Looking back at Nigeria's hot digital topics in 2014

We didn't look at Ellen's Oscars selfie or Kim's attempt to 'Break the internet' - we focused purely on things that happened in the Nigerian market. Focusing squarely on what received the most social media 'airplay' - things that the ordinary person on the street ended up talking about.

So, without further do and in no particular order, here are four things from Playhouse's list:

Ebola

I'd argue that when anyone reviews things that had the biggest impact in Africa, or maybe even the world in 2014, high on their list has to be the "Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak" or EVD as it became known for the acronym-obsessed digisphere.

It has been said that the internet has made the world a smaller place but this disease really brought that truth home. Everyone, everywhere was at risk.

Once the virus arrived in Nigeria, surprisingly we actually did a very good job containing it. From a digital point of view, several sites were set up and on social media, especially Twitter, hashtags like #FactsOfEbola and #EbolaFacts became trending topics.

But for me, the interesting thing was somewhat more unexpected - one online story suggested that bathing with salt water was a prevention against catching Ebola.

ABC news eventually picked up the story, reporting the bogus advice. The text suggested that you and your family and all your neighbours bath with hot water and salt before daybreak, because the Ebola virus was spreading through the air! The message also urged people to drink as much salt water as possible as protection against catching the deadly virus.

For us it was interesting to see how quickly that story spread and was acted on. What started as a joke suddenly became gospel, demonstrating the power of social media.

#BringBackOurGirls

On the weekend of April 19-20, 2014, over 200 schoolgirls were reported kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno state. This tragic development sparked outrage across Nigeria and soon enough, the #BringBackOurGirls campaign was born on social media.

Obiageli Ezekwesili (@obyezeks), a Nigerian social activist who is a co-founder of Transparency International and a previous minister was instrumental in starting the viral #BringBackOurGirls campaign on social media. Ezekwesili tweeted, "Lend your voice to the cause of our girls. Please use the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls to keep the momentum UNTIL they are RESCUED".

Others picked it up from there and it went global with Michelle Obama, Malala Yousafzai as well as celebrities like Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown, Keri Hilson, Wyclef Jean and Angelina Jolie joining in. Proof that the internet is making the world far more connected, showing what happens in one corner of Africa can have an impact on people on the other side of the world. Sadly, as I write this, the girls still haven't been released/found - nearly 300 days on.

Bride Price App

I was a bit conflicted about including this in our list because it was done by another agency but let's give credit where credit is due. This was actually highlighted in Vox (13 June 2014).

In brief, the Bride Price Application which was launched in May 2014, calculates the marital value of a woman by pricing attributes such as her height, weight, beauty, cooking skills, education and dialect. As the site disclaimer says, "It is a joke".

You can read an interview with the founder here.

I found it interesting as a demonstration of what else can be done online and what can become popular if based off a local insight. As digital, grows in relevance in Nigeria/Africa, it still tends to get narrowly defined in terms of posts on social media or animated images on websites. Nice to see someone creating pure engagement.

Na Only You Waka Come

No review of big things in digital can be complete without including at least one viral video. So here it is. Patience Jonathan, Nigeria's First Lady called a meeting to discuss the missing Chibok girls (see #BringBackOurGirls above). The meeting was filmed and what must have seemed like a good PR idea ended up turning into a nightmare.

She spoke bad English, coined the phrase "Diaris God o" (There is a God) and "Na only you waka come" (did you come alone?) both of which have become part of local slang and then to top it off, supposedly broke down in tears.

Please see below to watch the videos

Yes, there were other things that could have made the list - Linda Ikeji's blog being pulled down by Google; the ALS Ice Bucket challenge and how widely it was picked in Nigeria/Africa etc. But time is short and space is limited.

All the best for 2015 and we'll be sure to keep an eye out for what remains topical this year.