Apparently humans today have short attention spans. I mean, really short. Thus you see more people flocking over to Twitter instead of taking their sweet time sitting down with a magazine. Newspapers? That’s for wrapping nasi lemak. Why spend money to buy lies printed on cheap paper when you can get live coverage via Twitter?
No, not everyone is internet savvy. Nor can every other guy afford a smart phone, to be checking up on trending topics. But why resist it? It will somehow creep up on you anyway. And poof, you’ll be thumbing tweets and scrolling stuff, being on the pulse of things.
Being on the pulse of things – now that’s catchy.
And thus from all this tweeting and hashtagging, some joker thought it was a good idea to group together and form a virtual community, like the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. So it came to pass that Malaysian tweeples claim to be netizens of #Twitterjaya. This, my dear reader, is where you find the whole lot of people with the shortest attention span ever. Like little kids high on sugar, with an attention deficit disorder.
Twitter runs on a timeline. Thus the need to constantly plant your face in your phone-screen. With only 140 characters to explain yourselves, you build up this skill of writing catchy stuff. When other people think you’re funny, they follow you. Thus begins your reign as a Twitterjaya superstar, which in some way gives you this awesome superpower called online marketing.
Some sell their music. A few sell their clothes. But most of them share their beliefs and ideas. Which is why most (if not all) politicians (and would be politicians) are blabbing on Twitter, forwarding their agenda for reform and stuff. Never mind that these politicians sometimes tweet pure crap, like what they’re eating for breakfast or what important event they’re attending (thus the hashtag #TweetMacamYB); the whole idea is to connect with those who matter – the voters.
Some might question whether Twitterjaya really is a political entity. I say, why not? If a group of like-minded people could come together and voice out their opinions, why can’t they become a political entity? If Prime Minister Najib Razak could accept the proposal of follower on Twitter to change the name of Puduraya, why can’t he listen to the whole of us who have been expecting his replies to our tweets?
Note that Twitterjaya doesn’t only exist in a virtual cocoon. It has so far organized debates and TweetUps to take things further than the 140 character limit. Most recent was of course the unforgettable Tan Keng Liang vs Edmund Bon debate on the rushed Peaceful Assembly Act 2011. I wouldn’t want to talk about how Keng Liang made a fool of himself. Nonetheless such an event enforces the fact that Twitterjaya is more than mere online ranting but an awesome platform for activism.
Is Twitterjaya the 223rd Parliamentary seat? Well.. You tell me. Tan Keng Liang would be interested, that’s for sure. He was indeed trending during the TKL vs Bon debate, such popularity can only be compared to the achievement by the #yorais phenomena a while back. -The Rocket
So.. What’s trending today Twitterjaya?
*P223 Twitterjaya is a new featured column making its debut on therocket.com.my, watch this space for more updates!
