Our Christmas trees are barely up and dressed and already we’ve seen an influx of “Best of 2015” posts hitting the internet. Twitter’s2015 year in review reveals that solidarity was a big trend on the platform this year as #PrayForParis and #JeSuisCharlie topped the hashtag charts along with the uplifting #LoveWins, which was used to show support for marriage equality. One Direction members, past and present, dominated 2015’s most retweeted posts; while Caitlyn Jenner set a world record by becoming the fastest person to reach one million followers on Twitter, in just four hours and three seconds. Over on Spotify, users can sign in to reveal their own 2015 Year in Music providing an interactive look at the soundtracks of 2015.  One of the fastest growing social media platforms, Pinterest, recorded over 500,000 food ideas posted as pins throughout 2015 with avocado the most pinned food trend of the year, and “avocado egg bake” topping the food and drinks charts in the UK.  Cornwall and Amsterdam were the most popular destinations pinned for UK travellers.  Instagram has also unveiled its most ‘instagrammed‘ places of 2015. Disneyland really MUST be the happiest place on earth as four of its five parks made it into the top 20. Popular New York tourist sights dominated the list appearing three times in the top 10. Although London did not make it to the top 20, there was also a list of London’s most instagrammed places which included some of the Capital’s most iconic landmarks such as Tower Bridge, Big Ben and Hyde Park.

A heart-warming Christmas story has emerged over the past week as Lewis Shaw, a builder in Reading turned to social media to track down the author of a letter to Father Christmas. This is no ordinary Santa mail as it was discovered hidden in a chimney and is estimated to be between 60 and 70 years old. The letter, which was found in perfect condition, listed a wish list of “a Rupert annual, slippers and a box of chalk” among other goodies and was signed off by David. With the help of neighbours and the #FindDavid hashtag, Shaw managed to track down David, now aged 78, and is due to meet him and reunite him with his long lost letter this weekend.

There’s nothing more awkward than dealing with a break up over social media. Deleting your ex from Facebook and blocking them on Twitter might seem severe but sometimes it’s necessary to move on. Those not keen on dealing with the ins and outs of a social break up, can now enlist the help of a “social media break up coordinator” to remove the awkwardness during this difficult time. Caroline Sinders, a fine artist, first created this service as part of an exhibition after doing research into online harassment and social media. The way that algorithms work on social networking platforms mean that as we interact more with certain users, we’re notified more about them. It’s an interesting commentary on how interconnected we are in the social world one which we’re sure we will be seeing more and more of.

This week on the blog, we revisit Sam and Kelly’s recent famil trip with APT Luxury River Cruises. Travelling from Budapest to Vienna along the Danube river, it truly was a trip to remember.