Politicians however, are not the only ones placed under the watchful gaze of the public. Here’s a clue…In case you haven’t tire of her (I know I have)…
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BOOMZ!!!
Oh yeah, it’s former Miss Singapore World 2009, Miss Ris Low. She became the most well-known pageant winner after an unflattering video of an interview conducted with her was uploaded onto STOMP, The Straits Times integrated blog cum online forum portal. As a result of the unfavourable publicity, Ris Low had to endure a considerable amount of mockery for her poor command of the English language. Being inexpensive, social media has allowed videos once considered un-newsworthy by the traditional media to be uploaded onto a platform for public viewing.
The video:
And just when you thought it was all over…She has started her own website http:// rislow.sg which features quite a few photographs of her in seductive poses. One smart girl who makes good use of social media, probably gearing to become the next Xiaxue. Besides, at the rate she’s coining out new words (which according to a recent interview, she immensely enjoys doing), she could probably publish Singapore’s very own Dictionary: Ris Low version!
Remember him?
This guy used to be my No.1 idol (until Ris Low took over). A Season 3 American Idol reject, he transformed into an overnight sensation with a cult following. And all these started over the social media.Videos of his audition spread like wildfire across video sharing sites and blogs, eventually landing him a contract to hammer out his own album of ‘She Bangs’ songs.
Like Ris Low, he has his very own website and online store selling William Hung Mercandise and oh wait, autographed photos of himself for just US$9.90!
Want A Piece Of Me?
While this has increased the variety of entertainment sources for the public and propelled some individuals into national celebrities overnight, we need to ask ourselves whether we are potentially promoting a tabloid culture locally. A tabloid culture panders to the voyeur in all of us. Gossiping and being ‘kaypoh’ (the local vernacular for busybody), are hardly unique to any particular civilisation or era. However, such a culture also raises the pertinent question of whether one’s privacy is being intruded upon. Over STOMP’s interactive website, users, also known as STOMPers, are encouraged to post video recordings of public or private life under ‘Singapore Seen’ and ‘DIY Video’. SNSs have similarly contributed to this tabloid culture. SNSs users reveal snippets of their thoughts that are broadcast to all their contacts and through photographs and videos uploaded onto their profile page by themselves or others. All these information are made public, with every intention to showcase aspects of their personal life.
The tabloid culture has long been enshrined in the USA media industry, with the penny papers, the first newpapers made available to the masses, being tabloid in nature (Source – Chapter 11: A press for the masses). This has manifested itself in recent years in the form of bloggers Perez Hilton and website TMZ which revolve around the celebrity industry. Singapore’s ‘DIY Video’ could also have found an inspiration in Lonelygirl15, in which a series of homemade videos of fictional character Bree, played by American-New Zealand actress Jessica Rose, were uploaded onto video sharing website Youtube. While the local tabloid scene has hardly been a vibrant one, the social media, functioning as a vector for tabloid culture from the USA, could potentially alter the Singaporean tabloid landscape.
