You might be wondering what off-peak virus is… We have computer viruses, we have viruses in the air, but what is an off-peak virus?
That, my friend, only happens in Indonesia. So there’s a phone operator who gives 6 off-peak text messages (22.00-07.00) to people who send 6 messages during peak hours (07.00-23.00). Text message is inevitable, correct? Well, at least in Indonesia it is. We’re so used to messaging that we have the so called “thumb generation”. Still, that doesn’t explain what off-peak virus is.
The other day I checked my phone and discovered that I have almost 500 free off-peak SMSes. That was when I was in the train on my way to Jakarta at around 4 a.m. Since I had nothing to do, I decided to say hello to my fellow Telkomsel (phone operator) user. I sent about 50 messages, and what happened next? I received a response from almost half of the messages I sent. Some replied right away, some later that night. One of my friends who replied told me that she’s getting married. The other said that she just return from dropping off her mom and decided to spend her off-peak SMS by doing the same thing as I did earlier. You see something? Yup, we were using our free SMS, but that’s not the point.
I see a new phenomenon has emerged. Off-peak virus, where people start messaging their friends and beloved ones in the middle of the night. Where people on the other side read the message in the morning and decided to reply either instantly or later at night. Some seriously, some in the corny way! :p You should try spreading the virus sometime … :)
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