A SUGGESTION FOR FACEBOOK FRIENDS AND OTHER COMMUNICATORS

Quite often, I have strongly felt that given all the numerous options Facebook offers its users, online communication will never again be the same. Sometimes also, I am of the view that if Facebook did not exist, it would have been necessary to invent it. One of my key attractions on this social media is the legion of photographs and other illustrations posted on Facebook. They are so varied, so rich, so profound and so captivating that one cannot help marveling at them. While some give a clear indication as to what they are intended to convey, some slip through the net and come without any identification. There is no statement describing them in a way that would orientate the onlooker. This is because such pictures come “naked”. So, would it not be better if we gave our pictures appropriate captions and some more focused meaning? One rule-of-thumb in journalism practice in particular and writing in general is for a “litmus test” to be applied in verifying the profundity and fullness of a picture, or if you like, an image. There are key questions that must be asked and answered. These are `what`, `who`, `where`, `when’,’ why` and `how`. They are popularly called the “5 Ws” and the “1 H.” The six-question approach is also alluded to as “the Kipling method”, a reference to Literature Nobel prize British winner, Rudyard Kipling who used the method in his `Just So stories (1902)`. Here the writer opens a poem with the words: “I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who.” For that reason, the six key words are also known as “Rudyard Kipling`s Six Honest Serving Men.” Dear Facebook friend, if you found this piece of advice useful, then do click on “Like”.