We are not talking about the actual PCOS machines that played the major part in the Philippines’ first automated elections.
Two hours before polling precincts closed, an entity calling himself @PCOSmachine came alive on Twitter, taking on the persona of the actual machine that ate up the Filipinos’ ballots and made tallying votes such an easy task. It started out with a few smart alecky tweets, but when word spread about "it", questions started pouring in. The questions started out in the most basic manner ("who are you?" "are you actually a smartmatic creation?") and became more absurd and surreal as the hours went by.
In less than 8 hours, he already had more than 3,000 followers (latest count, as of this posting is 10,396). But what really caught the interest and amusement of the social networking universe was the witty and hilarious answers to all the questions thrown his way. This tweeter provided much needed amusement since the automated results coverage seemed less exciting than those in previous elections.
Some of our favorite @PCOSmachine gems:
"@pcosmachine If u wer given d choice, wat wud be ur confirmation message instead of "Congratulations"? /via @sauldejesus – "ARE YOU SURE?"
"what is your take on the candidacy of Jamby Madrigal?" /via @GeloLopez – the machines like her. Made counting easy coz not too much votes."
"Filipino people, d current PCOS machines do NOT have sex, get aroused, or turned on. Tell Congress if u want that model. It’ll cost u thou."
"@PCOSmachine why is it that sometimes when you swallow the ballot it gets jammed?" /via @MissIzaCalzado – gag reflex. Stupid programmer."
"@PCOSmachine if u are not a machine, who will u vote for president and why?" /via @kingofthefranks – Gordon. Transformer. Duh."
RT @redisthename "Wat can u say abt d media showing off unnecessary gadgets lyk iPad & TVs??" – wat can u say abt talking 2 a PCOS machine?
"Folks, pls dnt blame us PCOSs 4 d results. Wer just MACHINES dude. Its u guys dat shade those itlogs. Also, I am LSSing on dat song. Damn."
"RT @mitsolis: @PCOSmachine u need a love team 2 make it in showbiz.who r ur top choices? – Im really attracted to d huge flatscreen of ANC."
Breaking News:
A little more than 40 hours as an Internet star, @PCOSmachine finally unmasked himself. As it turned out, he is Yves Gonzalez, an iPhone / iPad developer and founder of applei.ph "who is not that funny in real life."
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In an interview with ANC’s TJ Manotoc, Gonzalez said that @PCOSmachine started out as a prank to relieve his boredom. He was monitoring the elections on TV and he noticed that people were complaining about the PCOS machines, so he had this brilliant idea to create this persona.
Gonzalez revealed himself this morning on ANC because he said he needed to get on with his life and his real job. Aside from being an iPhone/iPad app developer, Gonzalez is a lawyer who placed 6th in the recent bar exams.
Asked by Manotoc for his parting words, Gonzalez remarked, "I hope you guys enjoyed it, and ANC…hire me."
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