The Taj Mahal becomes the first historic Indian monument to join Twitter.
In celebration of a wonderful year on Twitter India, the social network has published the highlights of 2015.
The biggest category is undoubtedly the ‘Golden Tweet’, which is rightfully won by Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan.
His selfie with former One Directioner Zayn Malik at the 5th Asian Awards in London is officially most retweeted in India.
This rare interaction between them has taken Twitter by storm, with 140,000 retweets and is viewed nearly 18.3 million times globally.
The impact of this legendary selfie on fans of both stars is insane, as Smiley says: “That moment when two of your biggest crushes stand together.”
This kid is so cool. May Allah bless him. Dinner time at the Asian Awards. pic.twitter.com/l0gV12n0kv
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) April 17, 2015
DESIblitz looks into other high points for India on Twitter in 2015, from the awesome moments to the tough times.
MOST INFLUENTIAL MOMENTS
1. Cricket World Cup, India vs Pakistan
With India’s victory against Pakistan in the first match of the Cricket World Cup in 2015, this was easily the most viewed TV and sports event of the year.
The hashtag #INDvsPAK has a record-breaking 118.3 million impressions, including the #OnlyOnTwitter moment when Sachin Tendulkar tweeted after their win.
2. Delhi Elections
During the Delhi Legislative Assembly Elections, Twitter played an important role and became the central points for discussion on the elections.
There was a mind-blowing amount of tweets, over 10.8 million, being made during the 30-day campaign period.
3. Diwali
2015 saw a new way for users to celebrate Diwali, such as the first ever Diwali emoji. Twitter also asked users to tweet photos of their celebrations, using the hashtag #HappyDiwali.
4. Chennai Flood
The social network provided reports, critical information and coordinated local relief efforts during the Chennai floods.
#ChennaiRains, #ChennaiFloods and #ChennaiRainsHelp trended (over 1.4 million tweets), encouraging assistance and help during this natural disaster.
5. Independence Day
India’s 69th Independence Day was marked during three key moments. Firstly, India got its first independence day flag emoji. Then, the Taj Mahal joined Twitter.
Lastly, there was an inspirational #SaluteSelfie campaign, that had over 100,000 tweets to show the people’s acknowledgement and appreciation for the Armed Forces.
POPULAR HASHTAG TRENDS
1. #IPL
The biggest T20 cricket league worldwide made a full season return to India, which led to cricket fans enthusiastically generating over 9 million tweets this season.
This Modi-led campaign started in July 2015. It centred around promoting the rights of the girl child and invited heartwarming snaps from fathers and daughters up and down the country.
#BiharElections was the place to be for any major news, candidates activities and their attempts at wooing the public.
On polling day, the hashtag #BiharResults trended with over 260,000 Tweets.
Narendra Modi’s first year as PM saw his unique interactions with citizens and key leaders from the around the globe.
On his first year anniversary in office, over 179,000 tweets were generated to mark the special occasion.
5. #DDLJ20Years
In October 2015, the iconic Bollywood love story, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, turned 20.
Fans and celebrities reminisced and shared their favourite scenes, songs and photos, generating over 140,000 tweets.
MOST FOLLOWED ACCOUNTS
The all-important role of Bollywood in the everyday life of Indians fully manifests itself in the following list:
1. Amitabh Bachchan
2. Shahrukh Khan
3. Narendra Modi
4. Aamir Khan
5. Salman Khan
6. Deepika Padukone
7. Hrithik Roshan
8. Priyanka Chopra
9. Akshay Kumar
10. A.R. Rahman
NEW VOICES
1. The Taj Mahal ~ the first historic Indian monument to join Twitter
2. Kapil Dev ~ Indian cricket legend who led India to win in the Cricket World Cup 1983
3. Surya ~ Indian film actor, TV presenter, producer and philanthropist, listed number 33 on Forbes India’s ‘2013 Celebrity 100 List’
4. BS Bassi ~ Delhi Police Commissioner
5. Safecity India ~ a non-profit organisation that empowers women to safely share their experiences about public harassment
Twitter has become THE platform for conversations of global issues in the most recent years.
Though the UK and US hold a dominating presence on the social network, the Western world isn’t the only place this phenomenon is happening.
Forbes reports in 2014 India has the ninth highest number of users on Twitter. 2015 is clearly no exception, with consistent global dialogues being made about important issues.
We look forward to another fun-filled and inspiring year for India on Twitter in 2016!
