• #OnlyOnTwitter: Unforgettable music moments

    Friday, August 17, 2012

    After so much (well-deserved) focus on the incredible feats — and notable Tweets — of Olympic athletes recently, we wanted to switch gears and shine a light on some of the best musical moments to come out of the London games.

    The theme of last Sunday night’s Closing Ceremony was a “symphony of British music”, and music ruled the night on Twitter too. Besides the Opening Ceremony’s unforgettable “Chariots of Fire” performance featuring Rowan "Mr Bean" Atkinson, Britain’s music legends like The Who, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John, to name a few, also captivated the crowd.

    A special shout-out goes to Scottish-Zambian singer Emeli Sandé (@EmeliSande), one of the stars of the Closing Ceremony, for live-tweeting her performance. Her Tweets offer a lively perspective on what it’s like to sing in front of thousands and share the stage with the UK’s most famous acts.


    She’s since gained tens of thousands of followers, and is seeing a positive outpouring of conversation around her music.

    A few more of the world’s favorite artists found time to live-tweet the Closing Ceremony’s unforgettable moments. A high point: when the much-loved Spice Girls reunited for the big close, which sparked more than 116,000 Tweets per minute. They gave us all a blast from the past as they performed two of their hottest hits, “Wanna-be” (classic) and “Spice Up Your Life.” Suffice it to say that Baby, Sporty, Ginger, Posh and Scary Spice were in full Girl Power mode.

    English singer Jessie J (@JessieJ) performed her songs “Dynamite” and “Price Tag,” she also debuted a light remix of the Queen’s classic “We Will Rock You.” British rap star, Tinie Tempah (@TinieTempah) joined Jessie J and Taio Cruz (@TaioCruz) to end up their show with the Bee Gees’ song “Dancing.”

    Before hitting the stage, @JessieJ tweeted a photo from backstage in full costume:

    @VictoriaBeckham (‘Posh Spice’) tweeted her unforgettable moment:

    And who knew that British rapper @TinieTempah is a huge Spice Girls fan?

    Twitter brought us closer to everything we love about music and the Olympics during the London Games. And as the world watched, performers captured unforgettable moments and shared their life-changing moments.

    Posted by Tatiana Simonian, Head of Music (@tatiana)

    Posted by @ at 12:30 PM

  • Olympic (and Twitter) records

    Sunday, August 12, 2012

    On the closing day of the 2012 Summer Olympics, we’re looking back at all of the memorable moments of the London Games: the wins, the losses, the drama, and above all, the Tweets. No matter the sport, Twitter was your front row seat for all the action.

    We saw more than 150 million Tweets about the Olympics over the past 16 days. Let’s take a look at some of the big trends within that massive conversation.

    The biggest moments of competition, as measured by Tweets per minute, were:
    -Usain Bolt (@UsainBolt) of Jamaica wins gold in the 200m sprint: 80,000+ TPM
    -Bolt wins gold in the 100m sprint: 74,000+ TPM
    -Andy Murray (@andy_murray) of Great Britain wins gold in the men’s tennis singles: 57,000+ TPM
    -Jamaica wins gold and sets the world record in the men’s 4x100 relay: 52,000+ TPM
    -Team USA beats Spain to win gold in men’s basketball: 41,000+ TPM

    The biggest tweeting moments that came during the heat of competition (not at a medal-winning conclusion) included Kobe Bryant’s dunk towards the end of the USA-Spain basketball game, and Hope Solo’s (@HopeSolo) land-diving save in the women’s USA-Japan soccer match.

