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2014: An Eventful Year in Tweets and Trends
L Amatullah
#entertainment#race#robin-williams#scotland#social-media#technology#trends#twitter#world-cup
Tue 30th Dec 2014
Politics & Society

Through laughter and tragedy, a little bird has kept us a part of it all
 
The year is drawing to a close, just as we were getting in gear. 2014 seems a blur of highs and lows, from sporting euphoria in South America to aviation tragedy in Europe and South East Asia.

Twitter, in its trusty chirping way, has allowed news to travel faster than ever before, and allowed us to be an active part of it. Here we look at some of the top trends from this past year, as they happened.  
 
1. The #Oscars
Who can forget the tweet that broke the internet? Ellen DeGeneres’ record breaking selfie on a mobile crammed with Hollywood A-listers made Twitter history when it succeeded in getting retweeted over 3.3 million times. Then again, who wouldn’t retweet a blurry, gleeful picture of DeGeneres squished next to Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Bradley Cooper, Channing Tatum, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Lupita Nyongío and, er, her brother Peter Nyongío Jr. who clearly knew to pounce on a good thing when he saw it. Not without reason has the BBC named 2014 the “year of the selfie”.


Smile!
 
2. #RobinWilliams and #PhilipSeymourHoffman
With Oscar excitement, however, was also loss as this year saw the death of two talented and particularly beloved actors: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Williams. Their fans and colleagues in the entertainment industry took to Twitter to express grief at their passing. Hoffman was noted for his versatility as an actor; his most recent roles in the The Hunger Games and A Most Wanted Man proved fitting swan songs. Williams’ was an actor who completed many a childhood with such beloved roles as Peter Pan in Hook and the inimitable title role in Mrs Doubtfire. His passing brought the question of depression and mental health to the fore with renewed calls for understanding, provision of adequate services and support.

#RIP  
 
3. Malaysian Airlines #MH370 and #MH17 
Sadly, 2014 turned out to be a year of aviation tragedy for one particularly troubled South East Asian nation. The disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight 370 set off one of the most intriguing mysteries in aviation history. The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people went missing over the Indian Ocean without a trace, despite a vast multinational search operation. Soon after another tragedy struck when Malaysian Airlines flight 17 was shot down over rebel held territory in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew. Complicated by the politics of conflict, investigators have faced challenges in accessing the wreckage. Dutch prosecutors are currently conducting an international criminal investigation.
Airborne misfortune seems to dog the region this year as in recent days Malaysian based Air Asia flight 8501 disappeared between Indonesia and Singapore with 162 people on board. The wreckage along with bodies have since been found in the Karimata Strait off the coast of Indonesia. #QZ8501 is trending on Twitter as news of the disaster unfolds.

Never one to disappoint, Mr Murdoch.
 
4. The #WorldCup2014
The adrenaline boosting World Cup games were back with a vengeance, this year held in Brazil. Beginning with its trademark excitement, it wound up ending in resounding humiliation for its hosts. Germany’s 7-1 defeat against Brazil in the semi-finals is unlikely to leave living memory, not least for the fraught losing team for whose nation football is less a game and more of a national identity. After the first few goals against, Germany took to scoring without much celebration while the Brazilians looked numbly on – and the rest of us collectively covered our eyes. What a tragedy.

Awkward. 
 
5. #IndyRef 
This was also the year of the Scottish Referendum, where Yes campaigners sought to follow in the footsteps of William Wilberforce and finally reestablish an independent Scotland, thus ending 307 years as part of Britain. Twitter was alive, The Platform participating with gusto, during the day of voting and night of counting. The union survived at the ballot by an impressively narrow margin, following which Alex Salmond, who spearheaded the campaign, stepped down as Scotland’s First Minister. Proving himself down but not out, however, Salmond declared his intentions to push for a second referendum as early as 2015. It’s not over yet, Britain!  


And they just about didn’t.
 
6. #Bendgate
It was not such a great year for Apple, as yet another controversy dogged the beleaguered yet inexplicably popular iPhone. With trademark fanfare, the company launched the glamorous new iPhone 6 along with its larger sibling iPhone 6 plus. Those technophiles who don’t believe a phone is meaningful unless it renders YouTube viewing an IMAX experience gleefully welcomed the new 5.5 inch display on the slick and slimmer new handset. What they didn’t enjoy was what happened when said 5.5 inch display was placed (just about) into their trouser pockets. The result: a bent phone. Twitter predictably erupted with #Bendgate and Apple predictably responded with unapologetic defiance. Meanwhile rival companies had an absolute field day. Someone in a cubicle somewhere on Mount Apple Inc must have been pining for the return of Jobs.

Well played, Samsung. Well played.  
 
7. #CIAReport
After over a decade of the War on Terror, 2014 saw the confirmation of what we all knew: that the CIA engaged in torture of suspected militants following 9/11. The damning report was released by the Senate Intelligence Committee and revealed the use of sadistic – and ineffective – torture of prisoners that included waterboarding, rectal feeding and the death of at least one prisoner from hypothermia. The New York Times has called for criminal proceedings against Dick Cheney, George W. Bush and responsible others. Meanwhile, predictable media outlets defiantly defended the actions, with one frothing Fox News host putting forward the particularly impressive argument that “The United States of America is awesome, we are awesome!… This administration wants to have this discussion to show us how we’re not awesome.” Case closed.


Props to the Senator.
 
8. #BlackLivesMatter
As the year draws to a close, the ongoing racial tensions in the US remain at the fore following the killing of a number of unarmed African Americans by the police. These have included the shooting of 17-year-old Mike Brown in Ferguson and the strangulation of father of three Eric Garner by NYPD in New York. Protests erupted across the nation exacerbated by heavy handed crackdown from authorities in some areas. The failure of the judiciary to prosecute the policemen involved led to further tensions and violence. Recently a New York police officer, Rafael Ramos, was shot dead in an apparent revenge attack. Notably, the events provoked the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag on Twitter and wider social media, while the murder of Garner led to the #ICantBreathe hashtag highlighting Garner’s dying words.   Solidarity protests also took place abroad with vigils held around the UK.


Let’s hope 2015 sees that right to humanity globally realised.

Image from: http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/03/entertainment/la-et-mn-oscar-social-media-20140303
L Amatullah

L Amatullah

L Amatullah is the Deputy Editor of The Platform.

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