The latest international Twitter trend? So-called Rotation Curation accounts which represent a given country, and are hosted by a different individual each week. These curators aim to influence the perception of their country abroad.
The @Sweden account gave the idea currency; now the Netherlands has joined the game with the handle @Netherlanders.
The rotation will officially start the week of July 16th, but @Netherlanders is up and tweeting already. Dutch citizens and ex-pats can apply to run the account for a week at Netherlanders.eu.
The current Netherlander, @Elmeraculous, has tweeted via @Netherlanders less than a dozen times at time of writing. His seventh tweet was to ask @Sweden to spread the word.
This week’s @Sweden obliged and retweeted him, boosting @Netherlanders’ following from a mere 80 to more than a thousand over the course of Monday.
SEE ALSO: Beyond @sweden: More Country Names on Twitter are Rotating Users“The concept of Netherlanders.eu was inspired by the @Sweden project,” writes Elmer, “so all credits of originality go to them.” The project is in no way affiliated with the Curators of Sweden, the Dutch government, or any tourism group.
“The goal of Netherlanders.eu is to either invalidate or confirm existing prejudices about The Dutch, now also known as Netherlanders,” Elmer adds.
“Do we live in wind mills? Do we walk on wooden shoes? Is the whole country covered with fields of tulips and do we smoke a lot of weed? This may all be true or it may not.”
Sonja Abrahamsson caught international attention for a string of controversial statements she made as the ‘Swede of the Week’.
The Curators of Sweden, an official tourism initiative partly owned by the Swedish government, started the program in December — handing over the handle @sweden to a new Swede every week, in an effort to raise interest in Swedish culture and tourism.
While we won’t ever know exactly how effective the campaign has been in increasing tourism, @sweden has been successful in accumulating 67,000 followers – almost 20,000 of those during Ms. Abrahamsson’s week.
Dozens of Rotation Curation groups have sprouted around the globe in the past six months. Each share a similar purpose, but represent very different cultures. While Sweden seems to have started the trend, it continues to grow.
What other groups would you like to see rotating a Twitter handle? Let us know in the comments.
View As Slideshow »This week's Irishman, Martin McKenna is a biochemist turned designer from Dublin.
Chris Miller,this week's Kiwi representative, is an avid volunteer.
The originator of rotation curation, @Sweden continues to grow in popularity.
While the blog that manages the handle has not updated in months, the handle has successfully continued on to new Australians each week.
The latest to join the rotation-curation trend, The Netherlands are out to show us that they're more than windmills and red-light districts.
While not as active as others, @WeAreAustria continues to make the effort.
While not recognized as a country, the Basque culture is rooted in the very southern region of France and northern region of Spain. Those that share Basque heritage are invited to participate wherever they may be.
The unofficial account began in April. This week's Frenchie is a fan of sci-fi and cats.
Still in it's infancy, @I_amGermany began June 25th. Can we suggest asking @Sweden for a shout out?
Iceland is an island in the middle of the ocean and would like to be your friend.
The indigenous people of Australia are sharing their experience one tweep at a time.
This small country is also new to the game. They've only been at it for three weeks.
It's unclear when they began, but this week's curator seems to be a foodie.
The curators of Pakistan began in May, but could use a boost. They haven't hit 1000 followers yet.
The pinoys and pinays of the Phillippines are sharing the island life from a new perspective each week.
Also brand new, @hellofromSG is still in it's first week!
The Syrians have joined in recently, too! They are currently in their fourth week.
The Brits are in their third month and are steadily gaining a following.
If you or someone you know is Ukranian, send them here. They're looking for people to continue the rotation!
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