Increasingly people flock to Twitter to discover information and connect around occurrences like natural disasters, sporting events and cultural moments. And then there are times when Twitter is where you might go to experience an infrequent curiosity.

Take last Friday, which was November 11, 2011. Whether you were inclined to crack a joke about this rare binary occurrence, wax poetic about its meaning, or join in a global game to share photos at 11 a.m. and 11 p.m., numerology dominated the conversation.

This clip is a visualization of all the Tweets mentioning 11:11 on 11.11.11. Each “1” is a location that moves with the conversation on Twitter. Their scale varies depending on the volume of Tweets posted from the location they represent. You can see the main wave move from right to left, and then a second one that occurred at 11 p.m. around the world.



A special thanks to our own @miguelrios, whose visualizations of this data demonstrate moments on Twitter that can unite us all.

Twitter is transforming the way we watch TV. Reading and writing Tweets has become the new water cooler, helping us connect in real-time around our favorite shows, competitions and events. On Twitter, you get closer to the characters and shows you love, as stars, writers, directors, news anchors and more live-tweet from behind the scenes.

And now things are getting even more exciting for Twitter and TV — and more specifically fans of The X Factor USA. We've partnered with the show so that starting next week, you can cast votes for your favorite contestants via Twitter. Fans have taken to Twitter during live television events to voice their opinions with Tweets for years. Now you can officially affect the outcome of the show by voting for which contestants should stay and which ones need to go.

To vote, follow @TheXFactorUSA. Then submit your vote through a Direct Message (a private way to communicate on Twitter) so as not to spoil the results. All votes are sent directly to The X Factor to be counted. Tweets do not count as votes.

The easiest way to vote is by visiting twitter.thexfactorusa.com. We’re also featuring Tweets from the judges, the host and the final contestants to get inside every angle of the action. You don’t have to wait for voting to begin though. Join the conversation with other X Factor fans today with #XFactor and tell Simon what you think — he’s listening!

From singing competitions to awards ceremonies to dramas, watching your favorite shows is better with Twitter. In addition to tuning in to The X Factor on Twitter, here are other ways to get closer to your favorite television shows and stars:

• TV stars live-tweet to give you a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what’s happening on your screen. From Kyra Sedgwick live-tweeting the summer’s finale of The Closer to Masi Oka bringing fans behind the scenes of Hawaii 5-0, stars use Twitter to talk to viewers and viewers are talking back.
• #Hashtags organize the conversation. You’ve probably spotted hashtags on your television screen this year. From #DWTS to #BigBangTheory to playful hashtags like X Factor’s #BestMomentSoFar, hashtags are the front door to the shared conversation on Twitter. Search for them on Twitter and add them to your own Tweets to join in.
• Twitter lets everyone become a TV critic, 140 characters at a time. Show creators, actors, producers and executives search Twitter to gather feedback — and they’ve been known to revise a show’s storyline based on what fans are saying.

We’ve collected best practices across the industry to help producers and TV executives keep innovating around Twitter and TV.

Twitter is now fully integrated into Apple’s new iOS 5 mobile operating system, available for the first time today. Now it’s even easier to share and read Tweets on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Simply enter your Twitter login information into your device settings, and you’ll always be connected to your Twitter account. This means you can tweet directly from Apple apps like Camera, Maps, Photos, Safari and YouTube, along with third party apps, such as Chomp, Flipboard, LivingSocial, Instagram, MadPad, PopSugar, Showyou, SoundTracking and Zynga's Words with Friends.  

You can also take advantage of the latest version of Twitter for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, which now allows you upload images directly to Twitter (pic.twitter.com). Download the Twitter app now from the App Store.

This year’s @NHL season starts tonight and goes through June. Thanks to Twitter, hockey fans can check in on every angle of the action, anytime. Here’s how:

Follow the players.
No matter your allegiance, you can find a favorite player on Twitter. A few suggestions: Washington Capitals captain @Ovi8, New York Ranger @BrandonPrust8, San Jose Shark and Calder Cup finalist @LoganCouture, or Flyer @Max25talbot. Find more with the NHL’s players list.

Go behind the scenes.
The league’s Senior Vice President @NHLShanahan keeps fans up-to-date with the latest news on player suspensions and fines, including personal video explanations. Insiders @Real_ESPNLeBrun, NHL columnist Pierre LeBrun, and Canada’s @TSNBobMcKenzie share news, analysis and insight into the action. And if Fantasy Hockey is your game, stay informed with @NHLcomFantasy and @ESPNFantasy for tips and suggestions.

Get instant updates.
Turn on SMS notifications for your favorite accounts and make sure you never miss a goal all season long. You can learn about it here.

Follow the teams.
Every team in the NHL is on Twitter. Follow your favorites for updated scores, player information and news. Check out the full list below.

