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Pandemic Shenanigans: How VI Twitter United & Thrived During Quarantine

By July 2nd, 2022One Comment
COVID pandemic lockdowns were implemented just over a year ago for the sake of safety and social distancing. Many of us, underestimating just how long the pandemic would be, turned to our creativity to find sources of entertainment for an assumed couple of weeks. In that creativity, Virgin Islands Twitter, a subset of Twitter users comprised of British and U.S. Virgin Islanders both at home and abroad, was reborn.
Virgin Islands Twitter first rose to popularity in Twitter’s “popular” era back in 2010. Like most great things, the daily crew that this group consisted of changed over time, with many users putting the app down in favor of other popular apps such as Instagram between 2013 and 2019.

KWK Live

In May 2020, it all changed when Kickin’ It launched a series of Instagram Live game nights to serve as a source of entertainment. The two-hour game nights drew in both new and familiar faces to square off in rounds of games like “Categories” and put their vocal cords to the test during Kickin’ It Karaoke. Recognizable artists like Adam O, Monéa, Melanie Amaro, Tia, Swanks (Big Band), and more even paid the Kickin’ It lives a visit. The weekly lives grew in popularity quickly, going from just a few dozen viewers per night to record attendance of over 100 viewers by the end of its run.

“It was just one of the few good memories I have of 2020 in general, and I honestly don’t really remember much from last year (besides that),” said Ludence Romney, who attended the majority of Kickin’ It’s game nights.

TL Jam

While the lives were ongoing, we also saw the return of Jeaucar’s “TL Jams” on Periscope. If you’ve never been to a TL Jam: picture a real jam without the sweat, entrance fee, outfit planning, and strobe lights. In the comfort of their own homes, Twitter users were treated to set after set aligned with a theme created by the man himself. The jams became so popular that they even made their way to Facebook.

Following the popularity of TL Jams and Kickin’ It Live!, the VI Twitter crew continued to source outlets for entertainment as the pandemic continued on. The community activity on Twitter grew, and daily discussions became more and more hilarious, mirroring the 2010 era of Twitter that many had come to remember fondly. The VI timeline also came together for this year’s “VI Twitter Awards” along with various watch parties for both Virgin Islands based shows and popular favorites like Game of Thrones. Who can forget the night Kevin from YouTube series “Sand” locked himself in a girl’s closet? Or when Tony asked that girl for rent money on the “TonyToni” season finale?

“I got to interact with my followers from St. Croix all the way to Tortola which was pretty cool and party in my house like I was in the club with all of my followers.” shared Lanie of “Lanie TV.”
Enter Clubhouse: a drop-in audio chat app that began as an invite-only way to host voice-chat rooms with anyone. Clubhouse quickly became a sensation across the Black community. For the first time since the launch of Twitter, an app allowed people closer proximity to celebrities and leaders across various industries.
VI Twitter took Clubhouse by storm with rooms created for discussions on taboo topics, Virgin Islands culture, politics, advancement, and Kickin’ It game nights adapted for audio. The game nights were a hilarious and popular source of fun for many who had never interacted. Teams (formed by color choices vs. island) were a solid way to create camaraderie between British and U.S. Virgin Islanders once separated by distance (and tart debates.)
Content creator Brittany Brin Robinson was a regular attendee of Clubhouse game nights who grew appreciative of their ability to help form relationships among mutual followers.

“It gave us an opportunity to get to know each other on a more personal level. Having the opportunity to hear people’s voices helped us to form closer connections,” Brittany shared.

Through dozens of game nights, conversations, TL jams, and more, Virgin Islands Twitter soon found itself thriving once again. New friendships were established, and a solid community began to form virtually across BVI and U.S. borders. The fun exchanges became cultural exchanges, leading to more and more knowledge shared about the similarities and differences in our dialects, foods, pastimes, personal experiences, and more. Despite evolving out of a need for social interaction in the face of one of the most difficult shared moments of our lives, it’s safe to say that the new state of Virgin Islands Twitter is here for the foreseeable future.

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