Shri Narendra Modi’s followers on Twitter cross 900,000!
Shri Modi among the most active politicians on Twitter, where he expresses views and engages with well-wishers.
This comes a day after Shri Modi holds historic Google+ Hangout watched all across the world.
Shri Narendra Modi is one of the most popular public figures on social media and he has innovatively used this medium to express views as well as reach out to the people. Today, his social media popularity received yet another shot in the arm when the number of followers on Shri Modi’s Twitter page crossed the 900,000 mark. It may be noted that Shri Modi has among the highest followers among Indian political leaders.The pace of this increase has been remarkable to say the least! Crossing the 900,000 mark has come just about a month and handful days after Shri Modi had crossed the 800,000 mark on 30th July.
Here is the Twitter journey of Shri Modi in the last few months:
| Date | Milestone |
| 11th November 2011 | Shri Modi crosses 400,000 followers on Twitter |
| 3rd March 2012 | 500,000 mark scaled by Shri Modi on Twitter |
| 1st May 2012 | Perfect gift on Gujarat day as Shri Modi’s followers cross 600,000 |
| 13th June 2012 | Shri Modi has 700,000 followers on Twitter |
| 30th July 2012 | Shri Modi’s Twitter following crosses 800,000 |
INNOVATINE USAGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA:
Twitter is an important but only one facet of Shri Modi’s activities on social media. His official Facebook page remains an active hub of expressing views, sharing pictures and posting reader’s comments.
He takes time off from his busy schedule and Blogs regularly on a variety of issues. His You Tube channel is updated daily where you can find all the latest speeches and media bytes of Shri Modi.
But, the greatest story of the last month has been Shri Modi’s active and path breaking usage of Google+ to reach out to more well-wishers. That Shri Modi is among the few politicians to use Google+ is known but on the evening of 31st August he held a Google+ Hangout session, taking live questions from participants spread across the world.
Shri Modi’ Hangout has been a landmark session because it is for the first time that a public figure took questions from across the world. President Obama and Prime Minister Gillard of Australia held Hangouts in the past but only took questions from people from their respective countries. In Shri Modi’s case, there were questioners from New York, Japan, London and Qatar. The Hangout generated immense enthusiasm among netizens and was extensively covered by the media. The Hangout was witnessed by people from 116 nations, over 4 million people viewed it on TV and a record 70,000 Tweets pored in while the hangout was in progress.
CLICK HERE to read more such facts on Shri Modi’s Google+ Hangout
Away from the rough and tumble of politics, Shri Modi interacted with the people and answered questions straight from the heart and even revealed some of his personal tastes and habits such as the secret behind his ‘Modi Kurtas’, his favourite dish and the number of hours he sleeps in a day.
DEFENDING FREESPEECH, SALUTING SPIRIT OF SOCIAL MEDIA:
The other major happening in the last month was Shri Modi’s unequivocal defence of free speech and support for a vibrant social media. Free speech and the right to express one’s self freely are central to Shri Modi. Time and again, he has said that criticism is a key cornerstone of democracy and thus, when the Centre was clamping down on these very rights of expression it is natural for Shri Modi to raise his protest.
In solidarity with the unfair crackdown on Internet freedom by the UPA, Shri Modi blackened his Twitter display picture and Tweeted, “As a common man, I join the protest against crackdown on freedom of speech! Have changed my DP. ‘Sabko Sanmati De Bhagwan.’ #GOIBlocks”. This became an instant hit among netizens and thousands of people followed Shri Modi and blackened their pictures as a mark protest.
PULSE ON YOUNGISTAN!
The last month was also the time when India was witnessing its finest run in any Olympic games and our Under 19 Team won the ICC Under-19 World Cup. As the youngsters were glued to their TV sets, celebrating the triumphs of our sportspersons, Shri Modi used social media to join these celebrations. Be it wishing our Olympic medalists or the Under 19 champions, Shri Modi was among the first to do so!
Thus, with such out of the box thinking, a desire to connect with the youth and hear from them, it is understandable why Shri Modi has time and again emerged as a true ‘King of Social Media!’
