The Academy Awards is an event that many of us look forward to every year. Like the Grammys and every big event that has come before it, audiences are increasingly turning to social media as part of the viewing experience.

The Oscars hashtag was trending throughout the night, accompanied by a little golden statuette. The official Twitter blog reported that the show was sparked many reactions on the social media platform, with Leonardo DiCaprio’s (@LeoDiCaprio) win for Best Actor generating more than 440,000 Tweets per minute. This beat out the previous record of 255,000 tweets per minute, set when @TheEllenShow tweeted her star studded selfie.

Social media shared many memes and gifs to celebrate DiCaprio’s win, referencing his roles in films like Titanic and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Similarly, the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag trended on social media, making reference to the recent debate surrounding the lack of black and ethnic minority actors nominated for an Academy Award. Perhaps the most interesting appearance of the night was Vice President Joe Biden’s spot to raise awareness of sexual assault victims, and make a pledge on the ItsOnUs.org website. He was joined by Lady Gaga who later performed at the ceremony.

To mark the ceremony, IBM debuted two adverts starring filmmaker Ridley Scott and Carrie Fisher as well as its Watson cognitive computing system. The ads covered visual storytelling (linked to Scott’s role as the director of best picture nominee The Martian,) and a support group for outdated robots, featuring Carrie Fisher and references to her role in Star Wars.

Whilst the Super Bowl 50 is well known for its memorable advertisements, we could soon see the Academy Awards heading the same way, with advertisers and celebrities tapping into the power of social media as a promotional tool.

Did you use social media to discuss the Oscars? Share your thoughts with us!