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Social media explosion in US election
Monday November 12, 2012 09:42:40 AM,
RIA Novosti
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Washington:
Social media technologies made the US presidential election one of
the most instantaneously shared and documented events in history
with tweets, jokes and photos surging in real time through
internet pathways around the world.
Micro-blogging portal Twitter lit up Tuesday within seconds of
word from national broadcast media that President Barack Obama had
been re-elected with innumerable tweets, including one from Obama
- "This happened because of you. Thank you." - ranging in tone and
content from the jubilant to the livid.
Twitter said it recorded more than 31 million election-related
posts Tuesday, easily making the vote the most-tweeted political
event in the site's six-year history. At one point, as election
results were unfolding, users tweeted at a rate of 327,452 per
minute.
A post made later in the evening to Obama's Twitter account
showing the president hugging his wife, Michelle Obama, with a
caption saying "Four more years," instantly became the most
popular re-tweeted message of all time, with over 585,000
re-tweets, the service said.
The victory message was posted before Obama even took to the stage
in Chicago to
give his acceptance speech, illustrating the central role his
campaign gave to social media in the campaign.
Obama's opponents angry at his re-election also took to the social
media universe with furious - and sometimes totally ludicrous -
comments, including a colourful blast of invective from
billionaire real-estate mogul Donald Trump.
"The electoral college is a disaster for democracy" Trump tweeted,
followed shortly thereafter by: "This election is a total sham and
a travesty. We are not a democracy!"
At one point he even called for a revolution because of the
election result - a tweet the publicity-loving Trump deleted soon
thereafter after some questioned its permissibility.
Photos and comments about the election also abounded on Facebook
and Instagram, including pictures of voters waiting in long lines
at the polls - a serious blemish on Tuesday's election - and
several pictures of students at the University of Mississippi
burning an Obama campaign sign.
There were also many upbeat and hilarious posts on major social
media sites including one from Jamie M. Blanchard who posted on
Twitter: "I'm so excited about Barack Obama's reelection I nearly
jumped out of my binder."
She was referring to a comment made recently by Obama's main
rival, Mitt Romney, who said he was given "binders of women" to
consider for filling jobs in his administration when he served as
governor of the state of Massachussetts.
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Picture of the Day |
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Obama supporters cheered during an election night watch party
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(Photo:
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