Twitter Recaps 2016 With #ThisHappened
Barely less than a month into 2017, social media platforms have come up with their own recap of the year that was. YouTube had its Rewind looking at the different trending events while Facebook offered its own Year in Review for users. Twitter is not far behind as it asked users to recall the big events of 2016 with #ThisHappened.
What makes Twitter's campaign unique is that it asks users to remember what happened instead of simply offering the information. It goes without saying that the brand will apply analytics in order to come out with a list. So what then were the big events of 2016?
In terms of mobile gaming, Twitter revealed that the biggest comes as no surprise and it is none other than #PokemonGo. Released in early July of this year, it was estimated that downloads amounted to around 100 million in merely a month. Though interest in the game has subsequently slowed down, there is no denying that it grabbed the attention of the world.
The biggest event was clearly the 2016 Olympics, held in #Rio. Dubbed as the greatest show on earth, the 2016 Olympics showed Usain Bolt winning his third Olympic gold for the 100-metre dash. Twitter revealed that this year's sporting event was also newsworthy in terms of women's sport.
Even with all of the happy events, Twitter also reminded everyone that it was a sad year as well with a number of notable #RIP. In the world of music for instance, the world mourned the passing of Prince and the Starman David Bowie. Celebrated actor Alan Rickman gave his goodbye and most recently Game of Thrones' Peter Vaughan.
Social issues took center stage as well with #BlackLivesMatter and #Brexit. The biggest politically-related event would have to be the U.S. #Election2016 with President-elect Trump showing a surprise win. What made the election even more entertaining is the fact that Trump himself is a known Twitter user.
Indeed, 2016 was a truly great year. Like with everything else, the bad must be taken with the good. The challenge now is to be prepared for what 2017 has in store.
