The importance of social media cannot be overstated in today's world. This was rightly recognised by M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women which has started the Social Media Youth Association (SMYA).
SMYA was started when the International Social Media Summit was held in the college campus. This summit saw experts talk about social media and its importance in today's world. All the members were trained to handle Facebook pages, tweets and were even taught blogging by experts.
The main aim behind SMYA is to recognise the talent of youngsters and amplify it through social networking sites. Plus, it also aims at encouraging entrepreneurial talent through their online page. When social networking sites are blocked in colleges, having such an association is a step towards channelising the power of social media in a positive manner.
SMYA wanted to have an exclusive online contest that would give participants the advantage of displaying their talent from the comfort of their homes and thus organised an online art contest through facebook where they received about 75 entries from college students throughout the country.
The finalists were chosen through online votes and their works were displayed in an exhibition hosted by SMYA at the campus. They were judged by artist and art director Thotta Tharani. He gave the audience an insight into art and advised the contestants to practise more in order to get the application right. The first prize was bagged by Srinithi Srinivasan. Besides, the winners were awarded certificates and free passes for the art workshop conducted by Dakshinachitra.
NANDHITHA HARIHARAN, I Year, B.Com (Marketing), M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women
