Ashlee Betteridge
Nationalism Swells Online in Wake of Attacks
Moments after bombs ripped through the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels on Friday, Indonesians turned to the Internet to trade information and express their outrage.
Microblogging site Twitter was one of the first places to break
the news of the bombings, as people on the scene sent updates from their mobile phones.
Indonesian Web user Fajar Nugraha found online networking was the best way to get news about the blasts.
“This tragedy is really a big blow, again, for our country,” he said. “But this time the internet has played such an important role, more than in 2003 when there was no Facebook or Twitter, to inform the Indonesian people and to tell the rest of the world about what's really happening here and how Indonesians are reacting.”
Since 2003, the last time a terrorist bombing hit Jakarta, the use of the
internet and social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
MySpace, Friendster and YouTube has grown exponentially. Facebook alone
now boasts 2.8 million users in its Indonesia network and is the most popular site in the country, according to Web tracker alexa.com.
Social networks also acted as a unifying force for Indonesian nationalism in the face of the attack. On Twitter, users added a red-and-white overlay to their profile pictures to symbolize the Indonesian flag.
For Jakartan Waraney Rawung, changing his photo was an expression of defiance.
“It means we're not afraid, it means we're not going down, no matter what [the terrorists] throw at us,” Waraney said. “It’s not the kind of message you could send six years ago.”
Twitter users also marked their messages with the tag "indonesiaunite," which rose to become the most popular tag on the site globally on Friday and Saturday night. Trend monitoring site Twist said that the tag accounted for 1.13 percent of worldwide Twitter traffic on Saturday evening.
An IndonesiaUnite! Facebook fan page and Web site followed. The Facebook page attracted more than 5,000 fans by Sunday afternoon.
On YouTube, local rap musician and social network user Pandji
Pragiwaksono released a music video Friday called “Kami Tidak Takut”
(“We Are Not Afraid”), which was widely circulated around the Internet.
But some Web users were skeptical that the swelling of online patriotism would have any lasting impact.
“This incident has had much bigger impact on patriotism among the young than 30 years of propaganda,” technology journalist Aulia Masna wrote on Twitter. “But yesterday's call for unity needs to be followed up by offline activities.”
Hasief Ardiasyah said he hadn’t changed his Twitter photo because he thought the fad would pass. Still, he hopes the current spirit of unity will remain in some form.
“I hope it doesn't take another bombing to keep us together. All this nationalism is good, but it won't mean much unless we all make it count for something in the long run.”