    In addition to inspiring the biggest conversation spike with his 200m win, Usain Bolt also took home the record for being the most discussed athlete of the Games. But he had company — nine other Olympians garnered more than 1 million Tweets each:

    1.Usain Bolt (@UsainBolt)
    2. Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps)
    3. Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994)
    4. Ryan Lochte (@ryanlochte)
    5. Gabby Douglas (@gabrielledoug)
    6. Andy Murray (@andy_murray)
    7. Kobe Bryant (#GetKobeOnTwitter)
    8. Yohan Blake (@YohanBlake)
    9. Lee Chong Wei (@Lee_C_Wei)
    10. LeBron James (@KingJames)

    With so many of the athletes on Twitter, we were also treated to some incredible perspectives of their historic accomplishments:


    And which sports saw the most Twitter conversation? Whether you know it best as football, fútbol, soccer, or サッカー, the action on the pitch drove well over 5 million Tweets. Other popular sports were the swimming events, the track & field (athletics) events, gymnastics, and volleyball.

    Finally, the thrill of Olympic sport just wouldn’t be the same without the over-the-top spectacle of the opening and closing ceremonies. Both events drove an incredible volume of Twitter conversation, and experienced their own giant spikes in Tweets per minute. Tonight’s Closing Ceremonies didn’t disappoint — with performances by The Who, George Michael and so many more. But it was the Spice Girls who stole the night, inspiring more than 116,000 Tweets per minute.

    The London Games have been an incredible experience. Like you, we were caught up in the roar of the global crowd and amazed by what the athletes shared — and of course thrilled to watch the world come together on Twitter.

    What do you say we do this again in Rio?

    Posted by Andrew Fitzgerald, Manager, Editorial Programming (@magicandrew)

    Posted by @ at 6:27 PM

  • End of the #Veepstakes

    Saturday, August 11, 2012

    News of presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s (@MittRomney) selection of Paul Ryan (@PaulRyanVP) as his running mate spread quickly on Twitter. The conversation peaked at 3,749 Tweets per minute at 9:29 am EDT this morning as Ryan took the stage at a rally in Norfolk, Virginia:


    Speculation about Ryan’s selection began building shortly after 11 pm EDT with word from Romney’s Communications Director (@GGitcho) that an announcement would be coming today, with NBC’s Chuck Todd (@ChuckTodd) confirming the choice shortly after midnight.

    Now that Ryan is on the Romney ticket, his momentum on Twitter is already starting to build. His new @PaulRyanVP account gained about 60,000 followers in the first eight hours following its official launch, and his congressional office account (@RepPaulRyan) is approaching 175,000.

    We’ve also been able to use the Twitter Political Index to measure conversation around the rumored Vice Presidential candidates, which showed mounting support for Ryan relative to other presumed front-runners over several months. With an average Twindex of 33 for the week of April 29, Ryan trailed other rumored candidates, including @MarcoRubio, @RobPortman, and @TimPawlenty. By this week, Ryan was leading the others with an average Twindex of 63.


    The Twitter Political Index is a measurement of Twitter users’ attitudes about the candidates, relative to other topics discussed on Twitter. Scores below 50 indicate a more negative attitude is reflected in Tweets about the candidate, while scores above 50 indicate the average Tweet about the candidate is among the more positive on Twitter.

    The Index is built in partnership with the data analysis team at Topsy (@Topsy) and two respected polling firms: The Mellman Group (@markmellman) and North Star Opinion Research (@northstaropin).

    Both Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) tend to perform better in the Index than the candidates at the top of the ticket. But while President Obama (@BarackObama) has generally scored more positively than Governor Romney over the past six weeks, Ryan has most recently generated more positive sentiment than Biden.


    Ryan’s weekly average Twindex has ranged between 32 and 67 since April 29, with an average just below the neutral point. This range put him right in the middle of the pack among other rumored candidates, and a little bit behind the Vice President, who has ranged between 41 and 77 in the weekly counts.


    The Twitter Political Index also reflected positive shifts for both Obama and Romney following the Ryan announcement. Official Twindex scores are updated each evening at election.twitter.com and from the @gov Twitter account.

    With the volume of Tweets every two days today exceeding all those ever sent prior to the 2008 election, Twitter now provides unique insights into conversations previously limited to coffee shops, water coolers and dinner tables across America. Be sure to follow @gov for additional insights and real-time data as the campaign continues.

