If you’re like me, then you’ve had that fear of falling behind when it comes to media and technology. I do my best, I study the space, and I read everything I can get my eyeballs on, but there’s still that sensation of missing something that may be happening.
That’s probably been the case for me with social media. I’ve been on Twitter now for exactly eight years. I joined up when I was invited to present at Jeff Pulver’s iconic “140 Characters Conference” that was held at the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit in 2008. It just seemed logical that if I was going to be on stage at a Twitter event it was imperative that I learn the ropes about that burgeoning social medium.
It was a fortuitous event for me, and the beginning of a long, mostly positive relationship on Twitter which rapidly become my social platform of choice. Yes, I have profiles on several other social outlets, including mandatory presence on Facebook. But it’s on Twitter where I feel at home. I have communication with many people outside of North America, especially through speaking appearances at the wonderful Radiodays conferences.
So when I found out that the “Building Better DJs” webinar I presented on behalf of Conclave last week made its debut on Twitter in Indonesia, it got my attention. And I discovered a term that I’ll bet even Lori Lewis hasn’t heard of:
KULTWIT
According to Boomee.co a kultwit is a mashup of the word “kuliah” (a lecture) and Twitter. So by using a series of tweets that tell a story, an Indonesian will link several together like a flip book to present a kultwit.
It turns out Indonesians are way into Twitter, ranking in the Top 5 countries on the platform. Jakarta and Bandung stack up in the Top 10 cities worldwide for most number of tweets. So they know their way around the platform.
And thanks to Iyok Baswara, a radio personality on FM92, my Conclave presentation became a kultwit through a platform called chirpstory. You can check it out here and see a segment of the kultwit here on this post.
The original webinar had a nice reach last week here in North America, and it now has more than 125 views in kultwit form. So it’s not a viral sensation, but still fascinating to see how it’s been translated to a different cultural interpretation on Twitter.
And it’s a reminder that people throughout the world are connecting via the Internet and social media in ways that we can’t even imagine. We may rely on certain social media conventions and courtesies, but across the globe, they use entirely different terms, protocols, and concepts, all on the same platform.
It also suggests that diversity and world cultures aren’t as distant as they once were. Unless you were a world traveler or you had a “pen pal” a decade or so ago, you had very little concept of the world outside of the U.S. and Canada.
Today, a place like Indonesia, at the crossroads of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, is just a mouse click, a like, and retweet away. People are inexorably connected to one another, sharing information, data, and jokes in ways that have never been possible. All the walls, barriers, and other attempts to cordon off entire peoples will ultimately fall short in the ecosystem that’s the worldwide web.
It’s not always pretty, but the Internet continues to move us into a “one world” mindset, making us more aware of diverse people, cultures, countries and concepts that at one time seemed “foreign.”
I’m just wondering whether Iyok and his homies will be able to relate to Herb Tarlek and Woody Allen.
I’m sure I’ll hear from him.
Thanks to Seth Resler for the geography lesson.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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