Twitter and Facebook cast a little magic to celebrate Harry Potter's 20th anniversary
It's been 20 years since the release of the first book in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, and to mark the occasion some of the leading social networks have upped their game with a slew of themed features celebrating its cultural significance.
The Twitter emoji and Facebook animation
Twitter has introduced a specs and thunderbolt emoji to sit alongside the #HarryPotter20 hashtag no doubt in the knowledge that the network will be rife with Potter-themed discussions for the full day.
Twitter has teamed up with Pottermore, Rowling's digital entertainment platform which extends the lore of the books long beyond the final installment, for the push as well as with publisher Bloomsbury.
Fans visiting the Pottermore Twitter page today will be greeted with an animated balloon overlay to mark 20 years since The Philosopher's Stone hit shelves.
Notably the publisher also marked the occasion with a nifty digital ad in Waterloo station, shared by children’s author Rebecca McNally on Twitter.
Sorry I'm late for work. Had to stop for 2 coffees while I admired this. #harrypotter20 pic.twitter.com/lKTpUsOUSD
— Rebecca McNally (@rebeccamcnal) June 26, 2017
Facebook on the other hand has rolled out a tidy feature that enables users to cast magical spells whenever the words Harry Potter, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw are used.
The Hogwarts school houses are also coloured according to their corresponding house colours when users type their names into Facebook, so for example the word Slytherin appears to be green. A video of the feature was shared on Twitter.
THIS NEW FACEBOOK THING HAS ME SHOOK. IF YOU TYPE IN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF THE HOGWARTS HOUSES AND CLICK IT THIS HAPPENS pic.twitter.com/evPTlxQGcj
— Lisa (@hannahs_helmet) June 25, 2017