    Posted by Adam Sharp, Head of Government, News and Social Innovation (@AdamS)

    Posted by @ at 1:22 PM

  • Countdown to #Chompdown

    Tomorrow night, the world will meet Sharkzilla. That’s right: Discovery Channel’s Shark Week (@SharkWeek) is back! And for the first time, viewers will get to see what it’s like being in the producer’s seat for one of the most popular TV events. During the nightly “chompdown”, viewers will get to choose what they want to see Sharkzilla sink his teeth into. Using the #Chompdown hashtag and item names displayed on air, they can cast their vote for what unlikely item will be consumed by the massive mechanical megalodon.

    It may be Shark Week’s 25th anniversary, but this is the first time we’ve seen a TV program put the outcome of a show right into their viewers’ hands. Viewers can participate in the #chompdown from Sunday through Thursday (Aug 12-16), beginning at 9pm ET and 9pm PT. In true choose-your-own-adventure style, both the east coast and west coast Shark Week audiences will have a chance to choose the outcome that they’ll see at the end of the 10pm hour.

    Fin-atics will also have a chance to be on air by tweeting about #SharkWeek and joining the
    Shark Week Twitter Frenzy, as Discovery Channel puts live fan Tweets on air each night in the 9 and 10pm hours.

    Follow @SharkWeek to stay updated on all the jaw-dropping action, and get ready to cast your votes for what you want to see happen on your TV. Sharkzilla is waiting for everyone to pick his next meal:

    Posted by Grace Chu Lee, TV Partnerships Team (@gracelee)

    Posted by @ at 10:25 AM

  • #OnlyOnTwitter: Curiosity

    Monday, August 06, 2012

    We often say “You never know where Twitter will take you,” but here’s one that (almost) defies imagination. Last night, we saw that NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (@NASAJPL) was live-tweeting the journey to Mars. As Curiosity, the car-sized rover, made its descent onto the Red Planet, the #JPL team shared Twitter updates directly from the command center. And that stream reveals a truly remarkable and historic sequence of events:

    And then, after the "seven minutes of terror", in the words (and through the eyes) of the Curiosity rover itself:

    This monumental scientific achievement quickly inspired an Twitter outpouring of awe, pride, and even a dash of levity:

    The @MarsCuriosity account will continue to share updates from the rover’s explorations, including photos from the surface of Mars. As Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) once said, “Mars is there, waiting to be reached”. Thanks for taking us there, @NASAJPL team.

    Posted by Adam Sharp, Head of Government, News and Social Innovation (@AdamS)

    Posted by @ at 5:24 PM

  • #OnlyOnTwitter: The road to gold

    Friday, August 03, 2012

    We’ve been keeping an eye on the data to see which #Olympics moments have really inspired conversation on Twitter, and sharing that along the way. Yesterday, the peak of conversation came when Gabby Douglas earned herself the women’s all-around gymnastics gold medal, with 38,000 Tweets per minute related to the event. The Phelps-Lochte showdown was another huge moment, with 25,000 Tweets per minute about the end of their race.

    What’s been so special about these Olympics is how often the athletes join the conversation themselves. We’ve seen Olympians engaging with their fans, cheering each other, and rueing a poor performance. But Tyler Clary (@TylerClary) did something unique— he didn’t just exchange a few Tweets, he narrated his own performance in the 200m backstroke. He took advantage of the tape delay for the US audience to send Tweets about what he was thinking in his big gold medal race just a few hours earlier.

    It’s the unique perspective only an Olympian can provide, and Clary did, sharing his journey with thousands— narrating along with the race as they watched on TV.

    The next morning Clary gave a shoutout to the musicians who kept him motivated and focused:

    And like many Olympians who suddenly find that the world’s spotlight has shone their way, Clary’s idols talked back:

    After Clary’s big night in the pool and on Twitter, his followers grew by 12x.

