Without a doubt, Twitter is one of the most popular channels of social media in the world. In my opinion, IT IS the most loved and used channel currently. Once upon a time Facebook had this throne. However, today that is no longer the case.
Just like any form of social media (My Space, Mxit and Facebook), Twitter comprises all sorts of people; perverts, attention seeking people, stalkers, pastors, prostitutes and people who seem to simply exist –particularly on this channel- just to ridicule others.
Thanks to being extensively used by young people, Twitter has become the preferred target for social media marketing. However, it is not only businesses that use it for this purpose but individuals (celebrities) as well, because they want a quick way to connect with an audience, and this way they are able to enhance their fan base.
While this channel is perceived and dubbed the best tool, many of its users developed a tendency of using it to tweet the most disrespectful things to other people; ‘ordinary’ people try to set scores with ‘celebrities’ while certain ‘celebrities’ look down and undermine the same people they depend to create their fan bases.
Tweectivities
There has been an event where a well known DJ was having an argument with his follower because the follower tweeted that this particular DJ was rude. In his response, the DJ said something along the lines of “fans should know their place, just like WE know ours...”
My question here was that, where exactly is a fan’s place? Is it behind the store counter when buying the music? In a queue at Computicket waiting to purchase a ticket to a DJ’s concert??
I fail to understand people such as this DJ, not that there is a need for me to understand them. How do you present yourself to the public as a genuine public figure when you are ordinary but change for the worst and become disrespectful, when you are popular, towards the same people who help to get your business, your image booming?
The most recent incident, as recorded by the most popular entertainment site, involves the elegant Sonia Booth who, by the look of things, was infuriated by a Twitter user, whose reasons to start a fight are still unknown. Just like many other provoked ‘celebrities’, Booth hit back and as a result swear statements were exchanged.
In reality, when we find that the people we surround ourselves with appear to be not so friendly and mean, we find ways of eliminating them. Bonang Matheba, on the other hand, emerged with a very skillful way of eliminating the ‘’not so friendly’ people she has on Twitter; she blocks them.
Me and many people on Twitter looked Bonang’s strategy and not only found it funny but ridiculous as well. Evidently, it slipped the mind that, Bonang after all is a human being too and therefore is subjected to feeling the pain and the hurt many of these people’s tweets might have caused. Blocking them for her proved to be necessary and working too.
Not only does she block, Bonang makes it a point that she retweet mostly –if not only- the nice and positive things many of her followers say to and about her. At first, I found this a bit egocentric of her. However, I came to realise that, we are living at a time where if we don’t draw attention to the positivity that oozes out of the few nice people we have around us, we can never see or feel just how good and beautiful we are. Of course, in this perspective, one needs to be very assertive and well aware of what, how he or she is and all that he or she stands for, so that what people say may come as a confirmation if it is positive.
With all these incidents and many others that take place on Twitter, it has become clear that, this channel is not only popular because of the blue chip companies and public figures registered on it, but also because of people who have personal –or professional- vengeance against others.
Maybe it is safe therefore to conclude that Twitter is certainly not for the faint hearted. In fact, the faint hearted have de-activated their accounts and chose to stay free of the controversy Twitter brings.
If I am not mistaken, T-bo Touch is one of the people who parted ways with Twitter. Maybe he is back these days, I don’t know.
Happy read!
