Twitter in Thailand: May I follow you, please?

Just as the new U.S. ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney was prepping for her early January flight from D.C. to Bangkok, it arrived: the inaugural "May I follow you?" Tweet.

"Welcome to Thailand. May I follow u? :)" wrote Thai Twitter user Yukkie-NanNii.

Asking to follow someone on Twitter is a bit like asking Al Roker permission to watch his weather forecast. Twitter is a public soapbox and adding followers doesn't slow you down. 50 Cent has 3.8 million and I assume he feels no obligation to respond to all of them.

But Thailand is home to a unique phenomenon: Fans routinely ask celebrities permission to follow their latest missives, which largely regard shoe shopping and how yummy their dessert tastes. Why does the Thai Twitterverse feel this obligation? A cheap psychoanalysis would highlight Thai society's emphasis on politeness and deference. My guess is that kids just want a celeb to acknowledge their existence by writing back "Yes, and I loooove u :)"

In any case, Yukkie-NanNii received the blessing of the incoming U.S. ambassador, who responded: "Of course! Thank u."