    Posted by Andrew Fitzgerald, Manager, Editorial Programming (@magicandrew)

    Posted by @ at 3:49 PM

  • Celebrating Olympic accomplishments

    Wednesday, August 01, 2012

    The past few days have been full of captivating, historic Olympics moments. As records are shattered and dreams achieved, the world has turned to Twitter to come together in celebration. Last night, we saw the biggest spike of the day in Olympics-related conversation during the US prime-time broadcast of Michael Phelps winning the 4x200 freestyle relay, which earned him a record-breaking 19th medal.

    Phelps also can claim the record for the most Tweets about an athlete so far during the games. The silver medal in the Twitter-mentions contest goes to Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) and Ryan Lochte (@RyanLochte) earns the bronze.

    Even Olympians come to Twitter to revel in their teammates’ successes. Matt Grevers, who won a gold medal yesterday, found a unique way of congratulating his roommate Nathan Adrian on bringing back his own gold:

    McKayla Maroney, a member of yesterday’s gold medal-winning “Fab Five” women’s gymnastics team, Tweeted (and apparently screamed) her enthusiasm for the men’s team in their event today:

    After Rebecca Soni broke the world record en route to qualifying for the 200m breaststroke, her teammate Jessica Hardy sent a heartfelt message:

    In the midst of a race of his own, President Obama took a moment to tweet out his congratulations to Michael Phelps. (Whenever he personally writes a Tweet, he signs it with “-bo”.)

    And thanks to new cameras installed by LOCOG, you can now see pictures of the athletes as they’re in the process of these incredible feats. The photos are taken from incredible vantage points, and are shared on Twitter:

    @L2012BballCam - over the basketball hoop
    @L2012GymCam - looking down onto the rhythmic gymnastics mat
    @L2012TableCam - looking down onto the table tennis table
    @L2012StadiumCam - on the Olympic Stadium roof, looking down onto the track
    @L2012MatCam - looking down onto the judo/wrestling mat
    @L2012PoolCam - underwater in the aquatics center

    You can find moments and behind-the-scenes views like these as they happen at Twitter.com/#Olympics.

    Posted by Andrew Fitzgerald, Manager, Editorial Programming (@magicandrew)

    Posted by @ at 4:56 PM

  • A new barometer for the election

    One glance at the numbers, and it’s easy to see why pundits are already calling 2012 “the Twitter election.” More Tweets are sent every two days today than had ever been sent prior to Election Day 2008 — and Election Day 2008’s Tweet volume represents only about six minutes of Tweets today.

    All this explosive growth in conversation has fueled Twitter as a platform for civic debate and created a massive data set for analysis — data our Government & Politics team has used to study the State of the Union, a FOX News debate, Super Tuesday, gay marriage and other election-year topics. For the first time, it’s possible to measure conversations that just an election cycle ago were limited to coffee shops, dinner tables and water coolers.

    Today, we’re launching the Twitter Political Index, a daily measurement of Twitter users’ feelings towards the candidates as expressed in nearly two million Tweets each week.


    The Twitter Political Index is built in partnership with the data analysis team at Topsy (@Topsy) and two respected polling firms: The Mellman Group (@markmellman) and North Star Opinion Research (@northstaropin).

    Each day, the Index evaluates and weighs the sentiment of Tweets mentioning Obama or Romney relative to the more than 400 million Tweets sent on all other topics. For example, a score of 73 for a candidate indicates that Tweets containing their name or account name are on average more positive than 73 percent of all Tweets.

    Just as new technologies like radar and satellite joined the thermometer and barometer to give forecasters a more complete picture of the weather, so too can the Index join traditional methods like surveys and focus groups to tell a fuller story of political forecasts. It lends new insight into the feelings of the electorate, but is not intended to replace traditional polling — rather, it reinforces it.

    For example, the trend in Twitter Political Index scores for President Obama over the last two years often parallel his approval ratings from Gallup, frequently even hinting at where the poll numbers are headed. But what’s more interesting are the periods when these data sets do not align, like when his daily scores following the raid that killed Osama bin Laden dropped off more quickly than his poll numbers, as the Twitter conversation returned to being more focused on economic issues.

