A plane tows an R.I.P. sign over an unofficial memorial event for "Fast & Furious" star Paul Walker in Santa Clarita, California December 8, 2013.

Twitter, as a social networking microblogging platform, emerged wonderfully in 2013. It proved that news could spread faster than forest fire when posted on this platform. The 140-character world turned out to be extraordinary for many reasons. Kurt Wagner of Mashable.com threw light on some of those.

Top Tweets of the Year
‘Glee’ actor Cory Monteith passed away in July. His college Lea Michele left a short note along with an intimate photograph saying goodbye to Monteith. It was retweeted over 400,000 times in more than 130 countries.

Thank you all for helping me through this time with your enormous love & support. Cory will forever be in my heart. pic.twitter.com/XVlZnh9vOc

— Lea Michele (@msleamichele) July 29, 2013

‘Fast and Furious’ start Paul Walker’s death in a car accident was not only shocking but also devastating for many. The news of his death was announced through Walker’s Twitter account. The confirmation was retweeted over 400,000 times falling a little short of Michele’s tweet to finish second on the list of the most retweeted.

It's with a heavy heart that we must confirm Paul Walker passed away today in a tragic car accident...MORE: http://t.co/9hDuJMH99M - #TeamPW — Paul Walker (@RealPaulWalker) December 1, 2013


The third in the list is much lighter in approach. Niall Horan expressed his ecstasy of turning 20. The ‘One Direction’ star was overjoyed that he was no more a teenager. His birthday tweet was retweeted 375,292 times.

Yesss ! I'm 20 ! Wohooo ! No more teens!

— Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) September 12, 2013

Twitter Debut 2013 saw some of the major international names making their Twitter debut. The list of debutants includes former U.S. presidents George H W Bush and Bill Clinton. Other significant names include Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant and Joe Montana. Business tycoons Warren Buffett tweeted just four times in 2013 but his list of followers has over 720,000 names. Major Moments on Twitter The new pope was welcomed on Twitter. Pope Francis was introduced to the world in March.

A su Santidad Francisco I pic.twitter.com/a1ujwamYmk — Cristina Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) March 13, 2013


Millions mourned at the death of the former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. About 7.2 million tweets mentioned Mandela’s death.

“Death is something inevitable.When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people&his country,he can rest in peace” #Madiba

— NelsonMandela (@NelsonMandela) December 5, 2013

The breaking news of Boston Marathon Bombings created ripple on Twitter. Over 27 million tweets were posted on the topic.

BREAKING NEWS: Two powerful explosions detonated in quick succession right next to the Boston Marathon finsh line this afternoon. — The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) April 15, 2013


The U.S. government had to be shut down for budget constraints. The 16-day shutdown generated millions of tweets.

A government shutdown will have a real impact on real people right away—and the House is hours away from forcing one. #EnoughAlready

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 30, 2013