-
China captures arson suspect in karaoke lounge blaze that killed 18
World -
Ebrahim Rasool: I did not apply for ANC position
Politics -
Hawks hunt suspects following R30m cash-in-transit heist
Local -
Investec chairperson called k-word, feared for safety, court hears
Local -
WC Environmental Affairs Dept investigating water theft reports
Local -
Magashule: ANC processes in place to address Mahumapelo matter
Politics
-
Hawks hunt suspects following R30m cash-in-transit heist
Local -
Investec chairperson called k-word, feared for safety, court hears
Local -
WC Environmental Affairs Dept investigating water theft reports
Local -
Magashule: ANC processes in place to address Mahumapelo matter
Politics -
Takata airbag defect prompts Nissan recall
Business -
Details of strained relations emerge in Jason Rohde murder trial
Local
-
Chiefs match against Golden Arrows to go ahead in wake of fan violence
Sport -
Roma won't sit deep at Anfield vows Di Francesco
Sport -
Khoza: Police need more assistance at football matches
Sport -
[CARTOON] The Beautiful Game's Ugly Side
Sport -
England captain Hartley ruled out of SA tour
Sport -
Wenger will get many job offers after leaving Arsenal, says Dein
Sport
Popular Topics
-
Wounded soldier gets world's first penis transplant in US operation
Lifestyle -
Bill Cosby declines to testify in his sexual assault retrial
Lifestyle -
[LISTEN] Florence Masebe: Time to talk about SA’s #MeToo campaign
Local -
Prince William leaves St Mary's Hospital following royal birth
Lifestyle -
Shania Twain reveals abuse ordeal
Lifestyle -
Jennifer Lopez fears she'll fail on new projects
Lifestyle -
[WATCH] Stockholm parties for Avicii
World -
Dwayne Johnson: My relationship with fans is important
Lifestyle -
Zendaya slams Hollywood's beauty standards
Lifestyle
-
Ebrahim Rasool: I did not apply for ANC position
Politics -
Magashule: ANC processes in place to address Mahumapelo matter
Politics -
ANC to visit NW party structures over violent protests
Politics -
KZN ANC ready to elect new leadership
Politics -
'Why would I reject such a beautiful person?'
Politics -
Mbalula: ANC would be more than happy to have De Lille
Politics
-
[OPINION] Swaziland: A country by any other name
Opinion -
[ANALYSIS] Why manufacturing a key vaccine in South Africa is so important
Opinion -
[ANALYSIS] Abalone poaching: lifting the lid on why, how and who
Opinion -
[ANALYSIS] African leaders more constrained by democratic rules than you think
Opinion -
[OPINION] Varsity Rugby will evolve international rugby
Sport -
[OPINION] What to expect of Cuba’s new president, Miguel Díaz-Canel
Opinion
Popular Topics
-
[TIMELINE] The political rise and (sudden) fall of Jacob Zuma
Local -
2017 ANC national conference
Politics -
FEATURE: 2017 ANC Elective Conference
-
Special Feature: Zimbabwe in Crisis
-
#RWC10: Where were you?
-
[FEATURE] Wishing for water: The crisis in SA's forgotten areas
Local -
The Gathering
Local -
[FEATURE] The factory of second chances
Local -
[FEATURE] A place to call home
-
Takata airbag defect prompts Nissan recall
Business -
Eskom eyes small suppliers to tackle coal shortage
Business -
Saftu strike aims to bring country to standstill
Local -
[LISTEN] The science behind unit trusts
Business -
#RandReport: Rand hits 3-month low on soaring dollar
Business -
Car deal extras - what they can and can’t add to your finance contract
Lifestyle
Popular Topics
- Tue
- 25°C
- 10°C
- Wed
- 24°C
- 12°C
- Thu
- 22°C
- 10°C
- Fri
- 24°C
- 13°C
- Sat
- 23°C
- 9°C
- Sun
- 23°C
- 10°C
- Tue
- 19°C
- 13°C
- Wed
- 20°C
- 11°C
- Thu
- 18°C
- 13°C
- Fri
- 17°C
- 12°C
- Sat
- 20°C
- 13°C
- Sun
- 18°C
- 11°C
- Tue
- 27°C
- 11°C
- Wed
- 26°C
- 11°C
- Thu
- 25°C
- 12°C
- Fri
- 27°C
- 12°C
- Sat
- 26°C
- 12°C
- Sun
- 26°C
- 13°C
- Tue
- 25°C
- 7°C
- Wed
- 26°C
- 7°C
- Thu
- 25°C
- 10°C
- Fri
- 26°C
- 11°C
- Sat
- 26°C
- 9°C
- Sun
- 26°C
- 9°C
- Tue
- 26°C
- 19°C
- Wed
- 25°C
- 19°C
- Thu
- 28°C
- 19°C
- Fri
- 24°C
- 20°C
- Sat
- 25°C
- 19°C
- Sun
- 24°C
- 20°C
- Tue
- 19°C
- 15°C
- Wed
- 21°C
- 14°C
- Thu
- 22°C
- 16°C
- Fri
- 19°C
- 12°C
- Sat
- 17°C
- 12°C
- Sun
- 21°C
- 13°C
- Tue
- 19°C
- 11°C
- Wed
- 22°C
- 11°C
- Thu
- 17°C
- 10°C
- Fri
- 19°C
- 10°C
- Sat
- 19°C
- 10°C
- Sun
- 18°C
- 8°C
- Tue
- 18°C
- 13°C
- Wed
- 20°C
- 12°C
- Thu
- 17°C
- 12°C
- Fri
- 17°C
- 12°C
- Sat
- 18°C
- 12°C
- Sun
- 16°C
- 12°C
- Tue
- 28°C
- 11°C
- Wed
- 27°C
- 11°C
- Thu
- 26°C
- 12°C
- Fri
- 28°C
- 11°C
- Sat
- 27°C
- 12°C
- Sun
- 27°C
- 12°C
- Tue
- 24°C
- 8°C
- Wed
- 26°C
- 10°C
- Thu
- 24°C
- 10°C
- Fri
- 22°C
- 7°C
- Sat
- 25°C
- 12°C
- Sun
- 24°C
- 11°C
- Tue
- 28°C
- 11°C
- Wed
- 25°C
- 13°C
- Thu
- 26°C
- 11°C
- Fri
- 25°C
- 10°C
- Sat
- 28°C
- 11°C
- Sun
- 23°C
- 11°C
- Tue
- 18°C
- 13°C
- Wed
- 21°C
- 13°C
- Thu
- 22°C
- 13°C
- Fri
- 19°C
- 11°C
- Sat
- 16°C
- 11°C
- Sun
- 21°C
- 11°C
[EXPLAINER] Helen Zille: How to be a good Twitterzen
