Microblogging site Twitter has revealed the most talked-about topics on the platform in 2013. Its power to disseminate news in real-time to millions the world over has made it a desirable communication channel in the modern age. This year, the most shared post came from Glee star Lea Michele who broke her silence following the death of co-star and boyfriend Cory Monteith. Her post thanking fans for their love and support was tweeted 408,266 times. Fast and Furious actor Paul Walker’s shocking demise following a car accident also saw mourners take to Twitter, with a tweet from his official profile being shared 400,000 times.
Another celebrity tweet that was widely shared across the world was One Direction’s Niall Horan’s ecstatic post on turning 20. The boy band has a huge following on Twitter and singers actively tweet updates and behind-the-scenes activities. While entertainment-related tweets garnered the most attention and sharing, the anointment of Pope Francis was also a big event on Twitter, attracting over 130,000 tweets a minute.
Major sports events also created a buzz on the social platform. The Super Bowl was the subject of 24 million tweets while the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund attracted 5 million tweets. Two million tweets were written about the exciting Wimbledon final between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Footie fans waxed eloquent about Sir Alex Ferguson on Twitter, following his retirement as Manchester United manager in May.
Social issues also took center stage on Twitter this year. The Boston Marathon bombings generated over 27 million tweets, which included breaking news about the incident from local papers and discussions in the aftermath of the tragic incident. #Malala Day and the deadly typhoon that hit Malaysia in November also dominated Twitter news feeds.
Three British events were much-discussed on Twitter this year – Margaret Thatcher’s death, the London helicopter crash and the birth of Prince George.
Photo by EnoW / Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication
