By Jasmin Jafrizul
GOMBAK, 13 May 2023: In conjunction with the Communication Festival 2023, the ‘Sembang Santai Creating Content: Going Viral with Values,’ forum took the stage with emotional and inspiring sharing of experiences and ideas from the panelists on Thursday (May 11).
The panelists for the forum were the Head Department of Communication, Assoc. Prof. Dr Zeti Azreen; Zayan’s radio announcers, Faizal Ismail, Lin Arrifin; and social media influencer, Abdul Qawiy.
The forum took a new perspective on how to deal with the surging popularity of social media and the fact that every piece of content made will have an impact on society, big or small.
“Everyone uses social media. If we do not use it for spreading goodness, including da’wah, and the best thing you can share is the Quran because the Quran is never wrong,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeti said.
“When information goes viral, it goes fast, to thousands of people. Whether the viral information brings benefits, or the opposite depends on the content and the content will be based on our personality, knowledge, and background. But, the most important part of making content is to be responsible,” she added.
Especially with the emergence of social media entities like Abdul Qawiy with his famous segment “Tebuk Al-Quran ” recorded the highest number of views up to 12.5 million on his Tik Tok page by 17 December, 2022.
“I never thought of making content based on the Quran, I would make a live video on TikTok every day while reading the Quran, and my consistency gained an audience from around the world, that increased rapidly,” Qawiq said.
He further emphasised that the Quran is never out of date and will remain relevant till the Day of Judgement.
According to Faizal Ismail, “We must get real on social media and not be fake, we need to go back to what our religion asks us to do,” Faizal Ismail added.
Faizal reminded the audience that everyone will be held responsible for what they have done.
Lin Ariffin further shared her journey of fighting her battle with mental illness while proving to be a motivational DJ that spreads her knowledge on parenthood and that the authenticity of being vulnerable is what attracts others to follow her journey.
The forum was divided into three sessions, ending with a Q&A session with the audience, with the panelists receiving a token of appreciation, and with a performance by The Prophecies. .
Moderated by Zayan’s radio announcer, Muhammad Tajdid Hadhari bin Romli (Ustaz Hadhari), and Producer of Sembang Santai, Br. Ameer Ihsan, the forum was organised by IIUM FM in collaboration with Zayan Radio and MYCONTENTFORUM. ***