Social media coverage of debate misses issues

With 24 million tweets total during the three presidential debates, according to an Oct. 23 L.A. Timesarticle, it’s safe to say social involvement in politics is trending. But, how much of this social commentary on the Twitterverse is informed?

Image courtesy of washingtontimes.com.

Twitter and other forms of social media should not cancel out traditional news sources when following the presidential debates. Based on the most tweeted about topics, real issues don’t always take center stage on social media.

During the first debate, the most prominent topic tweeted about from the event was Mitt Romney’s comment about Big Bird and cutting subsidies to PBS. According to an Oct. 4 CBS news article, Romney’s Big Bird comment peaked at a high of 135,332 tweets per minute. Big Bird became a key figure among Romney and Obama in the eyes of ‘tweeters’ as it was the fourth most mentioned debate-related term of the night. People jumped on the bandwagon, creating Big Bird Twitter accounts like @BigBird, @SadBigBird and @BigBirdRomney. @BigBirdRomney garnered close to 13,000 followers.

Facebook outdated for engaging customers

According to Mashable and a study by Napkin Labs, only six percent of fans engage with a brand’s Facebook page. Engagement includes participation with likes, comments, polls and shares.

Does this prove that Facebook is nearing the end of its ‘product life cycle’? Are sites like Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram the new best way for companies to interact with customers?

 

Who would win the election based on social media participation?

This just in…Facebook releases a commercial?

Facebook released a commercial to celebrate their 1 billionth active monthly user.

Congrats. But, I think they’ve done it all wrong. They’re a non-traditional medium, why would they turn to traditional media to market themselves? Their goals and target market seem blurry to me.

Throw a party if you’re going to celebrate a milestone. Why waste money on an ad campaign? A mediocre one at best. They compare Facebook to basic objects that connect us to each other, like a chair, a door bell and an airplane.

I can see where they’re coming from, Facebook has become as important to everyday life and as revolutionary as a chair, door bell and an airplane. But, why? Who are they trying to connect to? If someone understands, please enlighten me.

But first, please answer the poll!

A how-to guide for Instagram

Filmmaker Casey Neistat claims that the life of a social media platform is equivalent to the lifespan of a hamster. But, his love of Instagram shows through in this video. Comparing social media networks to the most important meal of the day, breakfast, Neistat says Facebook is like Lucky Charms, but Instagram is all of the marshmallows in Lucky Charms.

Watch Neistat’s quick video to keep yourself in check with what resembles Instagram etiquette.

Social media simplified

While looking through Pinterest late last night, I stumbled upon this. It’s a very simplified, accurate explanation of all different social media accounts.

New study reveals eye-catching tactics important on Facebook

Admit it, we’ve all Facebook stalked at least once, or if you’re me, you do it regularly. It’s a great resource. Your friend develops a new crush, you’re assigned a partner in class or you make a new friend, Facebook acts as a brief, free background check. Typically, I just browse through a few profile pictures, and sometimes I click through a few albums. According to a new study, my Facebook stalking/judgment habits apparently don’t match everyone else’s.

Get your Facebook broken down into statistics

Thanks to a personalized Facebook report from Wolfram Alpha, I know that I’ve posted 724 times and received 1,717 likes, an average of 2.76 per post.

This graph highlights my posting habits over the past year.

This service doesn’t just look at my information, but it also analyzes my friends on the network. 66.3 percent of my friends are female, 33.7 percent are male. Diving further into their personal lives, 40.9 percent are in a relationship, 45.2 single and 10.4 married.

Titanic’s social media rebirth

The Titanic may have sunk 100 years ago today, but the doomed ship seems to have emerged from the Atlantic with its increasing presence among all forms of social media.

The History Channel @HistoryChannel live tweeted Titanic’s maiden voyage, according to Mary Best’s opinion piece in The BV. The Tweets began on April 10 when the Titanic left port. The Tweets varied from events in the voyage to random facts about passengers and the ship. Every Tweet began with #TITANIC.

The History Channel wasn’t the only site providing live coverage of the Titanic; in fact, The History Press, a UK history publisher, created a Twitter account specifically for the coverage @TitanicRealTime. The account gained over 100,000 followers. This Twitter handle tweeted in the first person to provide the allusion that it was actually passengers and crew members on board the Titanic.

@TitanicRealTime: “#captain I retire to the bridge. She cannot be saved, but I will go down with my ship. I have told the crew – Be British”

How to avoid getting caught with your pants down on social media

“W.W.E.T.?” What would employers think? That’s been my motto in framing my social media. Unfortunately, this is a unique approach, especially for millenials. Poor choices regarding posts on social media often catches up to users in time for the job hunt or in the work place. An issue on the rise, Congress decided to get involved.

On Tuesday, House Republicans rejected the proposal “Mind Your Own Business on Passwords.” The proposal would have allowed the FCC to prevent employers from asking their employees for passwords to their social media accounts.