2015: The Year on Twitter

2015 globally was the year of #TheDress debate, the year @kanyewest announced he was running for President and @OneDirection decided it was time to take a hiatus. Meanwhile in UAE, we saw the historic visit of Indian president @narendramodi, the opening of the country’s first #AppleStore and the surprise visit of David Beckham to open Dubai’s newest @AdidasMiddleEast store in @MallofEmirates. 

To mark the end of the year, we’ve delved into our data to create our annual ‘Year on Twitter’ roundup. You can relive some of the most influential moments and popular Tweets from around the world on 2015.twitter.com.

Top Trends in UAE

We looked at the top UAE events that created the biggest trends in UAE Twitter traffic in 2015. Updates from the UAE’s ruling family and government initiatives continued to drive Twitter traffic among local Twitter users, with related Hashtags consistently among the most popular in the country.

Meanwhile, the results reveal UAE to be a nation of TV and Football fans, with Twitter traffic spiking during UAE Arabian Gulf League football matches, especially when @alnasrsc were playing and international teams like @FCBarcelona and @realmadrid took to the pitch. The top trending TV shows illustrate the diversity of interests within UAE, with the Filipino sensation @EatBulaga topping the list. The UAE’s Filipino community have been gripped to the love story of Alden Richards (@aldenrichards02) and Yaya Dub (@mainedcm), with variations on the couple’s dedicated hashtag #AlDub trending daily in recent months. Below are some of the top trending Hashtags in UAE: 

Sports 

1. #النصر (Al Nisr Football Team)
2. #ريال_مدريد (Real Madrid)
3. # برشلونة (Barcelona) 
4. #دوري_الخليج_العربي (UAE Arabian Gulf League) 
5. #AlahliUAE

TV

1. #ALDUB 
2. #TeenChoiceAwards 
3. #Arabs Got Talent 
4. #صدى_الملاعب  (Sada Al Malaeb)
5. #MTVEMA 

People

1. #JaDines
2. #محمد_بن_زايد (Mohammed bin Zayed)
3. ذكرى_وفاة_الشيخ_زايد (Memorial of Sheikh Zayed's passing)
4. #خليفة_بن_زايد (Khalifa bin Zayed)
5. #محمد_بن_زايد_عزنا_وفخرنا (Mohammed Bin Zayed is our pride and glory)

Year of the Emoji

Last year on Twitter we saw 2014 as the year of the Selfie when Ellen DeGeneres Oscar Selfie went viral and became the most Retweeted Tweet ever. This year 2015 is being described as the year of the Emoji with