Advertisement

Happy birthday: Looking back at the big events as Twitter turns 10

What a difference a decade makes - social media website Twitter is now 10 years old. Since the fi...
Newstalk
Newstalk

08.07 21 Mar 2016


Share this article


Happy birthday: Looking back a...

Happy birthday: Looking back at the big events as Twitter turns 10

Newstalk
Newstalk

08.07 21 Mar 2016


Share this article


What a difference a decade makes - social media website Twitter is now 10 years old.

Since the first Tweet was sent on March 21st 2006, Twitter has changed how we view media, celebrities and online life in general.

With 500 million Tweets per day and 200 billion Tweets every year, Twitter has become the global viewing and commentary platform for users in Ireland and beyond.

Advertisement

And from global moments such as #HomeToVote - to the more bizarre trends such as #FiveWordsToRuinADate - a huge variety of stories and topics are discussed on the platform every day.

The most followed Irish accounts on Twitter are dominated by musicians and sports stars.

They are:
1. Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial)
2. Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory)
3. Dara O'Briain (@daraobriain)
4. The Script (@thescript)
5. Sheamus (@WWESheamus)
6. Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA)
7. Danny O'Donoghue (@TheScript_Danny)
8. Siva Kaneswaran (@SivaKaneswaran)
9. Paul Higgins (@paulyhiggins)
10. Daithi De Nogla (@DaithiDeNogla)

Fly my pretty - evolution of the Twitter bird logo | Image: Twitter

While below are 10 examples from Ireland which show how users here have taken to Twitter:

  • #MarRef: In the weeks running up to the Irish Marriage Referendum this hashtag was used to share the many different stories people told throughout the campaign
  • #HomeToVote: A movement born on Twitter which was started with the first Tweet coming from the train to Holyhead. It went on to trend globally that day with over 72K Tweets sent
  • Late Late Show: The Late Late Show has trended every Friday in Ireland for years, as people come to Twitter to share Ireland's biggest couch. The Late Late Toy Show was the most discussed Irish TV show of 2015 on Twitter
  • @NiallOfficial: Ireland's most followed Twitter user, by a considerable distance! His most Retweeted Tweet clocks in at almost 750,000 RTs
  • #RoseOfTralee: A tradition that only Irish people understand, the ultimate TV and Twitter experience
  • #6Nations: From Ireland's Grand Slam in 2009 to the Championship wins in 2014 and 2015, we saw the games play out on Twitter in real time and reflect the global roar of the crowd 
  • Weather: Irish people love to talk about the weather and it's no different on Twitter. Over the past ten years we've seen uniquely Irish hashtags like #sneachta and #WhatTheFluich take Twitter by storm
  • @GardaTraffic: Set up ahead of the Queen's Visit to Ireland in 2011 @GardaTraffic has become one of Ireland's most iconic Twitter accounts. With over 200,000 followers, the account mixes serious news, a unique sense of humour and lots of puns
  • #FiveWordsToRuinADate: Started by @rickoshea in 2015 #FiveWordsToRuinADate took over Twitter trending worldwide with celebrities, brands and even fictional characters across the world getting in on the hashtag
  • #GE16: Most recently Irish Twitter came alive during #GE16 with over 158 million impressions (views of Tweet on and off Twitter) during the campaign

And the biggest events on Twitter in the last decade?

Source: Twitter

And this graphic also shows how the big events like the Osama bin Laden raid, the Oscars selfie and others spread across the world:


Share this article


Read more about

Business

Most Popular