When you finish scrolling through your Facebook news feed, do you usually have a bunch of notifications on Twitter? And by the time you get done with the little blue bird, does your Instagram notifications start winking at you?
Here then, just for you, is a handy wrap of all the topics that kept social media platforms buzzing this week.
YouTube Virals
An advertisement that challenges the inherent sexism of arranged marriage traditions has gone viral. This advertisement by a clothing brand, titled ‘Change The Convention’, shows the bride-to-be’s father challenging received rituals by asking the groom-to-be if he can cook and maintain a house. The boy’s mother is visibly shocked and offended, but the boy pleads to be allowed 10 days to learn the requisite skills. Do we smell a sequel in the making?
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is an American comedy web series created, directed and hosted by comedian Jerry Seinfeld which involves Seinfeld introducing a vintage car selected for a guest comedian, followed by a drive to a restaurant for coffee. This episode, which has been doing the digital rounds, features US President Obama letting loose while being driven in circles around his front lawn.
Twitter Trends
#NetNeutrality
On Monday, December 28, the net neutrality debate was ignited once again when Facebook launched Free Basics, the rejigged version of its much maligned Internet.org. Free Basics, a self styled philanthropic initiative that promises to digitise the entirety of India, has come under fire from net neutrality activists who claim it violates the fundamental idea of the internet as a free, equal, and open platform.
#NamoRocks2015
On Tuesday, December 29, this self-explanatory hashtag was trending, with BJP supporters out in full force on social media. With the year coming to an end, supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to recall, wrap up, and celebrate the good work done by the central administration, as they perceive it.
#SRK17Million
On Wednesday, December 30, the badshah of Bollywood conquered another terrain, digital this time, when he amassed a Twitter following of 17 million.
#HappyNewYear
On Thursday, December 31, as the last day of 2015 dawned, Twitter users wrapped the year up in their own distinctive way, some with wry humour and others with maudlin outpourings.
On Friday, January 1, users across the world reported issues connecting to WhatsApp on New Year’s Eve, with services impacted for several hours before normalcy was restored. Predictably, outraged users took to Twitter to vent righteous anger while those who were more amused churned out memes.
#PathankotAttack
In the early hours of Saturday, January 2, suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists entered the Pathankot Air Force Station with the alleged intention of destroying valuable air force assets. At 3.30 am, the terrorists, dressed in army fatigues, opened fire at the base. They clashed with security forces in an encounter that ended with all five terrorists dead.
Facebook Buzz
The attack on Punjab’s Pathankot Air Force Station by suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists in the early hours of Saturday, the second day of the new year, is the current talking point on Facebook. Many consider it an attempt to re-introduce animosity into India-Pak relations after PM Modi’s historic Lahore visit a few days ago. Other topics that made waves on users’ feeds include Facebook’s Free Basics, Reliance Jio, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, New Year celebrations around the world, a Dubai hotel engulfed in a massive fire on NYE, and Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali in trouble with authorities over use of cow urine in their products.
Top 3 Performers on Instagram
These are the photos that grabbed the maximum eyeballs on our Instagram feed.
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