Eastern:
Atlantic: New Jersey Devils [@NHLDevils], New York Islanders [@NYIslanders] New York Rangers [@thenyrangers], Philadelphia Flyers [@NHLFlyers], Pittsburgh Penguins [@pghpenguins]

Northeast: Boston Bruins [@NHLBruins], Buffalo Sabres [@SabresDotCom], Montréal Canadiens [@CanadiensMTL], Toronto Maple Leafs [@MapleLeafs], Ottawa Senators [@NHL_Sens]

Southeast: Carolina Hurricanes [@nhl_canes], Florida Panthers [@FlaPanthers], Tampa Bay Lightning [@TBLightning], Washington Capitals [@washcaps], Winnipeg Jets [@NHLJets]

Western:
Central: Chicago Blackhawks [@NHLBlackhawks], Columbus Blue Jackets [@BlueJacketsNHL], Detroit Red Wings [@DetroitRedWings], Nashville Predators [@PredsNHL], St. Louis Blues [@St_Louis_Blues]

Northwest: Calgary Flames [@NHLFlames], Colorado Avalanche [@Avalanche], Edmonton Oilers [@NHL_Oilers], Minnesota Wild [@mnwild], Vancouver Canucks [@VanCanucks]

Pacific: Anaheim Ducks [@AnaheimDucks], Dallas Stars [@DallasStars], Los Angeles Kings [@LAKings], Phoenix Coyotes [@phoenixcoyotes], San Jose Sharks [@SanJoseSharks]

For even more suggestions, check out this list.

Sending a text message (or SMS message) has always been one of the easiest ways to share information and keep up with your favorite accounts on Twitter. SMS is currently available in about 80 countries and nine languages and usage continues to grow. Nearly four billion SMS messages are sent and received on Twitter every month.

Starting today, you can share photos on Twitter by including a photo in your text message. It’s simple: just enter the text of your Tweet as you normally would, attach a photo to the message and send to Twitter. This feature is currently available with the following carriers*: AT&T, Verizon Wireless and C Spire Wireless in the US; Vodafone, O2 and Orange in the UK; Vodafone Italy; Rogers Communications in Canada; VIVA Bahrain; and, TIM Brazil. We’ll continue to work with more carriers to enable their customers to share photos via text message.

Here are a few other text messaging updates and tips to check out:

• Fast Follow: Last year we announced that anyone in the U.S. can instantly receive Tweets on their phone, even if they don’t have a Twitter account, by simply sending a text message. This feature is now available globally with any carrier that offers Twitter SMS. Read more about how Fast Follow works here.
• SMS Commands: There are a few useful one-word commands that you can send to Twitter to get information.
• "Suggest": lets you get suggestions for accounts to follow
• "Stats": sends you your basic profile info, including your bio info, number of followers and the number of accounts you follow
• "Help" or "Tips": to get handy Twitter SMS tips

Send “follow @twittermobile” to Twitter to keep up with the latest mobile Twitter news.

*Your carrier’s messaging rates may apply.

Today, we’re increasing Twitter’s reach by launching in five new languages. Twitter is now available in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Hindi, Filipino and Malay. Last week’s announcement of 100 million active users worldwide shows Twitter’s current reach; with these new languages Twitter will now be more easily accessible to almost half a billion people around the world.

Twitter now fully supports 17 languages. Our crowd-sourced translation process relies on a dedicated community of volunteer translators to both translate and moderate twitter.com, support pages, Twitter apps and more. Many thanks to our 290,000 (and counting) volunteer translators.

We will continue to add more languages to the Translation Center for crowdsourced translation. Coming soon to the Translation Center: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish and Hungarian.

Five years ago, Twitter came to life when @jack sent the first Tweet to his seven followers. Now, 100 million active users around the globe turn to Twitter to share their thoughts and find out what’s happening in the world right now.

More than half of them log in to Twitter each day to follow their interests. For many, getting the most out of Twitter isn’t only about tweeting: 40 percent of our active users simply sign in to listen to what’s happening in their world.

Twitter’s global reach gives a voice to people around the world and as far away as the International Space Station. After launching Hindi, Filipino, Malay and Simplified and Traditional Chinese in the coming weeks, Twitter will support 17 different languages.

Our 100 million active users range from passionate early adopters to recent converts. They include:

Leaders. Thirty-five global heads of state use Twitter as a primary way to communicate with their constituencies, from @JuliaGillard in Australia to Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, @CFKArgentina. In the United States, frequent Tweeters include every Cabinet agency, 84 percent of state governors, and every major candidate for President. City leaders, like Mayors @CoryBooker of Newark and @MayorOfLondon among many more, share local news. More than 40 percent of the top global religious leaders are on Twitter, including @DalaiLama and the Pope, who sent his first Tweet from @news_va_en in June.

