Ari Lesmana, writing for the West Sumatra-based news portal has written quite a thorough review of an academic paper I presented two years ago in Padang. I must say, the first paragraph is quite a hook, perhaps even better than the paper itself. Ha ha. " Bayangkan jika setiap tweet yang Anda baca di Twitter bisa menceritakan kisah lebih besar tentang perubahan politik sebuah bangsa. Inilah yang terjadi di Malaysia pasca-Pemilihan Umum ke-14 (GE14) pada tahun 2018. Sebuah penelitian komprehensif yang menganalisis lebih dari 4.000 tweet mengungkap fenomena menarik: platform media sosial telah menjadi arena baru bagi kebangkitan nasionalisme Melayu yang berbeda dari masa lalu. Penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Shahnon Mohamed Salleh dan Ismail Sualman dari Universiti Teknologi MARA ini bukan sekadar analisis data digital biasa. Mereka berhasil menangkap momen bersejarah ketika frustrasi politik masyarakat Melayu bertransformasi menjadi gerakan digital yang terorganisir dan berpengaruh...

 My tweet on Netflix's removal of Palestinian films was quoted by the Iranian media, Press TV (28 October 2024). "X user Shahnon Salleh also said the removal of films that depict the everyday experiences of Palestinians living under apartheid and occupation is preventing viewers from gaining a more nuanced understanding of the Palestinian perspective. He slammed Netflix for the decision, warning that the remaining Palestine-related films available on the platform portray Palestinians in a negative light and perpetuate harmful stereotypes of Palestinians as “terrorists.” “Films that show the day-to-day realities of the Apartheid and the occupation, like ‘The Present’ are now gone,” he wrote. “What’s worse is the fact that the only Palestinian-related films still available on Netflix are those that portray them as terrorists. Netflix is complicit,” he added. Full story: ‘Erasure’: Netflix succumbs to Zionist lobby pressure, removes Palestinian films

Seriously, I just don't get it. Why is Gladwell, a well-respected author, is so against the social media? Of course, there were more revolutions before the Internet was born. But social media, for whatever purpose it may serve, is just part of the evolution of communication technology . I think if Gladwell lived in the 50s or 60s, he must have had the same opinion on tv or radio or film. Read his latest piece on The New Yorker here, DOES EGYPT NEED TWITTER?