In a contributory move to ongoing discussions on cyberspace practices in Nigeria, players in the social media ecosystem have advocated responsible practices and discretion as some of the solutions to maintaining the sanctity of the online interaction environment. This view was shared by different speakers at the maiden edition of the Bodex Social Media Hangout put together by celebrity shoemaker and blogger, Florence Bodunrin, in Lagos recently.
At the hangout held by the swimming pool side of Radisson Blu in GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, which had some of the leading names in the online and offline media, entertainment and marketing communications industries in attendance, Bodunrin, fondly called Bodex, noted that the event was a call to operators in the social media ecosystem to acknowledge the sweeping influence of internet-enabled innovations on the society and consciously manage how they are utilised as channels of communication to protect national security and social harmony as a nation.
“We can no longer dismiss the influence of the Internet and its creations. We need to recognise them as the greatest agenda-setting tools in the modern world, but we now need to exercise great caution in the way and manner we deploy them as engagement resources,” said CEO, Bodex Media Group.
At the hangout, Mr. Olusegun Fafore, the Executive Assistant to Lagos State Governor on New Media and Public Relations, spoke on the “Consequences of Insidious Comments in the Cyberspace”. He noted that the word ‘insidious’ in the topic is the key word which is an adjective, qualifying the noun ‘comments’.
According to Governor Sanwo-Olu’s aide, “With the reach and growing influence of the Internet, which is validated by the increase in the number of Internet users from 200,000 in 19 years ago to 116 million today, we need to treat our diversity as a nation, which cuts-across languages, religion and cultural practices, with greater care. We need to exercise high level of prudence and discipline in how we engage online, particularly when the benefit of context is lost to technology-created facelessness.”
Other notable speakers at the event include Ladi Ogunseye, the President of Digital Marketing Practitioners of Nigeria; Gloria Ohagwu, a presenter and producer at the Voice of Nigeria; Taiwo James, Founder 69 Entertainment; Fatuntele Tunde, Founder Kobz Media and Yeye Lara Fashola-Fanimokun, the first female King in Lagos Island and Maritime Lawyer, who spoke on ‘Advantages and Disadvantages on Social Media in today’s tradition or cultures’.
To add colours to the highly successful hangout, there were special appearances by Fuji music czar, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall, Q-Dot, 9ice, Ara, the first female drummer, Nollywood star, Emeka Ossai, Comedian Asiri, AIG Tunji Alapinni, media entrepreneur, Sola Fajobi and many others.
