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Social Studies: The Week in Twitter Trending Topics

Is there an anthropological field study more reliable than Twitter, which features a list of the top 10 most discussed subjects at any given time. What really mattered to people this week? What mattered enough to displace Justin Bieber, human-Internet-meme hybrid, from said list? For analysis, we’ve taken screen shots of Twitter’s most popular topics every afternoon. This will be our “data.” Now, let’s do a close reading for this, our new feature, the Week in Twitter Trending Topics. Monday

Mondays, as they are wont to do, lend themselves to despondency. #WhatsThePoint and #iwishicould both held top 10 spots, as did “Justin Bieber” and “Tiger Woods,” which we’re also counting as forms of abject misery. Mark Buehrle, the White Sox’s pitcher who executed an awe-inspiring Opening Day play, was also a topic of discussion. “Easter,” likely a leftover from Sunday’s Easter holiday, also made the cut.

Tuesday

Things were looking up on Tuesday! “Jesus I Love You,” the Twittering masses proclaimed, perhaps a combination of lingering Easter merriment and positive associations with the Catholic Church. Argentinean soccer star Lionel Messi also achieved Twitter ubiquity after scoring four goals and helping his FC Barcelona defeat Arsenal FC.

Wednesday

The European football matches also had a strong showing on Wednesday, as both “ManU” (a reference to Manchester United) and “Bayern Munich”—the former defeated the latter—made the top ten. Justin Bieber vanished, perhaps regressing to his original, holographic form.

Thursday

Tweets displayed a decidedly politically minded slant on Thursday, as people demonstrated an interest in “Kyrgyzstan.” Perhaps much more notable was everyone’s apparent collective ability to spell “Kyrgyzstan” correctly. “Jonghyun,” a member of the South Korean boy band SHINee, celebrated his 20th birthday on this day.

Friday

“Court Justice John Paul Stevens”: is he the new Justin Bieber? Maybe! RIM, the parent company of BlackBerry, announced that it would buy QNX software, which people seem to feel very strongly about. Canada’s Minister of State for the Status of Women, Helena Guergis, announced that she is stepping down, while N.Y.P.D. Blue actress Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon sent out a mass e-mail alleging that her husband has been a longtime philanderer. “Newest man made marvel” likely refers to this N.P.R. story.
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/04/social-studies-the-week-in-twitter-trending-topics
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