#MH370 no longer dominates social media timeline - Analyst

Whilst many remain concerned about Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH370 flight which went missing since March 8, it appears that the conversation on social media platforms such as Twitter are returning back to normal.

"During the first week, the timeline was flooded with stories and news on MH370. When you open Twitter, MH370 dominates the timeline.

"It is different on the second week. Whilst many are still concern, netizens are sharing other news and topics as well. MH370 is no longer the dominant topic on social media," said Zeno Group Malaysia General Manager David Lian who analyses social media trends.

He added, the tone of the conversation has also changed. During the first week, many speculations and theories arose, however it was later debunked.

During the second week, David said the conversation could be divided into three categories.

"Firstly, many express their prayers via the #PrayForMH370 hashtag. Many show their support for Malaysia Airlines.

"Secondly, some are very skeptical and critical especially social media users from abroad. They criticise the way Malaysia handled this situation and as though we are hiding some secrets. However, with the daily press conference by acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, it has somewhat managed to minimise these negative tweets," he said.

David added that there are also lesser attention on the family members. He explained although there were still family members tweeting, this however reduced as the incident entered into its second week.

He added that this incident has caused an impact on a global scale.

"Stories about missing planes will get immediate attention. It's from a humanitarian aspect. People are curious and they will sympathise," he concluded.

For the record, Astro AWANI's smart phone app peaked at number three as the most popular app on iTunes Malaysia as the news on the missing plane garnered international attention.