On Twitter, we have seen conversation on public issues, politics grow, Rishi Jaitly says

NEW DELHI: There were more than 58 million tweets on the Indian election this year. BJP leaders such as Sushma Swaraj and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi chose Twitter to express dissent with the party while PM-designate Narendra Modi used the microblogging site to announce his victory. Rishi Jaitly, India market director at Twitter, spoke to TOI over phone about how the elections played out on Twitter and more. Excerpts:
During the 2012 US presidential elections, the official Twitter blog referred to the polls as a "Twitter election". The same phrase was used to describe the 2014 polls in India. Do you think that is overstating the case for Twitter in India?

We're enthralled by the response of users in India. Twitter can add value for everyone with a mobile device. Some of the initial surge in conversation occurred around 26/11. That was in 2008. For six years, Twitter has been growing and has been embraced by users. We've seen conversation on public issues and politics grow. In 2012, with the conversation around women's rights, there was a massive surge in conversation. There was a tweet from a woman who believed she was being detained by the police. There was a tweet from Arvind Kejriwal "Meet at India Gate at 6 pm for the protest." During the 2013 state elections, it served as a central platform for communication. After all of this, it doesn't come as a surprise how it is being used in these elections. Whether you're sitting at home or are in a news organization, the centrality of Twitter is unmistakable. By any metric, be it original content, usage by political leaders, influence on political discourse or media agenda, we have been relevant if not central. What is important for us is that users are responding.

What are the top 3 things that happened in these elections according to you that would not have happened without Twitter?

One of our massive contributions has been the "second screen" or "social TV" — whether it's Arnab reading tweets on TV, or Rajdeep inviting questions with the tag #AskRajdeep, or Rahul Kanwal hosting a Twitter debate. This is also true in sports.

Second, many candidates and parties are using Twitter with Narendra Modi tweeting about news events ... Arvind Kejriwal had tweeted about the attack on him (in Varanasi). The INC used Twitter for their manifesto. It has been their first platform of choice.

It is the first company from Silicon Valley that is mobile first. 76% of our users are on mobile. We co-exist with other media. There are people using tweets to point to YouTube videos. That is something we applaud. Third, users have found resonance on Twitter. My dadi (grandmother) lives in Nagpur, and she uses Twitter on SMS to connect to Aaj Tak. It offers an interactive, intimate and up-close experience with a news organization or a candidate. Last winter Olympics saw 40 million tweets. Indian elections have outperformed that event(on Twitter).

Six new national political figures have taken to Twitter since July 2013, including Lalu Prasad Yadav of the RJD and Dipankar Bhattacharya of the CPI(ML). Were they enlisted or was their joining spontaneous?

We have been intentional and equal opportunity in ensuring that media companies and public figures are using Twitter. Our value proposition is clear, strong and self-evident in India. We don't comment on individual accounts. But it's not hard to see how five years ago, there was only one politician on Twitter, and now it's hard to find a significant leader who is not on Twitter. What we have seen is they take it personally. The advice we give them is — be personal, authentic and tweet pictures.

Figures from IAMAI say Twitter has only around 33 million users in India. PeerResearch says the country is ranked 21st by Twitter user base.

It is one of our top 10 markets, and one of our most strategic markets. Our India strategy tracks along three fronts. One is investing and partnering with the media business, public figures and news organizations. We have been working aggressively with media organizations to drive growth, our objectives are not dissimilar.

The second strategy is distribution of Twitter and making it more accessible from a technological standpoint. You can access it through SMS or through your TV remote control as with Airtel DTH, where you can press the green button to see tweets on your TV screen. We're working with Vodafone and Reliance to build compelling experiences for users. Number three is brands. In the last four quarters, promoted products have been available for marketers in India. Our primary focus has been growth.