Follow the #IndyRef on Twitter

With one day to go until Scots take to the polls, the #IndyRef debate is happening in real time on Twitter – across Scotland and beyond.

There have been more than 5.8 million Tweets using the #IndyRef hashtag in the past year – and 2.6 million (45%) of those have been sent in the past 30 days.

Hashtags join conversations together and have become the rallying cries of the campaigning organisations. Some of the most popular referendum hashtags that have been used on Twitter over the last 30 days include:

• #BetterTogether: 131,345 mentions 
• #NoThanks: 100,666 mentions 
• #YesScotland: 83,242 mentions 
• #VoteYes: 670,784 mentions 

Since June 1, accounts related to the debate have also been gathering new followers as the conversation gains momentum. There has been:

• A 100% increase in followers for @YesScotland (96,051 followers)
• A 39% increase in followers for @AlexSalmond (92,879 followers)
• A 68% increase in followers for @UK_Together (41,297 followers)
• A 66% increase in followers for @TogetherDarling (20,975 followers)

This global map of geotagged tweets shows how a month of the #IndyRef campaign has played out on Twitter:

Click on the map to interact with it

Conversation and debate on Twitter have been increasing since the first televised debate last month. There were 186,267 Tweets about the first #IndyRef debate on August 5, and 255,559 Tweets about the second debate on August 25.

Who to follow
As the final campaign moments happen and Scots take to the polls, you can follow the action in real time on Twitter. The two main campaign Twitter accounts are @YesScotland and @UK_Together. Other key accounts include:

• @AlexSalmond: Scotland’s First Minister
• @NicolaSturgeon: SNP deputy leader 
• @David_Cameron: UK Prime Minister 
• @TogetherDarling: Alistair Darling, Chair of the Better Together campaign

Eight out of ten Scottish Members of Parliament are on Twitter and you can find a full list of Scottish politicians and parties here.

In coming hours and days, news outlets across the globe will be tweeting their commentary and reports. This list of Scottish news organisations will help you keep an eye on what the media is saying in Scotland itself.

Take part in the TweetUp

The referendum is the first time that under-18s anywhere in the UK have the right to vote on a major matter of state. The Scottish Youth Parliament (@OfficialSYP) are working on a social media initiative designed to encourage 16-24 year olds to get out and cast their vote.

Today and tomorrow, Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament will be sharing their views via @OfficialSYP and will be using the official hashtag #YourVoteMatters, which Twitter users can follow and engage in the conversation.

Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament Louise Cameron commented, ”We’ve been using Twitter to engage with young people in Scotland since 2009, it’s a really effective platform to reach a large number of young people and enable them to share information and discuss the Referendum. Over the past few months we have worked across the country to engage young people in discussions around voting and via the TweetUp project we’re encouraging them to get out and vote right up to very moment the polling stations close. It’s so important for young people to cast their vote as the outcome will affect their futures and we want to encourage them to have their say.”