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Online birds: The raven, the owl, and the hummingbird
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 01 - 11 - 2013

Different cultures and civilizations have different tales regarding birds that are believed to attract good or bad omens. In Arabic heritage and before Islam, for instance, the sounds of ravens were considered to attract ill omens. In Sweden, ravens are associated with lost souls, as they are thought of as being the ghosts of murdered persons. The Roman believed that an owl's hoot indicated an immense disaster or death. They believed that the deaths of some the famous and powerful men throughout their history were predicted by the hoot of an owl; including, the death of Julius Caesar. Some Indian-American tribes thought the sound of owls was a signal of sickness or potential death. A Mayan legend, narrated the story of a hummingbird that pierced the tongue of ancient king. The blood from the king's tongue was poured on sacred scrolls and burned allowing divine ancestors to appear in the smoke. An analogy can be drawn between these ancient fables and their virtual counterparts today, i.e. online birds.
A fair share of online birds find it difficult to positively utilize their virtual existence on social media. Civil use of social media as a platform for communicating, connecting and sharing knowledge with people from different walks of life is a difficult concept for some online birds to grasp. These birds can be classified into three types: ravens, owls, and hummingbirds.
Raven tweeters specialize in updating people with all kinds of negativity; be it news, gossip, hearsay or negative comments. Ravens are multitaskers, and in addition to their role as negativity spreaders, they feed their hunger for others' flesh by assaulting minorities, promoting extremism and evoking sexism. Such acts of online assault by virtual ravens are spread among many nations, different age groups and people from all walks of life. Disguised with fake names, ravens wear masks that enable them to characterize the hideous attributes that they conceal while conducting their normal life.
Virtual owls keep their eyes wide open for any potential prey that may, God forbid, make any virtual mistake. They spot these comments on different social media channels and retweet and share them for one purpose: to demonstrate someone else's false ideology. By doing so, owls gain more power and influence over their followers.
The significance of hummingbirds lies in their ability to create noise. Spreading whatever information they can find on social media, without a specific goal in mind, is the only reason for their virtual existence. They are colorful and mean no harm; they just want to show off their colorful feathers, fly around, and sing whatever song they have heard without processing anything in their tiny heads.
The collaboration of the raven, the owl, and the hummingbird to create a unique ecosystem on social media is bewildering! I trust that online there exist other, far more beneficial species which have yet to be studied and explored.
The question is: When do the harmful kinds of online birds become extinct?

— Shatha Al-Qurashi
[email protected]
Eastern Province


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