Social media: Recognised as a new trend, but is it now the real norm?

2011, the year social media is finally regarded as a useful and efficient tool. A tool to spread out messages, be it informative or otherwise. Comparison between the use of social media between 2010 and 2011, there indeed lays a difference in the way social media is being use.

When we think of social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter first comes to our mind. Others might include Blogger or Tumblr, and Digg too.

2010, might well be the year most Singaporeans embraced social media. And I’m not just on and about youtube or blogger. For a long time, Singaporeans had well been receiving news via the mainstream source. Sources which are considered the tradition ways, like the radio and newspaper as well as television. Mainstream sources tend to be much more formal than contemporary ones. A good and trusty, perhaps creditable example might well be the Youth Olympic Games (YOG). As every Singaporean knows, this tiny island hosted the first ever YOG in 2010. Have a quick search for YOG 2010 in Twitter. There certainly isn’t much tweets regarding that.  It is rather because citizens or netizens uses Facebook. Now, the tides are certainly changing. With more using both Facebook and Twitter as a tool.

Twitter in 2010 sees the foundation for the whatnots in the Singapore local community scene. It arises out a number of fake or some might prefer to term it as parody accounts. Accounts of schools like @therealfakeFASS or @fakeMOE and much more. As a results, this actually incubates and promoted the growth of more @fakexxx accounts. With accounts springing up faster. However, a majority of such accounts becomes inactive, since it is more of a novelty. However, some still remains, tweeting regularly (on a hourly basis) or occasionally (Every day) as well as once in a blue moon (every other day).

The surge in the excessive @fakexxx accounts might well stemmed onto following the bandwagon (of the @fakeFASS). Like all true blue Singaporeans, once we see something interesting, we join in. Thus some created @fakexxx accounts, others simply follows blindly. Some parodies are indeed twitting to followers some of their school culture, others just for the sake of having an account with their school (and perhaps wanting a share of the limelight).

With the rise of some of Singapore most famous twitter accounts comes @Blackalogy, a student (not surprisingly). With more than 17K tweets, and 17.5K followers, it is not a force to be reckon with. Content and quality of his tweets? Excellent, with majority of tweets regarding phrases we understand and comprehend. Also, a majority of his followers are Singaporeans, with a significant amount from overseas (like USA, UK, etc).

Twitter community in Singapore continues to be quite diversify and yet singing in the same tune. The leaders (or so I term them) are more or less the @fakexxx accounts (Mentioning to @fakeFASS and @fakeMOE), @SoSingaporean, @mrbrown, @BvsSg (british VS Singapore culture), and the occasional tweets from Singapore personalities like Steven Lim (ya, he once caused a stir online when he dated a teenager girlfriend). Twitter accounts also tend to stimulate interactions between both followers and the accounts, with the use of the hashtag (or the “#” sign), like #sgfoodplaces which trended at end 2010. This might well be one signs twitter is now gaining popularity in comparison to Facebook.

One of the most important thing such accounts knew from the start is that if they are going to retain their followers, the tweets must be entertaining and of relevance to them followers. Just like any aspiring actors, they must have the appeal to their fans by being of relevance. Like how relevance is of them being to their followers? The quality of tweets, and how often they does that. The subject mattered to them and much more. Although this might be done in jest with the various accounts trying to vie for attention of the followers, but it is might well be good for the twitter community as a whole. Since Singaporeans have nothing better to do and to sit in front of their computer and post accusation stories on STOMP, or bitching about their workplace environment on forums like SGforums and such. It helps channel the negative thoughts into something positive. Everyday or so, be assure of something to trend from them.  Be it #changesonglyricstocum or any other types of trend. It helps spur creativity of fellow Singaporeans (who said Singaporeans are not creative?)

2010 had passed, and now onto 2011. 2011 sees more hype on the activity on board Twitter. With Singapore virtually being a wifi hotspot (and it’s free!), majority of young adults having mobile data plan subscription as well as androids or iPhones/iPad/iTouch, they are in easy access to internet, and also, social media.

The first major hyped up event occurring in tweetsphere might well be the infamous Samantha of Holland Village. In case some of us had forgotten about it, here’s a short recap.

Samantha, resides in Holland Village complains on how her fellow Singaporeans dressed shabbily in Bermudas and shorts and t-shirts in Holland Village and made a right fuss out of it on a local radio station. The very next day, she rang in and apologised for her remarks, stating that she refers to some people or something. Now, netizens were relative angry and furious over the remarks of this Samantha and Holland V trended overnight at twitter, at least for Singapore.

The first thing that happens, Singaporeans now refer to social media. Twitter, then hop onto Facebook, where 2 guys created an event to call people to wear shorts and T-shirts to Holland Village on this particular date. Numerous Singaporeans responded, and was so worthy that even the local newspaper had an article on the event the next day.

At least in this case Singaporeans react in the same manner. You notice it, you gossip about it to your fellow friends/colleague/siblings/mother/father/whoever via SMS or telephone. But in this case, you tweet. As for the event part, it is being organised almost entirely via Facebook.

Now about 6 months or less later, another wide scale event occurred in Singapore, also thanks to the rise of social media. But this time, it is organized entirely on Twitter. With the hashtag #cookapotofcurry or #replacesongnameswithcurry this helps trigger a sense of communal living amongst Singaporeans, regardless of race, language and religion, together in a democratic society. With Singaporeans feeling strongly against discrimination of a family not able to cook curry when their PRC neighbour is around, hundreds and thousands of Singapore ‘protested’ by cooking a pot of curry. Soon on twitter, terms like PRC and curry are trending. To the extend where #replacesongsnameswithcurry being trending all over the world, especially UK, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and more.

And thus as such, social media is the new kid on the block. But it can now be considered as the real norm, since it is no longer new and it’s not a trend. Like it or not, social media is here to stay, for good.