New Enterprise: Local news on cellphone – Hill girls’ sms venture

(BY RAJEEV RAVIDAS


Pranita and Nikita at work. (Chinlop Fudong Lepcha)
Kalimpong, March 8: Two young girls have been making gainful use of their mobile phones, sending out text messages of local and regional news headlines to subscribers interested in keeping themselves updated with breaking and developing stories.

The duo of Pranita Chhetri, 21, and Nikita Bariely, 22, had launched their news service, SMS Headlines Every Evening on Mobile (SHEEM), a little more than a month back. Till date they have 150 odd subscribers with some of them based in as far as Mumbai and Mizoram.

In Kalimpong alone, they have around 100 subscribers.

To get this daily service, one has to pay Rs 10 for registration and Rs 50 per month as subscription fee.

“We source our stories from the local television channel, radio and even the Internet. While selecting the top stories of the day, we are guided by Manoj Rai, who works for a local news channel,” said Pranita, a second-year English honours student of Kalimpong College.

After selecting the top stories of the day, the girls sit together in the evening and type in the headlines in their cellphones as a text message before sending it to their subscribers.

Nikita, a graduate in geography from the same college, said: “We mainly work from home. However, before sending out the messages in the evening, we come together at one place and do our work.”

Heera Chhetri, who has been guiding the two friends with the selection and presentation of the news items, said it was refreshing to see youngsters making good use of SMS. “When other kids use the technology for meaningless stuff, these two are using the same for gainful purposes. They need to be encouraged,” he said.

Currently, the subscribers get to read only the headlines of the top stories through SMS. The girls, however, said they have plans to upgrade the service in future by providing links that will enable a subscriber to read, hear or watch the news in detail.

“Depending on the feedback we receive from our subscribers, we intend to improve our services,” said Pranita.

The experience of working in such a venture, the girls hope, would hold them in good stead when they look for a full-time career.

“As it is, getting government jobs, or even private ones, are becoming increasingly difficult. This experience will better prepare us to stand on our own feet in the future,” said Pranita.

source: The Telegraph