it to be recognised for it. If the work is extraordinary, newspaper, media, colleagues and society will recognise you and your performance. To stand out, people share petty things like those are great achievements and make them look like important and talented people in front of others. On the other hand, some genuine people who actually deserve recognition are shadowed. We can take an example of some of the famous people like Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi who never publicised their work to be famous yet they are renowned throughout the world because of their genuine deeds. Therefore, you don’t have to share your ideas to get attention. If your idea or work is genuine, it will be seen/recognised by thousands of people by itself.

— Ramesh Subedi

 The need for publicising one’s ideas and work depends upon the vision of the creator whether they did for service or fame. Because it works both ways. If he really wants recognition and fame, social media is absolutely necessary for advertisement. The competition has now shifted to who will advertise his/her work better rather whose work is better. But if he wants his work for the goodness of people or for his own self-satisfaction, his effort will eventually be made public by any other means. The way his work makes an impact on public will slowly speak for itself.

— Anonymous

 The effect of media in today’s scenario can’t be neglected as it is growing more powerful and popular. There are people who randomly create a scandal or show off their work in media just to get noticed. However, I believe that media is not the only means for publicising your work. If it is either good or Oscar worthy, one’s work will definitely be noticed in the upcoming days. If your work or talent is not recognised earlier, no matter what other thinks it would storm out in the outer world one day if you don’t give up working on it.

— Anonymous

 Social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and so on are powerful tools in fostering people’s relations. People can be recognised and appreciated when they upload about their new jobs, photographs, charity works, events, et cetera on such sites. Instant comments, feedback and constructive suggestions can be forwarded to the artists for their further improvements. However, there are some people who are over excited about the potential of such media and keep on uploading even worthless works and activities. Such excessive publicity is not required for one to be famous and good artist. And then there are some people who let their work speak for itself. They just create original art of genuine quality and leave it for the public to decide. Such great artists do not need to follow media for publicity but instead media will wait and follow them and share their genuine work, talents and so on to the public. Thus, original work and talent of the people can be recognised and appreciated globally regardless.

— Binita Kunwar (Adhikari), Simara, Bara

 Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, et cetera have made the world very narrow. People can communicate all over the world just by sitting in one corner. But these days social media has become the place for promotion of people’s social, professional and personal life. Nowadays, whatever people do, they share it on social media so that people can get recognition and appreciation. Whether people do charity work or photography or participate in an event or celebration, they do with the purpose of gaining attention and share them on social media. Their main concern for posting anything on social media would be for the numbers of likes and comments they receive, and whether that their posts are appreciated or not. On the other hand, there are some people who don’t like to show off their work even though their work are good and appreciable. These kinds of people don’t talk about their good deeds. They want their work to speak for themselves. But, this is the age of showing off. One cannot gain popularity without blowing their trumpet in front of others. But, I believe that real talent need not be advertised because the real talent speaks for itself and makes its own way. Because real talent can never remain hidden.

— Roshani Acharya

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Dashain means that time of year when you forget all the troubles, get together with loved ones and indulge in feasting and fun. But preparing for the festival to make it a fun-filled celebration is not an easy job — from arranging vehicle(s) to return home to be with loved ones to managing budget for the celebration to dealing with inflation and other factors, lots of problems arise with the arrival of festival every year. What kind of problems have you been facing as you prepare to celebrate the upcoming festival? And are you able to manage it on your own? How? Explain with example.

­Send your replies in not more than 200 words by Friday, September 30 by 2:00 pm to Features, The Himalayan Times, e-mail: features@thehimalayantimes.com