As the presidential candidates met at Hofstra University tonight to answer questions from a group of self-declared undecided voters, viewers around the country came to Twitter to participate in the debate exchanges and offer their own commentary. Throughout tonight’s 90-minute #debate, 7.2 million Tweets were sent.

The specific moments that generated the highest amounts of conversation were:
-Audience question to Romney on immigration (109,560 TPM)
-Obama to Romney: "You're the last person to get tough on China" (108,619 TPM)
-Romney's response to tax rates question (107,386 TPM)


We also analyzed the volume of conversation around some of the campaign’s biggest issues. With 28% of Tweets sent, the economy was the most-discussed topic this evening. The subject of taxes racked up 17% of Tweets; 16% focused on foreign policy, 13% on energy and the environment, and 8% on immigration.

We saw several surprising trends and buzzwords emerge too. The terms “binder” and “pension” rose to Twitter infamy tonight, and we suspect “Jeremy” (a young questioner, soon to graduate from college) will be popular in class tomorrow. As we’ve come to expect, such trending topics inspire parody accounts almost instantly:

Boy, I'm full of women! #debates
— Romney's Binder (@RomneysBinder) October 17, 2012

As we’ve seen in the previous two debates, the performance of the moderator was another popular topic. CNN’s Candy Crowley (@CrowleyCNN) generated her share of commentary:

Make no mistake. What Candy Crowley is doing right now is HARD work. She almost needs a gavel
— Michele Norris (@michele_norris) October 17, 2012

Crowley decided POTUS deserved 10% more time - Final speaking time per @cnn: 44:04 for Obama; Romney 40:50. #debates
— Karl Rove (@KarlRove) October 17, 2012

Since both candidates are trying to convince voters that they respect women, they might start by respecting Candy Crowley
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) October 17, 2012

The debate ended with emotional (albeit slightly biased!) responses from the people closest to the candidates: their families.

Another great debate dad. More likeable, right on the issues. Drove home that Obama's rhetoric doesn't match his record.
— Tagg Romney (@tromney) October 17, 2012

I'm so proud of my husband tonight. Let's have his back as he has had ours. –mo #TeamBarack
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) October 17, 2012

In just six days, we’ll be in Boca Raton for the final debate of this campaign. See you then.

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

It turned out to be a week of unfortunate season ending injuries, and one unprecedented comeback during #MNF.

 1. @dallascowboys  vs. @ravens

Romo's pass dropped by Dez Bryant for the 2pt conversion.Cowboys 29 Ravens 31 with :32 left in the game
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 14, 2012

51 yd FG by Dan Bailey is no good.Cowboys 29 Ravens 31
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 14, 2012

Last year’s NFC championship matchup was a blowout, but that didn’t stop the @giants and @49ers chatter from ranking 2nd this week.

 2. @giants vs. @49ers

What an honor to be apart of such a tough, well coached team!!! We really are #ROADWARRIORS I love every guy on this team!#NYG #nygiants
— Steve Weatherford (@Weatherford5) October 15, 2012

Overcoming a 10-point deficit in four minutes, topped off with an OT field goal, catapulted the @detroitlionsNFL win over the @eagles into third place in Twitter chatter.

 3.@detroitlionsNFL vs. @eagles

This is football. This is the game. This is what it's all about. Lets go @detroitlionsnfl #Roar
— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) October 14, 2012

Players made headlines off the field too. Ray Sherman (@RSherman_25) notoriously approached Tom Brady after the @seahawks defeated the @patriots 24-23, and then expressed himself on Twitter.

Patriots fans mad lol... Talking bout Super Bowl rings.... What have u done lately? Oh ur 3-3 lol
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) October 15, 2012

The @ravens suffered two season-ending losses, as both @raylewis52com and @lwebb21 are done for the year.

