2015 was the year of the #FeesMustFall debate, the continuation of the #OscarPistorius trial and Karabo Mogane winning @IdolsSA.
In 2015, Twitter acted as a real-time soundtrack to the biggest moments and events as they unfolded in the world. Whether it was the Rugby World Cup 2015 or general elections around the world, what happened in the world was simultaneously happening on Twitter.
Overall, Twitter data revealed South Africa to be a nation of news, sports and TV fans.
In the news category, the two of the top trending hashtags (#FeesMustFall and #NationalShutdown) sparked massive public debate and reached a global audience which saw students from around the world united.
The top five news topics were:
* Fees Must Fall – #FeesMustFall
* SONA2015 – #SONA2015
* NationalShutdown – #NationalShutdown
* AskMmusi – #AskMmusi
* Loadshedding – #Loadshedding
South Africa is a sports-obsessed nation and this year was no different as some of the world’s biggest sporting events trended on Twitter. The top five sports topics were:
* RWC2015 (@rugbyworldcup) – #RWC2015
* ProteaFire (@officialCSA) – #ProteaFire
* MUFC – #MUFC
* AbsaPrem – #AbsaPrem
* SuperRugby (@superrugby) – #SuperRugby
Reality TV is popular in South Africa, with four of the top five trending TV hashtags relating to reality series and shows. The top five TV topics were:
* BB Mzansi – (@BBMzansi) – #BBMzansi
* Idols SA (@IdolsSA) – #IdolsSA
* Skeem Saam – (@SkeemSaam3) – #SkeemSaam
* Date My Family – #DateMyFamily
* Uzalo – (@Uzalo_SABC1) – #Uzalo
2014 was the year of the selfie and 2015 could be described as the year of the Emoji. Examples of the best use of Emojis on Twitter have even come from some very famous faces:
* Roger Federer Tweeted a whole Tweet based on emojis to tell his followers how his #DayOff would play out https://twitter.com/rogerfederer/status/617003890685251584;
* Ellie Golding says it how it is with an Emoji to her followers https://twitter.com/elliegoulding/status/618175173129277440;
* Andy Murray took to Twitter on his wedding day to share his emotions through the use of emojis https://twitter.com/andy_murray/status/586811114744320000;
* NBA basketball player even had an emoji battle that took place on Twitter thanks to DeAndre Jordan https://twitter.com/twittermedia/timelines/618914838467600384.