Public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba is one of the country’s most prominent politicians and one of the few from the ANC on Twitter. Here he recounts how he came to grips with the medium.

It’s been an exciting journey since I first joined Twitter in June 2009. I get to conveniently hear others while being heard. As a migrant from Facebook I initially had teething problems trying to find my way around 140 characters and the concept of “retweeting”.

Being a politician, 140 characters seemed grossly inadequate to me and very out of order, comrade! However, I eventually managed to learn the art of Twitter conversation in a manner that even the speaker of the national assembly could never have succeeded in teaching me to do.

One of the benefits we enjoy on Twitter is breaking news. Twitter excels in this. It is not possible to always be next to the radio in order to get the latest updates. I follow a handful of journalists and media houses that tweet news as it happens. It is like having a peek at tomorrow’s headlines. This is where the technology must be lauded; it has redefined the concept of delivering timely information.

I find the twitterverse to be an interesting platform of engagement, both at an official and social level. It enables us to share and interact directly with tweeple on matters relating to the work we do in government — and it exposes the human side of all of us.

We have had good feedback on various activities, such as the public enterprises budget vote debate in parliament in June.

Then there are the personal bits. Sport is a firm favourite, as is that inevitable daily routine for many people: watching prime-time soapies. I’ve had hilarious conversations relating to a soccer team that seems to sell insurance more than it plays the game. And now everybody knows I support Orlando Pirates FC, Manchester United FC, Barcelona FC and the Sharks — and that I derive narcissistic pleasure in picking on our opponents and poking fun at them when they lose.

Schadenfreude?
Usually when we win or our opponents lose — against anyone as far as I’m concerned — I often use an Nguni idiom in perverse form: “Angihleki lona inxeba lendoda; ngihleka indoda uqobo lwayo” or “I’m not laughing at the person’s wound; it’s at them directly that I’m laughing”.

In Nguni cultures, the phrase is usually used when an accident or misfortune befalls a person, and basically exhorts onlookers not to poke fun at another’s wound, or misfortune. Well, a few Saturdays ago, after Pirates lost to Chiefs (and we were doing them a favour really, saving their coach’s job), many Chiefs supporters turned this on me. Where’s their sense of solidarity?!

Before Twitter we sent each other SMSes or circulated an informal scrap paper in a meeting remarking about the conduct or comment of a particular participant. Twitter is an extension of that social space. It is a platform to share those crazy, witty and humorous moments we come across as we go about our daily business.

It is also a platform to share ideas and opinions. You get to understand what people are thinking of the work we do and the general thinking around other issues of significance, and sometimes not so significant, such as the ones usually tweeted by the former author @ndumisongcobo.

It’s not all fun and games though, and there have been some tricky moments and downsides to the medium.

When I turned 40 last month, I received numerous birthday wishes from tweeple. However, @craigbjacobs spoiled the fun for some who were planning a surprise party by breaking the news on Twitter.

The ugly side
At other times there are irritants who seem to derive pleasure in annoying you, and trying at all times to extract as much negative energy from one as possible. With every single comment you make, even when you say nothing at all, these types will find something negative to say as if their hobby is marking you out and picking on you.

Okay, I, too, sometimes get carried away in Twitter conversations, forgetting it’s a public platform and I’m a political leader (or at least I would like to think I am). This has often resulted in boo-boos arising from genuine mistakes, but also from misinterpretation. Others then create a storm in a teacup timeline out of my boo-boos. Sometimes, I get friendly tweets reminding me to watch my words and remember the nature of this platform. Oops!

Having unending conversations with tweeple can be addictive. Unlike @khayadlanga, who lives to tweet, I tweet just as a pastime mostly in the mornings on my way to work, in between meetings, or in the evenings as part of winding down after a long day. It’s great exchanging pleasantries with @chiefntshingila, @sbodalla, @khayadlanga and other dear friends and to have a decent debate with those holding differing views. I have quite a lot of friends and that is heartening, but I have had to block a few so that I can keep my Twitter sanity.

Abraham Maslow mapped out an intriguing theory of human needs. Among the essentials he thought intrinsic to human existence was the need to belong socially. As an individual of a society, I find strong credence in this theory. We all probe each others’ thoughts and ideas to assess and establish our place in society.

The tool with which we undertake such probing is communication. Just as our forefathers had to traverse a number of mediums to communicate and share ideas, we, too, search for the most convenient and truest form to communicate and belong through the interaction of ideas.

The bandwidth gap
Of course, the ANC is aware that unfortunately only a minority of the people we serve have access to Twitter as it often requires a mobile phone, airtime, network coverage and some level of literacy. Therefore it does not replace our conventional interaction with communities in the places where they live, or via the community radio stations they listen to and other platforms.

The ANC has said in the past that technology presents outstanding opportunities for communication and human development in general. But we also cautioned that it often can be an instrument of abuse in the hands of paedophiles or bullies.

We should all encourage the proper use of technology and see it as a means to bridge the chasms of the past. We should use technology to create the type of society we want our children to inherit; one of diversity and humour, not one devoid of unity and thoughtfulness.

With @PresidencyZA now on Twitter with a verified account, it is inevitable that government will continue to gradually enter the social space, mindful of the pros and cons of such a move in terms of managing expectations.

So, despite the boo-boos, I embrace any technology of interaction with a clear understanding of the inevitability of human error. I embrace it because the advancement of communication is in itself inevitable and we are wiser people in trying to direct it to good than trying to stop it.

And, I can confirm that I tweet myself (mina msalofu)!