2009: Year of Twitter

It became the talk of the town, following its political and business use, and more recently its widespread general use.

The starting point of the Twitter phenomenon was the political use of the short-message network by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (@thaksinlive), giving Twitter mass-media attention.

This was followed by the first online interview of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (@PM_Abhisit) via Twitter by The Nation's chief editor Suthichai Yoon (suthichai).

Then came the first business seminar on Twitter, called "Twitter for Business Conference in Thailand" (TWTCON BKK 09). It was conducted by host Poramate Minsiri, chief executive of Bundit Centre - an owner of kapok.com.

The move confirmed that Twitter was no longer simply "the hype", but had become a real-time tool for business that was changing the approach to marketing, customer service and crisis management.

More than 100 Thai companies of all descriptions have already boarded the "new-media bandwagon" by opening Twitter accounts. They include Boon Rawd Brewery (@Singha_Beer), Central Department Store (@Centralnews), Fuji Restaurant (@Welovefuji) and Kasikornbank (@KBank_Live).

The last big event of the year was when Thailand's top 10 "Tweeple" - top users of Twitter - met for the first time in an old-fashioned face-to-face communication called "Tweeple Talk".

Twitter users joining the event included Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu (@korbsak), Apirak Kosayodhin (@Apirak_Bangkok), Suranand Vejjajiva (@suranand), and Phra Maha Wudhijaya Vajiramedhi (@vajiramedhi).

They shared opinions and Twitter experiences with about 200 people who joined them, as well as 30,000 to 40,000 other Twitter users in Thailand through a live broadcast on www.beenets.com/live.

There are now many monthly meetings of various Twitter-user groups, including "Twitter BKK" and "Twitter CM".

Another remarkable achievement for Thailand's Twitter society was the "We Love King" campaign. Thais showed their love for their beloved monarch by making the tweet "WeLoveKing" the top-trending topic in the world during half an hour on the evening of December 5 - His Majesty's birthday. It was the first time a Thai topic had dominated the most-mentioned category of the most-popular social-networking tool of the digital world.