From fashion rule-breaking firsts, to burritos and frigid temperatures, we're looking at this week's news by the numbers. The social numbers that is.
Let's take a closer look at the data and some key insights around some of the most popular topics in our collective psyche.
Catwalk Convention at New York Fashion Week
Last Thursday Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week kicked off in New York and the city has been rife with celebrities, designers, fashionistas, fashion bloggers, and the couture-savvy all waiting to see the highly anticipated new collections for the year.
This year's high-profile event hasn't just been about the new clothes, but has drawn the media and public's attention for it's ground-breaking firsts.
The Carrie Hammer show last Thursday saw the first model with Down's Syndrome, Jamie Brewer - best known for her role on American Horror Story - walk the catwalk, Jack Eyers was the first male model amputee to walk a NYFW show for FTL Moda at Lincoln Center on Sunday, and Becca McCharen's runway show on Saturday featured plus-size models, trans women, and girls from all ethnicities. Here's to breaking all boundaries #effyourbeautystandards.
The use of a more diverse mix of models has certainly driven a lot of online mentions across the web, alongside the usual suspects for most mentioned topics such as Anna Wintour, Victoria Beckham, and FROW (front row) stalwarts Rihanna and Beyonce.
We looked at a 10% sampling of NYFW mentions and saw more than 730,000 mentions of fashion's biggest week.
The event that received the biggest online reaction was Kanye's collabo with Adidas. We saw over 100,000 mentions of the fashion partnership, with North West getting more than 6,000 mentions in relation to NYFW. That toddler has been to way more fashion shows than me!
Check out our "Who's Running the Runway? We Look Behind the Data at NYFW" blog post to see which designers were mentioned most throughout the week.
Fifty States of Grey Talk
Over the past two weeks, Fifty Shades of Garbage (sorry, I meant Grey... I guess) has drawn over one million mentions on Twitter. Much to my dismay. But that's neither here nor there.
Last weekend, the rate of tweets related to this brand of "books" turned movie, rarely dropped below 1,000 per hour. Handcuffs, blindfolds, and all things BDSM suddenly, and maybe uncomfortably, made their way into the mainstream consciousness.
Unsurprisingly, women tweeted more about the raunchy flick than men.
Where was the movie discussed most? Based off of our social data, Cali residents generated the most conversation, followed by New York, Texas, Florida, and Indiana.
"I Know That Guacamole Is Extra"
This week the New York Times published an article on how many calories people really eat at Chipotle. What they discovered? Most meals at the popular chain have more than 1,000 calories and nearly a full day's worth of sodium. Quelle surprise! (No, but really, it wasn't that surprising).
We might not have been completely surprised, but wanted to see how others were reacting on social media. Since Tuesday afternoon, we have seen nearly 10,000 mentions on Chipotle's calorie count and whether it really is a "healthy option." Within those conversations, we saw that Chipotle was compared to McDonald's more than two hundred times, many couldn't believe that their burritos had more calories than a Big Mac.
Are people really bothered by this revelation? The social data tells us not so much. Many users on Twitter argued that the calorie count has always been available, and it's just not earth-shattering information. We also saw only 4% of conversations mention Tweeters "rethinking" their lunch order, which means 96% plan to get their burrito bowl with guac regardless.
Is it summer yet?
Time to bundle up! Even more. If you thought last year's polar vortex was bad wait until this so-called Siberian Express comes to town. Grab your hats. And sweaters, scarves, and blankets. It's going to get even colder. Brace yourselves.
NBC explained the "Siberian Express" has blanketed the eastern third of the nation in subzero temperatures, accounting for the coldest temperatures we've experienced in decades. We've been tracking reactions on social media and have seen more than 15,000 mentions of the polar vortex or Siberian Express, with the most popular hashtag being #PolarVortex (2,500+ tweets and retweets).
The most mentions occurred on February 19, as many news outlets warned readers to prepare for the cold. Tweeters in New York, Ohio, Washington, and Illinois have mentioned the arctic blast the most.
What are people calling this cold weather?
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Polar Vortex: 11,500+ mentions
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Arctic Blast: 1,700+ mentions
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Siberian Express: 1,350+ mentions
Brands jumped on this Siberian Express with bullet train speed, but rather than commandeering or veering the conversation of the tracks, they provided helpful information.
Companies like StriVectin, Livestrong, Spotify Canada, and Columbia Sportswear have tweeted out tips, tricks, and products to help them "survive" the cold weather. We expect to see even more branded Tweets around the weather news as the temperatures continue to drop.
Next up in DataLand
The Oscars are closing out the 2015 awards season this weekend, and we'll be monitoring Twitter for interesting moments spiking on the interwebs.
Interested in learning more about social listening and data or have a question for Brandwatch? Visit us here or email me [email protected]!