As 2015 is heading to its end, Twitter remembered the year it was. In a blog post ‘The 2015 #YearOnTwitter in India,’ it talks about the highlights of the year on Twitter for India.
A post on twitter blog said, “In 2015, Twitter was the place that Indians gathered to be part of local and global conversations and events. It was a year of triumphs and tragedies, of celebrations and crises, and Twitter provided the pulse of the country. From the Golden Tweet (between two global icons) to Most Influential Moments (global interest for Delhi Elections and Diwali) to Most Popular Hashtag Trend (worldwide conversations about IPL) to the first non-US brand to get a Twitter emoji (@MakeInIndia), this was the Year On Twitter to show the global rise of India.”
Most Retweets
The Golden Tweet for India in 2015 is from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk), who Tweeted a selfie with British boy band One Direction’s former member, Zayn Malik (@zaynmalik), at the Asian Awards in London in April 2015.
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
Most Influential Moments
#INDvsPAK
India played Pakistan in the first match of the Cricket World Cup in 2015. It was the most viewed TV and sports event of the year and drew a record-breaking 118.3 million impressions on Twitter.
#DelhiElections
Delhi elections in 2015 saw a news force emerge in the National Capital and Twitter played a powerful role during the Delhi Legislative Assembly Elections held in February 2015. Hashtags #DelhiElections and #DelhiVotes became points of convergence of all elections conversations. There were over 10.8 million elections-related Tweets during the 30-day campaign period.
#HappyDiwali
Through multiple activations including the first-ever Diwali emoji, Twitter provided a way for users to be delighted using the platform. Along with the emoji, Twitter asked audiences to Tweet photos of their favourite Diwali moments using the hashtag #HappyDiwali, and then shared a collage of #HappyDiwali Tweets in the form of a lamp on diwaliontwitter.com.
#ChennaiRains
Twitter was used as a platform to provide reports, disseminate critical information and coordinate local relief efforts during the record-breaking Chennai floods. Local citizens sent over 1.4 million Tweets using #ChennaiRains, #ChennaiFloods and #ChennaiRainsHelp hashtags to crowdsource assistance and help each other through this natural disaster.
#Independence Day
The 69th year of Independence for India was marked on Twitter with three key moments. India got its first Independence Day flag emoji with #India, The Taj Mahal joined Twitter as one of the first historic Indian monuments to join Twitter, and there was an inspirational #SaluteSelfie campaign that recorded over 100,000 Tweets to show gratitudfor the Armed Forces.
Biggest Trends
#IPL: The hashtag saw over 9 million tweets this season.
#BiharResults: It trended on polling day with over 260,000 Tweets.
#SelfieWithDaughter: PM Modi-led campaign started in the state of Haryana in July 2015 to promote the rights of the girl child and started trending within hours as dads clicked selfies with their daughters to participate in the initiative with over 375,000 tweets.
#DDLJ20Years: This October, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge turned 20. There were over 140,000 tweets.
#SaalEkShuruaatAnek: PM Narendra Modi used Twitter for unique engagements with citizens and global leaders as well as to enforce e-governance and digital diplomacy. On his first year anniversary in office, there were over 179,000 tweets.
Firsts on Twitter
– Make In India: First non-US brand to create its own Twitter emoji
In November, @MakeInIndia, one of the largest economic development initiatives run by the Indian government, became the first non-US brand to create its own Twitter emoji for a worldwide audience.
– First Twitter cricket timelines for #CWC15 and #IPL
Given the millions of cricket fans who are on Twitter, this year we created a product that would let users follow and participate in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup and IPL 2015 with ease. We created special cricket timelines for #CWC15 and #IPL2015 as a one-stop for cricket Tweets, commentary, expert analysis, plus photos, videos, and Vines from the sidelines at the world’s biggest cricketing events.
– First Indian airline and telco to launch Tweet-powered customer service
#JetInstant is a first of its kind Twitter based innovation that lets you check the lowest fare or view your flight status with just a single Tweet, and #SmartCare is a Twitter-based customer service that allows 120 million Reliance users to access and manage their mobile phone account on Twitter using the #SmartCare hashtag: pay bills, recharge online, view and buy best deals, track usage, and check balance.
– BMW: the first brand to use Twitter’s Flock to Unlock Card in India
BMW India (@bmwindia) was the first brand to use the Flock to Unlock Card for the launch video of the i8 in India. Flock to Unlock is a custom Twitter Card that brands can use to unveil a new product, video or a commercial.
– JLR Discovery Sport: First Automobile Launch on Periscope
Twitter conceptualised and executed the first-ever automobile launch experience on Periscope for the launch of the New Discovery Sport by Jaguar Land Rover.
Most-Followed Accounts
India’s list of most-followed Indian accounts in 2015 is dominated by Bollywood stars and the Prime Minister. This year PM Modi (@narendramodi) takes the third spot having quadrupled his number of followers from 4 million when he took office last May to over 16 million now, making him the biggest gainer on the top 10 list in 2015.