Twitter has once again proven its significance as the media that facilitates social movement in the bomb blast tragedy in Jakarta. Twitter, a social network website which provide a room for people to communicate with their networks by answering a simple question of “what are you doing?” has been turned by its users into a media to spread far more important information than breakfast menu or recent career promotion. Twitter has become the place for global celebration of information and a social movement mediator.
Become a part of global celebration of information can mean staring at the computer screens for hours, doing absolutely nothing (besides going to the bathroom maybe), and scrolling through thousands of digital garbage. This pile of information can be considered trash because most of the time you just receive personal information about somebody else’s breakfast menu, sex life, work promotion, and how unfair the world treating them. If you are lucky enough to follow an aspirant philosopher or at least somebody who actually care about what they say to the world on twitter, then you might get a daily dose of words of wisdom or inspiration. But, what good that words of wisdom might do to our life if we don’t get our butt out of the chair and start doing something meaningful?
The question is, is that all that we can do with Twitter? Just stare at meaningless information and sending an even more meaningless one? Twitter users all over the world have proven that they can give a more significant meaning to the site. Iranian protesters have given the example on how Twitter can be so significant. TIME reported that the day after the election when protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began escalating and the Iranian government moved to suppress dissent, the Twitter verse exploded with tweets in Both English and Farsi, informing in real time what happened in Iran (TIME ASIA, June 29 to July 6). Up until now, #iranelection is still on top of trending topics list right under Michael Jackson, Bruno, and of course #Jakarta. This phenomenon proven that if you use it for a bigger purpose, internet will do something bigger than we can ever imagine.
TWITTER ON JAKARTA BOMBLAST
This morning I experienced it myself. Less than an hour after a bomb blast in JW Marriot and Ritz Carlton, twitter users all over the world flooded the site with thousands of tweets on the bomb. They share photos, news, condolences, fear, or anger. It’s amazing to witness how twitter can help people from all over the world turn their heart and mind to a single issue. This can really mean something for the people in Indonesia. People in Indonesia especially in Jakarta will know that there are people at the other end of the world who also have similar concern and who also share similar experiences. But, this can also mean so much more.
Terrorism is a serious global issue. More and more people are afraid that they might have more chance to get killed by a terrorist than to get married, for instance. It is a matter of global security and more than that it is a global thread towards humanity. It is a crisis that must be addressed seriously by every government or even every person in this world with a basic assumption that only violence generates violence. So, in this case nobody is innocence. Including us!!
However, what’s more important in the context of social media is how social media able to facilitate the world to gather around one issue. It is significant because this global gathering will bring one, two, or even hundreds of people who “really care” to start yet another global movement to fight terrorism without addressing any prejudices to any group at all and global social network is one of the most effective way to eliminate prejudices because there is a global system of control. People can always send counter towards whatever opinion that they think is offensive. The readers of the news feeds then can decide critically which side they will prefer to stand or they can build new opinion on the issue.
I especially want to quote a very interesting and inspiring tweet from Irshad Manji, a moral courage activist of NYU, on Jakarta’s bomb blast. She said, Turn your thoughts to #Jakarta, bcuz Indonesia is the indisputable hope for progressive Islam.” As a Moslem, I considered this tweet significant. It contains a call for everybody in the world to “save” Indonesia because Indonesia is hope. The tweet signifies Indonesia’s position as a hope for the development of progressive Islam in the eyes of the world. It also signifies a strong non-violence message which will lead people who care to stop pointing fingers towards Moslem. Like what I wrote earlier, only violence generates violence. So, nobody is innocence, including Moslem world and western world. This tweet invites us to contemplate deeper towards the situation in the world, to think of what can we do to help establish peace, and to act on it.
This tweet strikes me and gives me hope that when we use it for a bigger purpose and we take full control of it, the social media will provide an effective space to start social movements for the well-being of human in the future. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go offline and start to act then go online to spread the words! Use social media for a bigger purpose and stop informing the world about our breakfast menu! We are one step away to change the world! *** Sakdiyah Ma’ruf, 17 Juli 2009
PS: As we speak, the issue of Jakarta Bomb Blast has turned into a larger movement of Indonesian Revival..through #indonesiaunite..
SPREAD THE WORDS..FLOOD YOUR TWITTER WITH #INDONESIAUNITE..
TIME TO STAND UP AND UNITE..INDONESIA UNITE !!
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