Twitter scoured a billion tweets that were posted on the platform between 2019 and 2021 and it has compiled all of them into a single resource: The Twitter Report 2022. Rediffusion’s Red Lab report identified three big Twitter trends which would steer the future conversations in India. They are The Great Restoration, Fan-Built Worlds, and Finance Goes Social.
Apart from its focus on the economy, The Great Restoration is the byproduct of people starting to realise how fragile the planet can be if it is not taken good care of.
In 2021, ‘How to heal’ was the most searched word. There was a 64 percent year-on-year increase seen in terms like ‘restoring’ or ‘rebalancing’. Participating in creating a positive support system, committing to reducing carbon footprint, buying locally produced goods, mindful consumption, slow living, minimalism, decluttering, and reducing the use of plastic, rewear, reuse, and recycling emerged as the major healers.
In 2020, over 51 million people were impacted by 84 weather disasters. This led to 158 percent year-over-year mentions of ‘greenwashing’. Greenwashing is the use of marketing techniques to portray an organisation’s products, activities or policies as environmentally friendly when they are not.
As conversations around mindful consumption began doing rounds, corporations launched electric vehicles (EVs). At present, the EV segment in India stands at 17 million units, out of which 15 million units are two-wheelers.
There was also a 56 percent year-over-year increase in terms like ‘decarbonisation’ A 115 percent, 53 percent, 109 percent, and 20 percent year-over-year increase was witnessed even in terms like tracking sustainability/ESGs, sustainable growth, fighting waste, and existentialism.
The Fan-Built World is the practice of fans creating their versions of pre-existing fictional worlds. Between 2019 and 2021, a number of influencers saw exponential growth where they made their own rules, owned the content, and had conversations with them. A 994 percent growth in fan token conversations was witnessed.
A 47 percent increase in discussions around fandom was seen. Also, there was also a 55 percent increase seen in passions like #crickettwitter.
As per the report, fans are no longer passive consumers but active participants. They take the work of their favourite influencers and brands and create more fan-based content. This shared ownership makes them a stakeholder in the creation and they are even getting paid handsomely.
Also, a 320 percent growth was seen in topics like passive income, NFT collaborations, fashion and collectibles, NFT avatars, and crypto-gaming.
Seventy-eight percent year-on-year increase was witnessed in finance-related tweets. Communities of experts and everyday people were joining forces to share their knowledge on this subject which led to a 185 percent increase in financial literacy discussions.
Concepts like decentralised finance and digital assets entered the arena of pop culture where NFT + Bollywood, Bollycoin, and Beyond Life emerged as topics to watch out for.
In 2021, there were 17 times more tweets about NFTs than about Work-From-Home (WFH). The report highlighted that millennials found comfort in seeking financial advice from social media than from traditional sources such as banks, brokers, advisors, or investment firms.
Seventy-five percent increase was witnessed in #FinTwit where the emerging topics were on cryptocurrency, decentralised finance, NFT marketplaces, and stocks. Bitcoin ATMs, crowd loans, ZCash/ privacy protection, and cypherpunk movement were also other emerging topics.