A good Twitterzen can be defined as someone who observes the laws of the Twitterverse and follows them as best they can in their own capacity. It is someone who contributes to society, engages in discourse and participates in public affairs with wisdom and knowledge. Good Twitterzenship is tied to civic duty. To be a good Twitterzen, one must act in a way that is responsible and this same action is required of every member of society because civic duties are the basic doctrines of being a Twitterzen. Good Twitterzens fulfil their responsibilities with regard to their country.
In a nutshell, we must all aim to be good Twitterzens, and with just a little bit of thought and effort, we can.
Listen-up: One of the best ways to be a good Twitterzen is to contribute in the form of information. But dispersing good, quality information means that you pay attention to the conversations that are happening around you, you take other people’s opinions into consideration and you educate yourself before you even think of hitting the Tweet button.
Work harder: In the Twitterverse, the job you have matters. So if, for example, you are the former leader of an opposition party and the current premier of the Western Cape, the tweets you provide to others should contribute to a stronger community. Your job matters. And if you should find yourself unsuited for the position, because instead of building a community you seek to break it down, then you should leave the Twitterverse, search Google for a new job and apply for your Twitterzenship at a later stage.
Use the news: A good Twitterzen reads up and stays fully informed on the issues that surround their society. The word “fully” means that you pay as much attention to the hashtags you love (like” #SaveTheRhino) as well as hashtags you maybe don’t like, such as” #RHODESMUSTFALL. The latter hashtag, for example, is significant because it challenges your basic understanding of the world and paying attention to it will give you a better understanding of how you should or should not get involved. It’s also good because if you know anything about #RHODESMUSTFALL, you will know that tweeting in favour of colonialism is basically kak behaviour. Major Twitterzen fail.
Don’t say a word: When you find yourself becoming a little bit bored or irrelevant, when you sit in your Constantia home with nothing but the past failure of the DA to keep you company, when you find that you have a little extra time on your hands, then do the right thing. Give back to the Twitterverse community by sharing. Share in the form of silence. Sometimes all you have to do to be a good Twitterzen is be quiet.
Get Twitter training: Before you can even think of assisting your fellow Twitterzens, before you can even think of contributing to the Twitterverse and becoming an integral and appreciated part of society, you must get training. If you don’t, blood will spill and you will have a PR nightmare on your hands. No one wants an apology in 140 characters when shots have already been fired. If you do not get training, steps 1 to 4 are irrelevant. You will forever wander in the underworld of the microblog as a bad Twitterzen and no one will want to engage with you online, like, for example, watch the video you did with Suzelle DIY on how to save water.
Haji Mohamed Dawjee is a commentator on gender equality, sexuality, culture, race relations and feminism as well as ethics in the South African media environment.
More in Opinion
-
[OPINION] Should the Commonwealth still exist?
18 hours ago -
[OPINION] Swaziland: A country by any other name
21 hours ago -
[ANALYSIS] Why manufacturing a key vaccine in South Africa is so important
22 hours ago -
[ANALYSIS] Abalone poaching: lifting the lid on why, how and who
3 days ago -
[ANALYSIS] African leaders more constrained by democratic rules than you think
3 days ago -
[OPINION] Varsity Rugby will evolve international rugby
4 days ago
Choose an EWN Twitter account
Follow @ewnreporterFollow @ewnupdates
Follow @ewnsport
Follow @ewntraffic

Comments
EWN welcomes all comments that are constructive, contribute to discussions in a meaningful manner and take stories forward.
comments powered by DisqusHowever, we will NOT condone the following:
- Racism (including offensive comments based on ethnicity and nationality)
- Sexism
- Homophobia
- Religious intolerance
- Cyber bullying
- Hate speech
- Derogatory language
- Comments inciting violence.
We ask that your comments remain relevant to the articles they appear on and do not include general banter or conversation as this dilutes the effectiveness of the comments section.
We strive to make the EWN community a safe and welcoming space for all.
EWN reserves the right to: 1) remove any comments that do not follow the above guidelines; and, 2) ban users who repeatedly infringe the rules.
Should you find any comments upsetting or offensive you can also flag them and we will assess it against our guidelines.
EWN is constantly reviewing its comments policy in order to create an environment conducive to constructive conversations.