2016's top most followed Twitter accounts in Singapore

Twitter is one the fastest ways to keep your eyes on current affairs.In fact, despite the company seeing a fair bit of rejig in its Singaporean operations,  many Singaporeans still do used the platform to keep up to date, debate and join in global conversations. As such, here's a list of the most followed accounts, top ten hashtag trends and the golden moment (and even that golden tweet) in 2016.2016 most followed accounts on Twitter:No.NameTwitter AccountFollowers as of Dec 5, 20161Singapore Airlines@SingaporeAir527,3002Wil Tay@Wiltay441,8003Lee Hsien Loong@leehsienloong438,8004So Singaporean@SoSingaporean366,5005Naomi Neo@NaomiNeo_341,8006Xiaxue@xiaxue341,6007National Environment Agency@NEAsg322,8008mrbrown@mrbrown319,8009Joseph Prince@JosephPrince318,20010SMRT Corporation@SMRT_Singapore311,300The top 10 hashtag trends in Singapore for 2016:The top hashtag trends showcases the Twitter conversations that most Singaporean's had on Twitter in 2016. While #Rio2016 was celebrated both locally and globally on Twitter, there was nothing more viral this year for Singaporeans on Twitter than #PokemonGO.Beyond that, Singaporeans also participated in global Twitter conversations around pop culture, sports, Korean wave, news and Internet memes.1) #PokemonGONintendo’s augmented-reality game Pokémon GO reached Singapore’s shores in late July, resulting in hordes of Singaporeans taking to the streets and public spaces in the hunt for Pokémons and exchanging tips on where best to find rare Pokémons in Singapore. Hours after #PokemonGO’s Singapore launch, the Singapore Police Force posted an advisory urging the public to place their personal safety above the urge to "catch em' all". National Parks also requested the removal of Pokestops from nature reserves to minimize damage to these areas.2) #Rio2016Schooling’s gold at the Rio Olympics definitely made waves, but he was not the only one that got everyone Tweeting. Yip Pin Xiu’s (@yippinxiu) two gold medal wins at the Rio Paralympics made Singapore proud, too.3) #ElectionNightSingapore also took to Twitter to follow developments in the 2016 US Elections. The US Elections suddenly felt closer to home when now-President-Elect Donald Trump (@realdonaldtrump) singled out Singaporeans as stealing jobs from Americans, resulting in Singaporeans taking to social media to express their disbelief at the claim.4) #MUFCFans of Manchester United (@manutd) have been having a tough time as of late, with the team falling far short of expectations this season. More recently, Jose Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal as team manager. Nonetheless, #MUFC fans in Singapore are fiercely loyal, watching the games religiously, and also ready to support a new football-themed cafe to be set up in Singapore by former Manchester United stars, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.5) #DescendantsOfTheSunThe K-wave peaked to a new high this year, with the Descendants of the Sun TV series. The love story between Captain Yoo Shi Jin (Song Joong Ki) and Doctor Kang Mo Yeon (Song Hye Kyo) captured hearts all over Singapore. Fans of this series, endearingly shortened to ‘DOTS,’ inspired wedding photo shoots in Singapore and even Halloween costumes.6) #Euro2016The 2016 UEFA European Championship marked the 15th edition of the tournament. This year, Iceland made it all the way to the quarterfinals with a stunning upset of England along the way, while underdog Portugal ending up taking home the Championship title. Football fans in Singapore got live updates about the #Euro2016 action on Twitter and cheered along with the global football community, even at Changi airport!7) #BTSBTS (@bts_twt) , also known as Bangtan Boys, is one of the hottest Korean acts in the world. The seven-member South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Entertainment is the first Korean pop band to have its own Twitter emoji launched ahead of its Asia Tour in June this year. Their local fans have been following BTS on Twitter and pleading with the boy band to bring The Wings Tour to Singapore in 2017. 8) #RIPChristinaTalented Christina Grimmie (@therealgrimmie) was fatally shot while signing autographs after performing in Orlando. The tragedy resonated with her fans in Singapore who Tweeted their tribute to both her music, how much they enjoyed her local concert last year, and that they will miss her dearly. 9) #PrayforMadinahSingaporeans stood in solidarity with Twitter users around the world using the #PrayForMadinah hashtag, after the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad, and also holiest city in Islam after Mecca, was rocked by a suicide bombing.10) #MannequinChallengeWho would have thought people would find joy in remaining frozen in action like mannequins while a video is recorded? It is believed that the viral phenomenon was started by students in Florida and even Singapore’s national carrier, Singapore Airlines (@singaporeair), has jumped on the bandwagon with their own #MannequinChallenge video Tweet.2016 golden moments on Twitter in Singapore:The Golden Moment for Singapore is undoubtedly Joseph Schooling’s (@joschooling) Olympic Gold win at Rio 2016, when he beat Olympic legend Michael Phelps (@michaelphelps) in the 100m butterfly.Time stood still in Singapore for 50.39 seconds when Singapore’s golden boy in swimming dove into the pool. 21-year-old Schooling’s win in the 100m butterfly final saw Singapore claim its first ever Olympic gold medal andTwitter erupted with an amazing 380,000 Tweets in three hours.Funny memes, inspirational quotes and reruns of Schooling’s winning race with the #SchoolingWinsGold hashtag shook up the Internet the world over.https://twitter.com/9GAG/status/764275084617887746