#ThisHappened in 2018 NOEMI LARDIZABAL-DADO
TWITTER is my go- to platform to monitor conversations and track local and global trending news. Using the search bar on the Twitter app, I pick up the top 20 keywords and hashtags that are a popular topic in the Philippines or around the world. If you are unfamiliar with this popular micro- blogging platform, a hashtag is a keyword, or a phrase used to describe a topic or a theme. One adds a pound sign (#) before the word or phrase using no spaces or punctuation. One can click the hashtag which takes you to a page featuring the feed of the recent or top tweets with that hashtag.
Twitter sent me a list of hashtags, accounts and topic that dominated on the platform in 2018. Entertainment remained to be the biggest conversation driver among Filipino users. The year is top billed by local and international talents from # BTS and #EXO to #MaineMendoza and # Mayward. Filipino teleseryes such as #Bagani and #TheHowsOfUs movie ruled the Twitterverse.
One does not limit Twitter conversations on your favorite artists. Brands reach out to their audience on Twitter. Different industries in food, retail, fashion and telecommunication, conduct brand campaigns on Twitter to cultivate a better relationship with their audiences. McDonald’s Philippines leads this year’s top 10 brands that enjoy the most engagement through their promos and gimmicks.
The most retweeted Tweets prove non- celebrities can get their Tweets viral. The Tweet from Gian Carlo (@ giaaancarlo) received over 102,872 retweets. Other Twitter users connect to Gian’s sentiments about the toughest part of the school semester. The chances or options students will take to pass their classes are a concern. Another Tweet with a call to retweet to get a new iPhone is from Bryan Riel (@ bryan_ riel95), which placed second with 87,564 retweets. The Tweet from Depression Notes (@ depressionnote) earned the third spot with its Tweet sharing the suicide hotline in the country to promote mental health awareness. The Tweet gained 86,202 retweets. Sharing the suicide hotline otherwise known as the Helpline from the Department of Health needs to be conducted regularly.
Noticeably missing from Twitter’s report are sociopolitical issues. However, Twitter encourages everyone to share their biggest stories, memories and conversations of 2018 through the hashtag # ThisHappened. I want to share the following hashtags because they played an impact in the news here and abroad.
TIME Magazine identi - baeAko” as one of 25 most influential people on the internet. The list includes social media, lifestyle and entertainment celebrities, President Trump, social activists Shaun King, Eman al- Nafjan and the students of Parkland. looking at their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news.” The BabaeAko movement started out as an online campaign in May 2018. It was a response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s various remarks viewed as misogynistic by critics. The great thing about Twitter is media picks up social media news and vice versa. Al Jazeera noticed which led to an interview, shortly followed by BBC World.
# DefendPressFreedom started during # BlackFridayProtest in January when citizens and members of media joined a protest following Commission’s ( SEC) ruling revoking the registration of Rappler over issues of foreign ownership. Their collective stand: Defend press freedom. Netizens used the hashtag again when Rappler got slapped with five cases for of misinformation and disinformation, it’s from Maria Ressa and TIME’s Persons of the Year we find the courage to continue fighting for truth
#FightDisinfo is ground break - pine media history, a network of journalists, academics, bloggers, and other independents collaborated and organized a Democracy and Disinformation Conference. Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle Philippines and the University of the Philippines supported the conference. The success of this conference in February 2018 led to a Consortium on Democracy and Disinformation, which organizes media literacy conferences in schools around the Philippines.
#FireMocha started in August 2017 when netizens called out for the removal of then Presidential Communications - sistant Secretary Mocha Uson from her post. The hashtag gets revived every time Uson shared misinformation or disinformation. The pressure for Uson’s resignation mounted when she got dragged into various controversies, including a lewd - gle with Drew Olivar. Another video of them mocked the sign Uson resigned.
#HirapMagmahal and #PresyoIbaba also trended on Twitter as netizens protested the Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law and in
As you can see, using hashtags on Twitter is not just rooting for our favorite brand or personality. One can even have fun on Twitter yet use hashtags to push social change for good. Do you have other stories for 2018 that is important to you? Tweet and use the hashtag # ThisHappened.