By Chiara Cozzatella, Dian Hulsebosch and Vanessa Jev
As the influence of the digital world increases, it is a way to cross boundaries. The importance of Twitter is rising, as a political, mobilization, and cross-border communication tool. This was something we were very interested in analyzing. What does virality even mean for Africa when it comes to social media and Twitter? Siyanda Mohutsiwa created the hashtag #IfAfricaWasABar in 2015. It quickly became very popular. It became a way to communicate between the continent, in an immediate, pure, and shared way.
References
KARUSALA, NAVEENA, TREVOR PERRIER, and NEHA KUMAR. “#IfAfricaWasABar: Participation on Twitter across African Borders.” In #identity: Hashtagging Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Nation, edited by Abigail De Kosnik and Keith P. Feldman, 268–82. University of Michigan Press, 2019.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvndv9md.20.
https://www.dcipheranalytics.com/blog/five-steps-to-data-driven-netnography.
https://researchworld.com/people/siyanda-mohutsiwa.
https://www.ted.com/speakers/siyanda_mohutsiwa.