Ashima Khanna is a New Delhi India based Marketing Communication professional and a Personality Development trainer. Her facebook profile is being visited by thousands of her friends and fans every day. Ashima was not so sure how to make use of Facebook.com when she decided to create an account in February 2009. However, now she is enjoying the status of self made online celebrity among her more than 4000 facebook friends.
“Social Networking is all about communication, connection and building strong trust among your online friends. That’s what I have learned from Ashima”.
As an ardent social networker I myself made many good online friends but I always felt something missing in my approach while make new online connections. It was nothing but lacking of self presentation. My low confidence affects my relationships with my friends many times.
After interviewing Ashima Khanna I realized what I should have avoided in last 5 years of my online life. Certainly, this interview will help all those social networking passionate who really want to know how Ashima Khanna has successfully made 4k strong friends on facebook in less than a year and that too genuinely not just by counting every random facebook user. She made her own identity and position in this ample dome of social network in very short span of time.
But what’s so great about her? As I said Ashima has more than 4k friends on facebook, she also gets an average 50 comments every time she updates her notifications. She not only encourages people to talk and discuss on her wall post but also give equal time in discussing and commenting on her friend’s wall posts too. Her personality, down to earth nature, friendliness and open minded thoughts will definitely force you to add her in your friend’s list. She claims herself to be Oprah Winfrey of India and I find her very close to this title.
Read this interview and get more about this Indian Oprah Winfrey Ashima Khanna and her secret of successful and strong social networking.
Hello Ashima, welcome here! Have a superb 2010.
I wish the same to you and all those who would be reading this and to all those too who might not be able to read this. Let’s do our best in our small and big ways.
So, how are things at your end? Any New Year resolutions.
Every year has to have some new beginnings and furthering of the existing plans, so the same is happening now also. I plan to take further the Idea of Self Exploration Module wherein we have people to discuss about themselves in open environment about their personal and professional lives and reach out to solutions to the existing problems… Talking it out is what we call it.
You have a great online network; more than 4,000 Facebook friends. You are soon going to reach the facebook limit of adding 5k people in your network, so how do you feel about it?
Well. I still remember the day in Feb2009, when my friend Praveen told me to join FB and I was a little skeptical as I am more of a talking person but it worked for sure and all positivity.
You have written on your facebook profile “I am India’s Oprah Winfrey, but in my own terms” can you please define this?
We all are aware of what Oprah Winfrey has done and We Indians have been trying to look for India’s Oprah , many known faces in the TV industry has tried but we still are to get one and I firmly believe that I am the one as I have what it takes to be that .. We are a beautiful society but our drawbacks are we are closed but the positive is that we are ready to learn and become better and the best way to that is talking it out.
You are an active facebooker, writing updates, following up with your friends and commenting on other’s update. How do you manage it all?
The passion to do something which is different and thought provoking is what keeps driving me all the time. We can’t live programmed lives and we need to give our best to it is my mantra.
How many of your facebook friends are your real life friends? On the other side, did you ever tried to meet your facebook friend in real life? Share the story if any.
Actually plenty of them have become real life friends, it’s like meeting a lot of likeminded people and we are in the process of devising some plans to take some positive work further.
What do you think about Social Networking in India?
It has suddenly taken India by a storm for good and is here to stay till human existence, it seems.
Ashima, can you please write down 5 things one should avoid while on social networks.
I believe there is nothing called Dos and Dont’s here, One just needs to be one’s real self and also not take things as people put them across in the initial phases, reasoning out helps, if one wants to have good and lasting friendships … I have had encounters with people who are here for many different things but we better not encourage the negatives and if they are basically nice people, they will realize their mistakes, if they don’t then they are better kept at bay.
What are your 5 tips to make a strong and really useful network online?
As I said, being inquisitive, assertive in one’s writing style and reasoning out things logically helps and the best is being one’s own self, which I suppose gets very difficult in real life too 
Among all of your friends in your network, can you tell us your favorite and most interesting people to connect with, and why?
Many actually follow the thought processes they carry. There are some people who get easily carried away and some who would love to talk their programmed ways.
There are positive people who talk logic, negative people who just want their word to be heard without any reasoning and others who are here to become friends and explore life.
If not facebook, where we can find you online? Any other virtual place you love to be there?
None other than Facebook.com.
Which one is your favorite Indian Social Networking site?
In India it is PeerPower.com, otherwise I like Facebook and LinkedIn as of today.
