On Christmas Day 2018 I created a new page on Wikipedia to celebrate the List of Twitter traditions. The page lasted until late February when it was tagged for discussion re: possible deletion as not satisfying Wikipedia's requirements for lists. Sadly it didn't survive the discussion but a copy of the page is preserved here.

List of Twitter traditions

The list of Twitter traditions includes examples of annually repeated 'events' on the internet micro-blogging service Twitter, usually linked to a hashtag or a particular account.

#DuvetKnowItsChristmas - Christmas Sleeping Arrangements

In December 2011 musician and writer Rhodri Marsden found himself sleeping in his sister's old room^[1] during the Christmas holidays, tweeting to his Twitter followers that "I think it's time for a photo meme of grown adults in single beds in their parents' house."^[2] His tweet unleashed a flood of responses from those staying in childhood rooms (now turned into offices or used as storage spaces) who shared photos of incongruous bed linen and undignified sleeping arrangements. The hashtag #DuvetKnowItsChristmas was widely adopted in 2016 after Twitter user CrouchingBadger suggested "Also, can we refer to this as #duvetknowitschristmas?"^[3] (though user 'Hashithappens' used the tag in 2015^[4] in a reply) and it continues to be a popular annual Twitter event.^[5][6] In 2018 Twitter partnered with Shelter to encourage those sharing images on the hashtag to donate to the charity in support of those without a room at Christmas.^[7]

#JoinIn

Comedian Sarah Millican sent a tweet on Christmas Day 2012 reminding her followers that they were not alone and encouraging them to share what they were doing: "And if circumstances mean you're on your own today, remember, you're not! We are here. I'll post up what i'm up to and join in if you like".^[8] A little later she followed this up with a tweet suggesting a hashtag^[9] (#joinin), which let people keep track of the shared conversations.^[10]

#SuperbOwl

During the NFL's annual championship 'Super Bowl' game advertisers, unless authorised to use the official trademark, must use a different term (such as 'The Big Game') to refer to the event. Comedian Stephen Colbert used the technically permitted phrase "Superb Owl" in 2014 and others adopted this term with #SuperbOwl being used on Twitter to share photographs of owls. Twitter does not distinguish between the hashtags #SuperBowl and #SuperbOwl so tweets from fans of the game and fans of owls overlap.^[11]

John Lewis and John Lewis retail

For a number of years the UK department store John Lewis used the Twitter name of JohnLewisRetail (now @JLPartners)^[12] however this did not stop customers from sending customer service-related tweets to @JohnLewis^[13], a man living in North America who merely shares the same name. The tweets 'to' him peak in the Christmas season in response to John Lewis' annual Christmas advert.^[14][15] His good-humoured and helpful responses have become a popular internet tradition resulting in his account being verified^[16] and his own appearance in a Twitter UK video advert in December 2018.^[17]

Ed Balls Day

On 28 April 2011, Ed Balls, urged by an assistant to search Twitter for a recent article about him, accidentally entered his intended search term in the wrong box and sent a tweet reading only "Ed Balls".^[18] The tweet has never been deleted and the incident is now celebrated as Ed Balls Day every 28 April, with followers retweeting his original message and commemorating the occasion in other ways.^[19][20]

International "When's International Men's Day?" Day

On International Women's Day in 2013 (8 March) comedian Richard Herring tweeted "International women's Day? When are we going to get an International MEN'S day? ... On November 19th. Hope that answers your question"^[21] after noticing a tendency among some people on Twitter to ask "When's International Men's Day?" in response to the existence of a day celebrating women. The following year he continued^[22], quote tweeting a variation of his response to hundreds of people asking the same question, and this tradition has continued.^[23] In 2018 he raised £150,000 for the charity Refuge by spending the day answering everyone who asked.^[24]
 
Category:Social media Category:Twitter-related lists Category:Annual events

References

1.  "Christmas: When people return to their childhood bedrooms". BBC. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
2.  ""I think it's time for a photo meme of grown adults in single beds in their parents' house."". Rhodri Marsden on Twitter. 25 December 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
3.  ""Also, can we refer to this as #duvetknowitschristmas?"". Crouchingbadger on Twitter. 24 December 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
4.  ""or....#duvetknowitschristmas"". Hashithappens on Twitter. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
5.  ""#DuvetKnowItsChristmas is a brilliant Twitter tradition where people Tweet @Rhodri to share their often hilarious seasonal sleeping arrangements. This year we've partnered with @Rhodri and @Shelter to tell the story. Not everyone has a home at Christmas, please give what you can."". Hashithappens on Twitter. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
6.  "This man has been sharing the weird sleeping arrangements people have to endure over Christmas". The Telegraph. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
7.  "#DuvetKnowItsChristmas returns to show the reality of people's sleeping arrangements over Christmas". Metro. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
8.  ""And if circumstances mean you're on your own today, remember, you're not! We are here. I'll post up what i'm up to and join in if you like"". Sarah Millican on Twitter. 25 December 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
9.  ""Let's use a hashtag. #joinin if you're joining in with me."". Sarah Millican on Twitter. 25 December 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
10.  "Sarah Millican's #JoinIn campaign is here to help if you're lonely this Christmas". Metro. 25 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
11.  "Why is r/Superbowl about owls?". Reddit. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
12. "jlpartners". John Lewis Partners on Twitter. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
13.  "John Lewis". John Lewis on Twitter. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
14.  "Man called John Lewis bombarded with messages by confused Twitter users again as Christmas advert comes out". Mirror. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
15.  "American Man Named 'John Lewis' Responds To Christmas Ad Hype". LadBible. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
16. ""HEY! I've been verified!"". John Lewis on Twitter. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018. 
17.  "Man named John Lewis is revealed as star of Twitter's UK Christmas film after he gets bombarded with tweets every year that are intended for the retailer". Evening Standard. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
18.  Balls, Ed (28 April 2011). "Ed Balls". Twitter. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
19.  Collins, Lauren (28 April 2014). "Happy Ed Balls Day". The New Yorker.
20.  Sini, Rozina (28 April 2016). "Why people are celebrating Ed Balls Day". BBC News. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
21. ""International women's Day? When are we going to get an International MEN'S day? ... On November 19th. Hope that answers your question."". Richard K Herring on Twitter. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2018. 
22. ""Is it International "when's international men's day?" again already?"". Evening Standard. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2018. 
23. "Relax, guys – it's International Men's Day (the official one)". The Guardian. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2018. 
24. "International "When's International Men's Day? Day"". Just Giving. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.