Twitter the micro-blogging website will be celebrating its 10th foundation day March 21 (Vernal Equinox in Northern Hemisphere and Autumnal Equinox in Southern Hemisphere). Since 2006, it caught the attention of social media users for its ease of use, instantaneousness and for its innovative way of compelling the subscribers to compose one's ideas, news, reflections and frustrations in not more than 140-characters.
Twitter is an apt platform to post about something in pithy manner. It teaches (condensing and editing text) to express much in few words.
According to Alexa.com, Twitter's global ranking in terms of popularity is 10th; at the 8th position in the US and at 10th position in India. It has 320 million active monthly users and registers 1 billion visits to sites where the 'tweets of Twitter' are embedded and manages its presence over Internet by employing just 3,900 people.
Portents of the Internet: 80% of the Twitterati are using Twitter on mobile devices and 79% of them are outside the US reminding every app or start-up to venture into Southern Hemisphere, and focus on apps.
Twitter is unusually popular among celebrities, for people in showbiz and glamour industry, for people in political and social sphere and others who use their accomplishment for 'branding a brand' and 'to enhance the image' of oneself or others (person or product). Or, for the sheer elementary pleasure: to share, to make a (style) statement.
Twitter & media:
A journalist of 21st century cannot afford to ignore Twitter unless he or she is still paid for the contribution 'measured in centimeters' (there are stingers and mofussil journalists paid not for the number of words, but for space their reports occupy).
There are beat reporters: Twitter is a beat, too. Monitoring tweets of newsmakers on Twitter, and to troll for a newsy photo, for a noisy scene of action is the norm in the newsrooms.
Twitter: tool for fugitives, and absconders, too
One of the greatest advantages it bestowed to its users is to remain isolated, and insulated yet to stay in touch, instantly. This is a beacon for the oligarchs, capitalists, fugitives, absconders and exilers (Nawaz Sharif was exiled when General Musharraf reigned in Pakistan, and vice versa) to make statements. They update their status: alive, and kicking, not absconding.
Since he adopted London as his sojourning (and watering) hole, the IPL founder Lalit Modi spoke to India through Twitter. Without taking a single question from the media, he ranted with his tweets making headline news day after day until the news ebbed (and no one resigned in the BJP governments).
Vijay Mallya: victoriously exits Bharat, and visits via Twitter
Now is the turn of Vijay Mallya to tweak about this and that (Retweeted: Why nobody talking about Air India, which lost 30K crores of taxpayers money, against 10K of Mallya), leaking a snippet about him or her (media bosses sought favours) and tweeting to India via Twitter.
Mallya's is an archetypal story of 'fall' from opulence: once he was India's public 'playboy', introduced 'calendar girls' to the country (commoditisation of the fairer sex), manufactured more beer for the thirsting nation (and exported, too), introduced an airline eponymously named after the beer 'Kingfisher'.
He became popular, and popular, especially with IPL: owned RCB! He is a celebrity, too. On Twitter, he has 4.98 million followers.
The Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka refutes allegations that he had fled or absconding from India. 'I am an international businessman.'
Business takes primacy over Parliament!
Mallya is now voicing to the CBI, ED, political peers and political parties, media and to his virtual constituents via Twitter.
Mallya is aware he is needed in India, badly and for all the wrong reasons. Will he ever land in India… when he lands he will make splash.
Instantly, he is hounded by the British media. His retort to them, via Twitter on 12 March: "I am being hunted down by media in UK. Sadly they did not look in the obvious place. I will not speak to media so don't waste your efforts."
Perhaps, Mallya is not aware of the intrusive nature of paparazzi and the mercilessness of British media: he will soon say thanks to Indian media.
Remember Princess Diana?
(Kovuuri G Reddy is a freelance journalist and he can be reached at [email protected])
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