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2014 on Twitter

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 12 Dec 2014
Sport and entertainment personalities dominated conversations on the social networking platform this year.
Sport and entertainment personalities dominated conversations on the social networking platform this year.

As the year draws to a close, Twitter has joined the biggest social media platforms in taking stock of the most influential and popular moments throughout 2014.

Most of them have been contained in the 'Year on Twitter' roundup, which also has a Web site containing data from pivotal moments, including the Fifa World Cup Final and the Oscar Pistorius trial.

Top moments

Sport dominated the social networking platform this year. The most widely-tweeted moment in SA was the semi-final between Brazil and Germany, which saw the former thrashed 7-1. "During this game, fans around the world sent more than 35.6 million tweets - a new Twitter record," the social network said.

* There were more than 672 million tweets during the World Cup - the highest number of tweets to date related to an event.
* The rugby match between SA and Wales in June caused the second biggest spike on Twitter in South Africa in 2014.
* The Oscar Pistorius trial also dominated the social network, although no statistics were specified.

Top profiles

The following profiles have the greatest following in SA:

* Social media personality Caspar Lee - 2.1 million followers
* SA-born England cricketer Kevin Pietersen - 2 million
* Comedian Trevor Noah - 1.7 million
* Cricketer AB de Villiers - 1.5 million
* Cricketer Dale Steyn - 1.5 million
* Nelson Mandela's account - 1 million
* Media personality Bonang Matheba - 888 466
* Model Candice Swanepoel - 872 395
* Cricketer Graeme Smith - 735 660
* Media personality Gareth Cliff - 530 924

Most retweeted

In March, Ellen Degeneres' tweet from the Oscars became the most retweeted, topping Barack Obama's post shortly after he was elected to his second term of office. To date, Degeneres' post has been retweeted more than three million times.

Musician Justin Bieber (@JustinBieber) also featured among the most influential profiles, with 471 000 retweets, while One Direction band member Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) received 366 943 retweets in a post thanking fans for their support.

Following the death of actor Robin Williams (@RobinWilliams), the Academy's (@TheAcademy) tribute quota peaked at 327 432 retweets.

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