Top 10 Iconic Moments on Twitter in India Over the Last 10 Years
On March 21, ten years ago, it began with a single Tweet. Since then, every moment of every day, people connect about the things they care about most — all over the world.
As we mark this milestone, it’s you we want to celebrate. Throughout the years, you’ve made Twitter what it is today and you’re shaping what it will be in the future. Thank you for making history, driving change, lifting each other up and laughing together every day. We are excited to celebrate with all of you.
As we reflect on our history, we wanted to take a closer look at 10 iconic Indian moments that have happened on the platform over the last 10 years.
- Mumbai terrorist attacks (Nov 2008)
Twitter became the platform of choice for this crisis moment on Nov 26, 2008. It was used to connect trapped hostages inside the Taj hotel with the outside world. They live-Tweeted about the situation, people in and around the area shared updates using Twitter, and journalists used it extensively to report on the terrorist attacks.
- India wins Cricket World Cup (April 2011)
After a 28 year wait, India won the Cricket World Cup on April 2, 2011 and the roar of the crowd was heard on Twitter. The World Cup title triumph was doubly special for Sachin Tendulkar since it was the only silverware missing from his collection.
- Nirbhaya (Dec 2012)
After a 23 year old woman was gang-raped and thrown out of a bus in New Delhi on Dec 16, 2012, citizens, political leaders, celebrities, and Indian youth came together on Twitter to express shock, vent their outrage and show their solidarity with the street protesters demanding justice for the paramedical student.
- Sachin Tendulkar retires (Nov 2013)
Fans all over the world took to Twitter to say #ThankYouSachin, honoring cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar as he finished his storied, 24-year career on Nov 16, 2013. The #ThankYouSachin campaign using photo Tweets with a personalised message and digital autograph from Sachin himself, generated more than 3 million Tweets according to BCCI.
- Lok Sabha Election (April-May 2014)
In the Lok Sabha polls from April 7 to May 12, 2014, Twitter became the front row seat to political party and candidate updates as well as a real-time source of election news for millions of people, with Narendra Modi leading and winning both off and on Twitter. With nearly 60 million elections-related Tweets, it truly was the first #TwitterElection for India.
- Rajinikanth joins Twitter (May 2014)
Tamil superstar Rajinikanth took his first steps onto social media and chose to join Twitter first on May 5th, 2014. The Kochadaiiyaan actor had over 200,000 followers within the first 24 hours.
- Mars Orbiter reaches Mars (Sept 2014)
@MarsOrbiter entered the Martian orbit on Sep 24, 2014, and moments later, also made its Twitter debut. It sent its first Tweet immediately after the mission was declared a success by @ISRO, and it’s #OnlyOnTwitter dialogue with the Curiosity Rover was an interstellar hit.
- Taj Mahal joins Twitter (Aug 2015)
On India’s 69th Independence Day, one of the wonders of the world and India’s pride, Taj Mahal
became one of the first historic Indian monuments to have its own official Twitter account.
- Happy Diwali (Nov 2015)
India and the world celebrated the Festival of Lights with 1.8 million Tweets in 2015 along with the first-ever special Diwali emoji shaped like a candle. Users Tweeted photos of their favourite Diwali moments using the #HappyDiwali hashtag which were shared as a photo collage on www.diwaliontwitter.com.
- Chennai Floods (Nov-Dec 2015)
Twitter was used as a platform to provide reports, disseminate critical information and coordinate local relief efforts during the record-breaking floods in Chennai at the end of 2015. Local residents Tweeted using popular hashtags such as #ChennaiRains, #ChennaiFloods and #ChennaiRainsHelp to crowdsource assistance and help each other through this natural disaster. At the peak of the flooding, there were over 1.4 million Tweets from Dec 1-4, 2015.
Thank you for your part in making this such an incredible, world-changing decade for Twitter in India. Here’s to much more!
Love, Twitter
#LoveTwitter
About Twitter:
Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) enables everyone to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers. The service can be accessed at Twitter.com, on a wide variety of mobile devices and via text message. Available in more than 35 languages, Twitter has more than 320 million monthly active users. For more information, visit discover.twitter.com or follow @TwitterIndia.