Having read the article below, I too registered for an account for Kajang. I hope it can be a place where information on the ongoings and happenings in Kajang can be disseminated quickly. This can include events, meetings, shows, concerts, makan places, etc, etc. The more the better actually. So, I look forward to support from all and please spread the news.
They prefer to remain anonymous but tweet from neighbourhood-based accounts to act as the eyes and ears of the community.
Their
influence spreads fast; it started with @ttdiTV, soon followed by
@bandarutamaTV, @TropicanaTV, @KepongTV and lately @MuarTV and many more
have been created independently by residents of the respective areas to
the delightful surprise of the pioneers. TV stands for ‘Twitter
Vision’.
The creators of this new trend were four friends in
their 30s from Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) who felt that they could and
should do something for their community.
Youth appeal: The younger generation who are usually lukewarm about local goings-on are intrigued by this latest trend.
One
of them, nicknamed Hafiz, works in the telecommunications industry,
felt the vibrancy and potential of Twitter in engaging people in a
community as compared with online forum that was much more
time-consuming.
“It is like a minimalist platform. You have
succinct discussions about things in your community and the updates are
real-time,” he told StarMetro at Mukha Café in TTDI, recently.
“At
the same time, there was a lot of political discussions going on and we
hope to offer something different that allows people to touch base with
the community, in a non-political way,” he added.
Hafiz and his
two friends who turned up for the interview preferred to keep their
anonymity and be represented only as @ttdiTV, so that their identities
and backgrounds would not impose any influence.
Common
platform: With neighbourhood-based Twitter accounts created, those who
live, work, run business or simply care about the area can share
real-time updates, info and queries on Twittersphere.
“It is also better to retain the element of curiosity, that’s part of the attraction!” Hafiz said with a chuckle.
Started
in November last year, the group had to do a little bit of “promotion”
such as tweeting about important telephone numbers of the community,
searching for people who tweeted about TTDI to get @ttdiTV seen.
Within
a month, it had garnered about 200 followers and now more than 2,200
are actively contributing and exchanging tweets about their
neighbourhood.
“We did not expect the residents to be so hungry for information,” added Jai who is in the property industry.
The
followers include both young and old, who are not only TTDI residents,
but also those who work, run business or have moved out from here.
On the chosen acronym TV, Hafiz said people spent more time on Twitter than TV nowadays!
It
is a colourful and interesting interactive platform for all the people
who care about the area, with topics ranging far and wide.
There are the common information that neighbours love to share, such as where’s the best place for roti canai,
how’s the traffic or weather and utility service disruptions, not
forgetting an update that’s unexpectedly popular among the parents —
report card day.
Sometimes, the followers make good use of the platform.
“There
are lost pet searches, job recruitments, even match-making and spell
check! Instead of Google, they ask @ttdiTV,” Hafiz said.
But they don’t have to be a Mr Know-it-all. They simply retweet the questions and others who know will answer.
“That’s crowd wisdom,” Zu quipped.
The
four have brought the platform a notch up by introducing fun and simple
things. One of it is the regular contests with prizes sponsored by
businesses that benefited from the neighbourhood tweeting.
With a geographically-connected online community formed, Twitters poll is easy, too.
Some of the findings are: 91% of TTDI residents want a McDonald’s outlet there and 68% think curry is Maggi’s best flavour.
They
also keep residents updated on the latest news by live tweeting from
townhall meetings and at the same time explore into the past by tweeting
about history of the area and leaders represented by the street names.
Businesses
in the area have also successfully leveraged on the new platform, so
much so that @ttdiTV founders were invited to speak at a SME forum
recently.
Sayid Abdul Rahman and Liyana Ferdaus from the
three-month-old Mukha Cafe shared that @ttdiTV had almost
single-handedly brought customers streaming in as the followers started
discussing about the restaurant.
“The followers discuss actively
about the businesses and services in the neighbourhood. Even if the
comments are negative, we welcome them,” Sayid said.
However,
when suggested by some to organise activities for followers to meet,
they prefer to leave that to the residents’ association that has been
very supportive.
Undoubtedly, the effort has made the younger
generation, who are commonly lukewarm about the goings-on in their
neighbouhood to bind closer.
“Community is a state of mind, when you have a platform to get them involved, they become part of it,” Hafiz said.
The four, on the other hand, are rewarded by contentment.
“With urban living, many don’t really know what’s going on around them but this makes me feel like I am part of something.
“It feels like in the old kampung days when the neighbourhood is so closely knitted, just that this is happening on cyberspace,” said Jai.
The
group has inspired many to create a Twitter account for their
respective communities in an attempt to give back to the place they live
in and @KepongTV that was created in August was one of them.
The
crew behind the scene are three friends who grew up together in Kepong
since kindergarten. They are marketing coordinator Roshita Azlia Ahmad
Zailani and architect Safuan Basiran, a couple with a two-year-old, as
well as engineer consultant Nik Gaddafi Kamil. They are all 31.
“@kepongTV
is still a baby and we have only about 70 followers now but we are
nevertheless happy to receive feedback from unknown neighbours,” said
Roshita.
“We grew up in Kepong, and must do something for it so when Roshita suggested the idea, we agreed at once,” said Nik.
