For some of us, it is a way of life. From whinging about a nightmare of a boss to coordinating protests, Twitter has seen it all in its 5 years of existence. Twitter celebrates its fifth anniversary this week. A product of “a day-long brainstorming session”, Twitter over the years has continued to gain in popularity; among national and global audience from all spheres — celebs, journalists, politicians, marketing gurus — name it and you have it.
Starting with Ashton Kutcher, everyone has something to say. Some believe that it is a great mouthpiece, helping them do away with frantic PRs. Bollywood veteran Anupam Kher says, “I use Twitter as a forum where I can put forward my thoughts as I cannot always organise a press meet. Sometimes, I also play antakshari with my fans. It is quite fun. Also, it’s a great platform to judge the mindset of people.”
If you thought Twitter was only for the glam world, think again. From Indian politicians to American presidential candidates, social activists to people in the media — they are all on Twitter. The undisputed prince of Twitter in India, Shashi Tharoor, has close to one million followers. “It’s important to realise that Twitter is only a vehicle, the message is the issue, not the medium. As an MP with more than 950,000 “followers”, What I am trying to do is bring into the party’s ambit, a large number of people who would otherwise be indifferent to politics.”
Not just that, some governments offer lessons on how to leverage the forum. Mr Tharoor says, “The UK government encourages use of Twitter and even issues guidelines on tweeting. A large number of politicians in 21st century democracies, including India, will be tweeting within 10 years from now.”
Businesses today have specialised agencies to manage their Twitter accounts. ICICI takes its customer feedback on Twitter extremely seriously, using it as a tool to fix issues within a couple of hours. Priyanka Gill, writer and social media enthusiast says, “Twitter has amplified the reach of the average consumer. In the past, the upset consumer would complain to friends and family or write a letter — but today the damage is considerably more.”
Twitter also acts as an incredible knowledge network. Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai substantiates, “I find it useful to get constructive viewer feedback. However, Twitter is often used by some groups as a form of abuse and anger which is unfortunate.”
But there is also a flip side to Twitter. Since it gives everyone a chance to express opinions, we see a kind of self-centredness revolving around it. Kher says, “Celebrity bashing and people updating things like ‘I just had a cup a coffee’ happens here which I really don’t like.” Mr Tharoor couldn’t agree more. “Though of course one cannot ignore the risk of controversy, I am taking great care to ensure that my messages are not misunderstood.”