    By illustrating instances when unprompted, natural conversation deviates from responses to specific survey questions, the Twitter Political Index helps capture the nuances of public opinion.


    The Index for each candidate updates every day after 8 p.m. ET to reflect shifts in conversation from that day’s events, and is available along with a historical chart at election.twitter.com. During the runup to the election, our partners will be featuring this data on their sites as well: Topsy will be posting detailed analysis at www.topsylabs.com/election, and USA Today is using the Index to create the USA Today/Twitter election meter throughout the campaign. We’ll also tweet daily updates and other observations at @gov.

    Posted by Adam Sharp, Head of Government, News and Social Innovation - @AdamS

    Posted by @ at 9:00 AM

  • Our approach to Trust & Safety and private information

    Tuesday, July 31, 2012

    We want to take a moment to explain some of our general Trust and Safety policies and procedures, and address the specific case at hand that has unfolded over the past 48-hours (we normally don’t address matters pertaining to individual accounts for the privacy of the account, but here the relevant communications are now public).

    When our Trust and Safety team receives a report from a user explaining that his/her private personally-identifiable information has been posted on Twitter, we investigate the issue and temporarily suspend the account if it is found to be violating our Guidelines & Best Practices. We make it possible for people to report posting of their private information because it may be used to harass or intimidate, and in certain circumstances may even be illegal. We have systems in place to address such behavior. 

    Before the violating account is unsuspended, we ask the account holder to do two things:
    1. we ask that they confirm that they understand our private information policy, and
    2. we ask them to state that going forward they will follow the Twitter Terms of Service. 
    Once they have confirmed this for us in their email response, their account is unsuspended. Additionally, if we receive a notice from the complainant rescinding their original complaint, the account is unsuspended.

    The Trust and Safety team does not actively monitor users’ content. In all cases, whether the user is the head of a major corporation, a celebrity, or a regular user, we require a report to be filed at our abusive users webform. Not only do we need a report, but we need a report from the person whose private information has been posted, or someone who is able to legally act on their behalf. We do not proactively report or remove private information on behalf of other users, no matter who they are. 

    We’ve seen a lot of commentary about whether we should have considered a corporate email address to be private information. There are many individuals who may use their work email address for a variety of personal reasons — and some may not. Our Trust and Safety team does not have insight into the use of every user’s email address, and we need a policy that we can implement across all of our users in every instance.

    That said, we want to apologize for the part of this story that we did mess up. The team working closely with NBC around our Olympics partnership did proactively identify a Tweet that was in violation of the Twitter Rules and encouraged them to file a support ticket with our Trust and Safety team to report the violation, as has now been reported publicly. Our Trust and Safety team did not know that part of the story and acted on the report as they would any other.

    As I stated earlier, we do not proactively report or remove content on behalf of other users no matter who they are. This behavior is not acceptable and undermines the trust our users have in us. We should not and cannot be in the business of proactively monitoring and flagging content, no matter who the user is — whether a business partner, celebrity or friend. As of earlier today, the account has been unsuspended, and we will actively work to ensure this does not happen again.

    Posted by Alex Macgillivray, General Counsel - @amac

    Posted by @ at 12:43 PM

  • #OnlyOnTwitter: Through the eyes of Olympians

    Thursday, July 26, 2012

    Only the world’s best athletes get to experience the thrill and privilege of marching in the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremonies. And as they tweeted pictures during every step of their memorable night, they took all of us along with them.


    Of course, @NBCOlympics was also front and center, tweeting the Parade:

    Even the evening’s star performer, Sir Paul McCartney, took a moment to Tweet his own backstage countdown:

    The biggest spike in Twitter conversation during the Opening Ceremony? When Rowan Atkinson, a.k.a. Mr Bean, appeared in a hilariously memorable homage to the Olympians of “Chariots of Fire”.

    To be part of moments like these as they unfold, follow along at Twitter.com/#Olympics.

    Posted by Andrew Fitzgerald, Manager, Editorial Programming (@magicandrew)

    Posted by @ at 4:24 PM