Women rule social media. They dominate Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, and stand click-to-click with men on Twitter and Tumblr. It's not all pretty pictures. This is the breakout year for hashtag activism on issues around women and girls. 

For example, what countries are most active on Twitter?  We’ll start with percapita use.  No, it’s not the U.S.   In fact, the U.S. is in fifth place, trailing among others, Brunei.  (Who knew?)  But for the highest per capita (aka “tweetiest”) country in the world, according to the Northeastern Universityresearchers who compiled the data, that distinction belongs to Kuwait.  Following is the list: Top 10 Twitter countries, per capita use - Kuwait, Netherlands, Brunei, UK, USA, Chile, Ireland, Canada, Sweden, Puerto Rico

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has seemingly waded into the debate surrounding the arrest of a group of Iranians for recreating a tribute to Pharrell Williams’ Happy video. On Wednesday a Twitter account operated by Rouhani’s aides tweeted: "#Happiness is our people's right. We shouldn't be too hard on behaviors caused by joy." The tweet is believed by many to reference the incident, which was branded “a vulgar clip which hurt public chastity” by Tehran police chief Hossein Sajedinia.

Since January 2012, Dr Manmohan Singh, the outgoing prime minister of India, has regaled the 1.24 million followers of the prime minister’s official account on Twitter with blurry photographs, links to turgid Press Information Bureau releases, and festive tidings. No more.
 

Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who swept the country’s election results on Friday, has started to appear decidedly more prime ministerial by the day. Over the past few days, he has taken to Twitter to thank foreign leaders for their support, but the order in which he thanked them and one notable omission, later rectified, was more interesting than the content of the tweets themselves.

The BJP clean sweep at the national elections found an echo on Twitter. On counting day Narendra Modi began with 39.87 lakh followers and ended with 40.92 lakh, breaking a record of sorts in the number of followers on Twitter any individual has pulled in on a given day. The tally now stands well over 41.1 lakh.This may have much to do with the BJP's early debut on Twitter and the effective use of social media that went towards building the sort of marketing campaign rarely seen in Indian politics.

Police forces across Australia are acting as their own media organisations: producing video and photos, and engaging with the public via social media. However, with traditional outlets increasingly reliant on multimedia produced by the police, can the public be sure they're getting the full picture?