Earlier today, I took the time to watch the Superbowl. While I watched the Superbowl, I also followed things on Twitter — something I have never done before. I currently do not have a Twitter account and so the ‘Twitterverse‘ is something that is quite foreign to me. I do find myself onto Twitter from time-to-time, to read various updates about things, but I am by no means an expert on the social networking site.
I think part of this is because I currently do not have a cell phone. For some reason, to me, Twitter goes hand-in-hand with a blackberry or an iPhone and just seems a little odd to be tweeting solely from a computer. But really, what do I know?
Anyway, as I was following some of the things happening on Twitter, I was treated to a number of
good laughs. The Late Show writers were tweeting jokes throughout the whole game. Some of them were quite funny. I also noticed something that is probably known to most people who use Twitter: Top Tweets. “Top Tweets algorithmically selects and retweets some of the most interesting tweets spreading across Twitter,” (straight from the bio page for Top Tweets). I found many of the ‘top tweets deserving of an “lol” as I watched the game and followed the tweets.
As the game wore on, I noticed that as a player would perform well on the field or something would happen, almost immediately, it would become a trending topic on Twitter. There are nearly (or maybe are now), 200,000,000 users on Twitter. For things to be immediately trending so quickly, it’d mean that quite a few of those users would have to tweet that topic.
I don’t think it is a surprise to anyone the popularity of the Superbowl around the US. People gather at parties all across the nation whether they enjoy football or not. The Superbowl has become one big social event and as such, it shouldn’t be a surprise that things that happen
during this ‘massive social event’ would be ‘revealed on Twitter’ — instantaneously. I can’t help but think of the possibilities for using Twitter for “good.” As some have written about, people in Tunisia used Twitter for their ‘revolutionary’ actions. I’m thinking beyond one country and thinking globally.
What if we used Twitter to organize a worldwide day of silence or mass meditation? I’m sure I’m not the first person to have come up with this idea given how long Twitter has been in popular culture, but I think that it would be, downright awesome if something like that could happen. A day organized through Twitter where everyone meditated at the exact same moment. I like how Earth Hour has a domino effect, but I think it’d be cool if there were a day where there was also a simultaneous event. Something that is positive and contributes to the greater well-being of our planet.
Jeremiah Stanghini 