Regulating “KopiTiam” chatter?

A tip from Content Nation says that “social media isn’t the law of the jungle, it is the law of the campfire”.

I took that tip and ask a question localised to what Singaporeans can understand.

“If Social Media is the law of the kopitiam, how do you regulate that?” I asked.

An open-air kopitiam in Bendemeer, Singapore. Copyright © 2006 mailer_diablo
(Image from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CoffeeShopSG.JPG)

Kopitiam is the local Hokkien term for Coffee (Kopi) Shop (Tiam). It is in this kopitiams that you see folks, usually senior citizens, talking among themselves about local politics, issues, etc.

The answers from Twitter and Facebook were rather humourous.

From Twitter:

dchieng@socialpr you dont. Just like background chatter in any kopitiam, one eventually learns to tune out the crappy stuff

summerisque@socialpr self regulation!! :)

contrabandkarma@socialpr By employing better-looking *beer aunties?

*Beer aunties are reference to ladies (usually in late 30s onwards) working at these kopitiam to promote a kind of beer.

From Facebook:

Amos Choy at 9:21am May 22
Spike the coffee.

Edvarcl Heng at 9:41am May 22
chop social net accounts with tissue

But why do we need to regulate the chatter on the Internet? Is the individual voice of many too scary?

Or we lack the maturity to handle such freedom of expression?

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