Athletes. Many US professional sports players are active on Twitter, including two-thirds of the NBA. Every team in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS tweets, as do cricket players in India, European football stars and many other celebrated athletes around the world. Fans and commentators join in for some of the most colorful conversations on Twitter.

Humanitarians. Additionally, over 99 percent of America's top 200 non-profits are on Twitter. Recently, in response to Hurricane Irene, @Fema created a special list of accounts to follow for the most up-to-date and official information, while @redcross signed up lists of official volunteers to assist in four-hour shifts to disseminate the latest information to those affected by the storm.

Entertainers. Eighty-seven percent of Billboard’s Top 100 musicians of 2010 are active on Twitter, connecting with fans to engage their audiences. Each of the top 50 Nielsen-rated TV shows are represented on Twitter. And who doesn’t love a daily dose of hilarity from their favorite comedian? Both new talent like @MindyKaling and @AzizAnsari and seasoned pros like @SteveMartinToGo and @ConanOBrien keep us laughing.

Reporters. Major newsrooms from @AJEnglish to @WashingtonPost actively use Twitter to supplement their reporting efforts. Reporters share stories and photos from the front lines, like New York Times reporter Brian Stelter’s on-the-ground coverage of the devastating tornado that hit Joplin, MO in May. Ordinary citizens break news and give us a view we might otherwise miss, like the now-famous Space Shuttle image that was retweeted over 2,300 times, and the first photo of the US Airways plane that landed in the Hudson River in 2009.

Thanks to all of you, we have 100 million reasons to celebrate.

Tomorrow night, the New Orleans Saints (@TheSaints) and Green Bay Packers (@packers) kick off the 2011 NFL season. And with every NFL team and nearly half of all the players tweeting, you can get closer than ever to all the action.

Whether you’re a casual fan or a gridiron die-hard, Twitter gives you a richer, 360-degree view of the game. Here are a few tips to make sure you don’t miss any of the action or behind the scenes insight:

• Follow the NFL for the latest information about games, schedules and news.
• Stay ahead of your friends and improve your fantasy football team’s chances. Check out ESPN Fantasy Sports, Yahoo! Sports and CBS Fantasy News for the latest insider updates to manage your roster.
• Turn on SMS notifications for your favorite football accounts, and make sure you never miss a touchdown. You can learn about it here.
• And, of course, you can search for teams and individual players to find related Tweets and accounts.

We’ve also made it easy to discover new football-related information with Twitter accounts for each team in the NFL. These accounts automatically select and retweet the top Tweets from official team accounts, coaches, players, owners and local media — bringing you the latest Tweets from your favorite team.

NFC
East: The Washington Redskins [@RedskinsTweets], the Philadelphia Eagles [@EaglesTweets], the New York Giants [@GiantsTweets], the Dallas Cowboys [@CowboysTweets]

North: The Green Bay Packers [@PackerTweets], the Minnesota Vikings [@VikingsTweets], the Chicago Bears [@CHIBearsTweets], the Detroit Lions [@LionsTweets]

South: The Atlanta Falcons [@FalconsTweets], the Carolina Panthers [@PanthersTweets], the New Orleans Saints [@SaintsTweets], the Tampa Bay Buccaneers [@BuccaneerTweets]

West: The San Francisco 49ers [@sf49erstweets], the Arizona Cardinals [@CardinalsTweets], the Seattle Seahawks [@SeahawksTweets], the St. Louis Rams [@STLRamsTweets]

AFC
East: The Buffalo Bills [@BUFBillsTweets], the Miami Dolphins [@Dolphins_Tweets], the New England Patriots [@NEPatriotTweets], the New York Jets [@NYJetsTweets]

North: The Baltimore Ravens [@RavensTweets], the Cincinnati Bengals [@BengalsTweets], the Cleveland Browns [@BrownsTweets], the Pittsburgh Steelers [@Steeler_Tweets]

South: The Houston Texans [@TexansTweets], the Indianapolis Colts [@ColtsTweets], the Jacksonville Jaguars [@JaguarsTweets], the Tennessee Titans [@TitansTweets]

West: The Denver Broncos [@BroncosTweets], the Kansas City Chiefs [@ChiefsTweets], the Oakland Raiders [@RaiderTweets], the San Diego Chargers [@ChargersTweets]

Fashion industry insiders dress up Twitter this month with photos, videos and commentary from Fashion Week, starting with New York (Sept. 8-15) and followed by London (Sept. 16-21). Top designers, models and stylists will tweet from the hottest shows, share views from backstage and reveal new looks minutes before they hit the runway. Here are the people to follow for a front row seat:

@NYFW
Follow @NYFW to see shows through the eyes of a special guest Tweeter every day of New York Fashion Week: