2013 was the year of the Anglo Tapes, the Seanad Referendum and the election of a new Pope. To mark the end of the year, we’ve delved into our data to create our annual ‘Year on Twitter’ roundup. You can relive some of the most influential moments and popular Tweets from around the world on 2013.twitter.com.
Trending in Ireland
In 2013, Twitter was the place where people came to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers. Irish users have used Twitter to mourn those we lost, debate Irish and international news, discuss their favourite sports and sports people, start uniquely Irish conversations and tweet along with their favourite TV programmes in real-time.
Twitter is the place people turn to discuss what matters to them. From breaking international news, such as the events in Syria and Boston, to Irish political events like #seanref and #lapgate. The Irish also put their own stamp on Twitter creating unique conversation starters including #Irelandin3words and #donegalpostcodes.
For fans of TV, Twitter gives people a place to discuss and debate their favourite shows. From home grown programmes like Vincent Browne (#vinb) and RTE Primetime (#rtept), to International reality TV like the X Factor and Big Brother UK, Twitter provided the second screen for TV fans as they tweeted along in real time, sharing the drama with fellow viewers across the country.
Trending topics allow Twitter users to discover the hottest emerging topics of discussion as they break, making the platform a great place to keep up-to-date with events and discuss the latest news.
We looked at what trended on Twitter in Ireland during 2013. These lists show what trended most frequently, rather than representing the volume of conversation about a topic or the most talked-about topics. And remember, trends don’t give any indication of sentiment – when something trends, that simply means it has captured Ireland’s attention, not that it was necessarily a hit:
TV | |
1 | vinb |
2 | Late Late |
3 | X Factor |
4 | GIBO |
5 | #theapprentice |
6 | rtept |
7 | #rtethevoice |
8 | MOTD |
9 | eurovision |
10 | BBUK |
Sports people | |
1 | BOD |
2 | Roy Keane |
3 | Suarez |
4 | Joe Hart |
5 | Rob Heffernan |
6 | Dan Martin |
7 | John Joe Nevin |
8 | Noel King |
9 | Alex Ferguson |
10 | Adam Scott |
Sports | |
1 | #GAA |
2 | #RAW |
3 | #MUFC |
4 | #LFC |
5 | #NFL |
6 | #WWE |
7 | #6nations |
8 | #TheOpen |
9 | #COYBIG |
10 | #masters |
Irish News | |
1 | Roma |
2 | #seanref |
3 | #budget2014 |
4 | #oirsocm |
5 | Seamus Heaney |
6 | #lapgate |
7 | #anglotapes |
8 | Marie Flemming |
9 | #Magdalene |
10 | Savita |
People | |
1 | Bieber |
2 | BOD |
3 | Miley Cyrus |
4 | Ben Affleck |
5 | Roy Keane |
6 | Taylor Swift |
7 | David Frost |
8 | Ken Barlow |
9 | Seamus Heaney |
10 | Suarez |
International News | |
1 | Syria |
2 | David Frost |
3 | HMV |
4 | Cyprus |
5 | Angelina Jolie |
6 | Egypt |
7 | #prayforBoston |
8 | James Gandolfini |
9 | Pope |
10 | #royalbaby |
Irish People | |
1 | BOD |
2 | Roy Keane |
3 | Seamus Heaney |
4 | Graham Norton |
5 | Pat Kenny |
6 | Sean O’Rourke |
7 | Michael Collins |
8 | Marie Fleming |
9 | Ivan Yates |
10 | Joe Brolly |
Irish conversation starters | |
1 | #IrishBizParty |
2 | #secondaryschoolmemories |
3 | #IrishBlockbusters |
4 | #PrimarySchoolMemories |
5 | #youknowyoureirishwhen |
6 | #Irishpoliticalfilms |
7 | #Irelandin3words |
8 | #donegalpostcodes |
9 | #ThingsIrishPeopleDontSay |
10 | #ThingsIrishPeopleSay |
Most retweeted
People also come to Twitter to get closer to their idols, retweeting, favouriting and replying to messages from the accounts they follow. To discover the most popular Tweets of 2013, we looked at those that had the most retweets at their peak.
The world’s most popular message of the year, which peaked at 408,000 retweets, came from Glee star Lea Michele (@msleamichele) with this message thanking fans for their support following the death of her co-star and partner Cory Monteith
Thank you all for helping me through this time with your enormous love & support. Cory will forever be in my heart. pic.twitter.com/XVlZnh9vOc
— Lea Michele (@msleamichele) July 29, 2013
Fans were stunned when they heard Fast and the Furious star Paul Walker (@RealPaulWalker) had passed away in a car crash in December of this year. They shared this message from his official Twitter account, which peaked at 400,000 retweets:
It’s with a heavy heart that we must confirm Paul Walker passed away today in a tragic car accident…MORE: http://t.co/9hDuJMH99M – #TeamPW
— Paul Walker (@RealPaulWalker) December 1, 2013
Meanwhile, boy band One Direction (@OneDirection) also attracted huge numbers of retweets from fans around the globe as they shared their unique perspectives on worldwide fame, as five lads from the UK and Ireland became a global phenomenon. Three of the five most retweeted messages of the year came from members of the band.
This Tweet, posted in September by Mullingar native Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) to celebrate his 20th birthday, peaked at 375,000 retweets:
Yesss ! I’m 20 ! Wohooo ! No more teens!
— Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) September 12, 2013
Zayn Malik’s (@zaynmalik) picture of bandmate Harry Styles sleeping peaked at 344,000 retweets, and his Tweet thanking their fans for their best wishes when he announced his engagement generated a peak of 336,000 retweets:
https://twitter.com/zaynmalik/
https://twitter.com/zaynmalik/
Although none of his Tweets made the top five, Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles), pictured in Zayn’s Tweet, remains the most-followed member of One Direction with more than 18 million followers. Each of the five band members have their own account on Twitter, as well as the @OneDirection band account. Between the six accounts the band have more than 29 million unique followers around the globe.
