The local Twitter feed was dominated by tweets around SA's fifth democratic elections today, but the 20 years of freedom has - so far - failed to make a mark on Twitter's worldwide trends list.
The top local trends, just after lunch time, included hash tags such as #VotingDay, #ElectionDay, #ThumbsUp, #GetInked2014, Wimpy - which is offering free coffee for those who have voted - as well as Viva ANC and Nkandla. The only other trending topics were #SomeoneTellNorway, James Wilson and DJ Sbu.
Many Tweets included pictures of inked thumbs, reminiscences about previous elections, issues with the voting process, as well as a few light-hearted statements and the amount of time spent queuing.
Facebook feeds also included several references to the national and provincial elections, with pictures of people in queues, mentions of how long it took before posters could make their mark, and photographs of inked thumbs.
Taking part online
Google has also stepped in on the action, celebrating the occasion with what it calls a "unique South African elections doodle", which featured on its local homepage today. The doodle was created by the Google Doodle team and shows the Google letters in the colours of the South African flag, with an election box draped in the flag as the second "g".
YouTube is also keeping an eye on the elections with what Google calls a "Yoodle" - with the local Web site featuring a South African draped voting box, which makes a "sneak" appearance.
"Hover over it, and you'll see the text 'South African Elections 2014'. Click on it and it takes you to a YouTube channel that highlights all the latest election-related videos on YouTube. These videos have been collected by Google from sources across YouTube, ranging from news sources to political parties to individuals expressing their views," says Google.
Various organisations have also been using YouTube and Google+ to create online debates, specifically with the aim of reaching the large contingent of tech-savvy first-time voters, says Google. It cites the example of youth magazine Live, which has hosted a series of debates under the banner VIP (Voting is Power), live-streamed on YouTube.
Most well-known political parties have also been taking advantage of the increased shift to social media, a phenomenon that was much less noticeable five years ago. This year's elections are set to be a social media dress rehearsal for 2019, when political parties' first point of attack will be through the Internet.
The African National Congress, Democratic Alliance, Freedom Front+ and several other parties have been targeting voters through Mxit, Facebook, and Twitter for several months.
A few days before polling started, Fuseware noted a marked increase in online conversations around the elections. "In the last 30 days alone, the African National Congress (ANC) has garnered 67 000 online mentions, the Democratic Alliance (DA) 43 000, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) 22 000, and Agang just under 5 000 across all online media in SA," said MD Mike Wronski last Friday.
What Tweeters say
A few recent tweets include:
?@the_pink_zebra: Voting done - took just under 30 mins. We do it again in 5 years again. #2014SAElections #VotingDay #getinked2014. ?
@jileytwerks: Voting for a different party won't bring back apartheid - my history teacher #VotingDay #VoteSA #vote. ?
@DBooyens: VOTED DONE AND DUSTED #Elections2014 #VoteForChange #VotingDay.
@NikolaosMui: I wish South Africans peaceful elections #VotingDay but consider joining us in #SomeoneTellNorway war.
@NokuthulaMp: Even if though it took 4 hours to get to the booth but it was well worth it...#VotingDay #GetInked2014. ?
@SeanDavidMusic: Make your mark on RSA people | Voting Day #GetInked2014 #Bornfree #VotingDay #ThumbsUp #ElectionDay.
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