The year 2023 witnessed several notable internet moments.
The year 2023 witnessed the most iconic moments on the internet. The year featured a variety of trends from many sectors, from Infosys founder Narayana Murthy's comments on the 70-hour work week to the "Looking like a wow" fad that took social media by storm. Notably, artificial intelligence gained popularity, and cricket enthusiasts were glued to their virtual seats throughout the ICC World Cup.
Here is a look at the top moments of 2023:
Narayana Murthy
Infosys founder Narayana Murthy recently suggested that India's youth must work for 70 hours every week to boost the country's overall work productivity and economy. He said that young people in India have a habit of taking habits from the West and then not helping the country. The 77-year-old added that India can only grow and compete with economies like China if youngsters in the country significantly improve their work productivity. This remark by the businessman created a stir online with a few people supporting the idea while others also questioned the long-term health implications of having a work schedule consisting of unreasonable and extremely long working hours.
Twitter Transforms Into X.com
The world witnessed the change of branding of Elon Musk's microblogging website Twitter to X. The billionaire appointed a new CEO of the company- Linda Yaccarino and replaced the blue bird logo h with an X logo in July. The company later named tweets as posts. Further, a subscription model known as "Twitter Blue" was introduced which enables users to get a verification tick on the payment of the $8. The move sparked a huge outcry, with many flagging security concerns and others sulking over losing their blue badge. Mr Musk has also talked about turning the platform into an "everything app", something that caused him to rebrand the company to X.
Metro Viral Videos
Despite repeated reminders about the ban on filming videos inside the train coaches by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), some commuters continue to indulge in videography. Several videos of influencers dancing inside the Delhi Metro gained attention this year. Most recently, a shocking video showing men engaging in an ugly brawl inside the Metro went viral. In the clip, a man was captured forcefully striking an elderly person on a metro, although the specific motive for the attack is unknown. Shortly thereafter, bystanders stepped in to rescue the senior citizen, pushing the aggressor to the opposite side of the seats and confronting him with determination.
AI Images
Artificial Intelligence is changing the world around us and redefining our perception of reality. The captivating blend of machine learning and artistic vision continues to dominate the trending landscape. Various artists across the world are making waves on social media by posting images made by AI. The images have been curated using Photoshop, Midjourney, and Procreate. Digital artists have been reimaging the world through a different lens with these images including creating images of famous personalities on how they looked as kids or how they would look when they are old.
Elon Musk Vs Mark Zuckerberg
The internet also witnessed billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg discussing getting into a "cage fight". It all started when Mr Musk tweeted that he would be "up for a cage match" with Mark Zuckerberg, who has trained in jiujitsu. A day later, the Meta CEO asked Mr Musk to "send location" for the proposed fight. This exchange between the two has ignited a social media firestorm, with many users betting on the potential winner. However, the fight has not yet been scheduled
Orry
Orhan Awatramani, also known as 'Orry' in a short span of time has become an internet favourite. The "Bollywood BFF" is often spotted partying and hanging out with celebrities including Jahnavi Kapoor, Nysa Devgan and Sara Ali Khan. The curiosity about his life has reached new heights ever since the Internet sensation declared, "I am living, I'm a liver."
GTA 6 Trailer Launch
Rockstar Games finally released the trailer for its long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI on Tuesday, after it was leaked on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. Released a decade ago, the highly anticipated trailer surpassed 121 million views within 48 hours on YouTube. The trailer also broke three world records as per the Guinness World Records (GWR). The trailer became the most viewed videogame reveal on YouTube in 24 hours with 90,421,491 views. Further, it also became the most-liked videogame trailer on YouTube with 8.9 million likes in the first 24 hours alone.
Met Gala Cockroach
At the biggest fashion night of the year, the Met Gala, an unexpected guest braced its red carpet- a cockroach. As social media would put it, a tiny cockroach was seen making its debut on the red carpet of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The video of a cockroach crawling on the red carpet went viral on social media, causing a laugh riot and inviting some hilarious comments from users. The video, originally posted by Variety showed a cockroach crawling on the red carpet with a photographer doing his best to capture it.