Prime Minister Narendra Modi is placed at number two and American singer Taylor Swift is at number 1 spot among the list of 50 most influential people on Twitter this year, according to an annual research carried out by consumer intelligence company Brandwatch. Modi came second with 72 million followers on Twitter, and there was no change in his position from last year.
Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar is also in the list, placed at number 35. The legendary right-hander is ranked above the likes of American actors Dwayne Johnson and Leonardo Di Caprio, and former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama among others.
The research cited Tendulkar's "appreciable real work for the less fortunate, lending his voice and presence for the right causes, his inspired fans following his work and his partner brands' relevant impactful campaigns" for his inclusion in the list.
The former India captain, who has also been a Rajya Sabha MP, is associated with UNICEF for more than a decade now and was appointed the ambassador for South Asia in 2013. Tendulkar has supported many initiatives in health, education, and sports both in rural and urban India.
For the second year in a row, ‘musician’ appears to be the most influential profession on the platform, with 54% of the ranked influencers falling under this category, said Brandwatch. ‘Television host’ is the second most influential profession on Twitter, with 12% of the top 50 influencers in this category.
Business, sports, and politicians each accounted for 6% of the ranked influencers’ professions. Unlike last year, only two politicians appeared in the top 10: Barack Obama and Narendra Modi.
Talking about the demographic breakdown of the influencers, Brandwatch said among the 50 identified influencers, 61% are male and 39% female, with the majority (67%) based in the United States, followed by Brazil (13%). “We also looked into conversation insights from the top 50 influencers, and three themes dominated the discussions: pop culture, style/fashion/body art, and sports, with the last one accounting for 35.8% of all conversations,” it added.
Brandwatch uses social media data to provide companies with information and means to analyse their brands' online presence.
With PTI inputs