At least according to Twitter, Seattleites are trend-setters.
A new study out of the Indiana University shows that Seattle has the most number of hashtags that started in the city and eventually landed on Twitter’s national hashtag trending list.
For 50 days, researchers analyzed more than 11,000 hashtags trending on Twitter in 63 different cities. They found which cities generated the most trending topics that ended up catching on throughout the country.
Most of these hashtags only last 20 minutes or less, the study found. Only 0.3 percent hung around more than a day.
But for those few long-lasting hashtags, it looks like Seattle came up with the most. The city, as the graph above shows, generated nearly 1,200 hashtags that went on to trend nationally. Los Angeles finished second with just under 1,000 hashtags, while Atlanta finished third.
“I’d say that Seattle people have a particular tendency to generate catchy hashtags around entertaining topics of conversation — e.g., #HighschoolHasTaughtMe or #YouWillNotBeTakenSeriouslyIf — that is uncommon among other cities,” said Emilio Ferrara, the study’s lead researcher. “For example, most trending hashtags Los Angeles or New York contributed to the national trends are about real world event, like #BenghaziInFourWords or #PrayForOklahoma.”
So, the next time you’re boasting about the Emerald City, add this little nugget in there: We set trends on Twitter.
