Award of Distinction Digital Communities
A bot (short for robot) is a computer program that can automatically perform certain repetitive tasks without having to rely on instructions from a human user. The SAZAE bot was just such a program. The bot went online in summer 2010 and was active on Twitter since that time. It presented itself as a parody of a Manga figure who is extremely popular in Japan, Sazae-San. The SAZAE bot reacted to tweets and re-tweets. Its followers were known to particularly appreciate its witty remarks. Then, in 2014, Hitoyo Nakano was “born” and the anonymous human user behind the SAZAE bot assumed a distinct identity. Since this moment, the SAZAE bot has been controlled via Google Forum, where anyone can post tweets as SAZAE bot completely anonymously. This isn’t just a site for exchanging opinions and jokes; here, people also arrange face-to-face meetings and other activities in the real world—for instance, handing out candy around Christmas time, balloon takeoffs, guerrilla actions, attending Ted Talks or making a live appearance at the UN|COMMONS conference in Berlin.