Very bad news for Ravens' defense: The team fears torn triceps for LB Ray Lewis and torn ACL for CB Lardarius Webb, according to sources.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) October 14, 2012

Another season-ending injury occurred while the @nyjets were rolling to a win over @nflcolts. They unfortunately lost @revis24 to a ligament tear.  Revis tweeted thanks and gave an update to his fans.

Thanks for all the support! It's just part of the game, I'm already on my way to recover! #Jets
— Darrelle Revis (@Revis24) September 24, 2012

Last but definitely not least, last night’s #MNF performance by Peyton Manning sparked a @Denver_broncos comeback with 3 TD passes in the second half. Eric Decker was surely stoked:

Wow....That's all I have to say! Haha! Broncos across the country deserve that one!
— Eric Decker (@EricDecker87) October 16, 2012

Check back next week for more NFL action on Twitter.

Posted by Omid Ashtar (@omid)
Head of Sports & Entertainment

Twenty years ago, the first presidential town hall-style debate was held to so that voters could directly ask candidates the questions that mattered most to them. Tonight the tradition continues: President Obama and Governor Romney face the cameras, millions of viewers — and a group of citizens at Hofstra University (@HofstraU) in New York.

The town hall meeting has historically been one of the most direct forums for candidates to engage with their fellow citizens. In this race, the candidates and campaigns rely on Twitter to engage in this very personal form of retail politics.

As President, Obama has used Twitter to answer questions following an address about energy policy:

.@asturtz all of the above energy strategy; increase dom. oil & gas. increase energy efficiency. 2x clean energy. 2x car fuel eff. -bo
— The White House (@whitehouse) May 24, 2012

Governor Romney’s team shares behind-the-scenes photos that bring voters closer to life on the campaign trail and at local town halls:

PHOTO: Great crowd for @paulryanvp Victory townhall in Waukesha, WI #RomneyRyan2012 #tcot twitter.com/ZacMoffatt/sta…
— Zac Moffatt (@ZacMoffatt) October 15, 2012

Engaging in tonight’s #debates conversation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/#debates) means you can participate in a truly collective town hall meeting, sharing opinions with the person sitting (or tweeting) next to you, asking follow-up questions to the campaigns, and hearing firsthand from the candidates. 

Playing a unique role in this town hall debate will be the moderator, CNN’s Candy Crowley (@CrowleyCNN). As the first woman serving as presidential debate moderator since 1992, Twitter conversation about Crowley is already crescendoing. Her role is also sparking discussion given the high level of conversation and opinion about the two moderators to date, Jim Lehrer and Martha Raddatz. With the growing interest around the moderators this year, we applied the Twitter Political Index to analyze sentiment about their performances:

Jim Lehrer
2-Week Average: 59
Day Before: 39
Day After: 30
Net Day-to-Day Change: -9
Net Change vs. 2-Week Baseline: -29

Martha Raddatz 
2-Week Average: 47
Day Before: 44
Day After: 56
Net Day-to-Day Change: +12
Net Change vs. 2-Week Baseline: +9

Following the debate tonight, we’ll release new Twitter Political Index (election.twitter.com) scores for the candidates, their running mates, and moderator Crowley. We’ll also share an overview of the night’s biggest moments and trends. If you’re interested in seeing the real-time volume of Twitter conversation (Tweets per minute, or TPM) during the debate, tune into Fox News, which will feature a Tweet tracker in the lower corner of the screen at key moments, and a full summary following the debate. And now, off to Hofstra to prepare for tonight!

Animal shrubbery. #fallathofstra #debate twitter.com/HofPrideGuide/…
— Hofstra Pride Guides (@HofPrideGuide) October 15, 2012

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

Tonight Vice President Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) and Rep. Paul Ryan (@PaulRyanVP) squared off for the quadrennial Vice Presidential debate. Citizens tuned in to watch or listen and tweet, sharing their opinions on the evening’s exchanges. In total, 4 million Tweets were sent concerning tonight’s debate, 3.5 million of which occurred during the 92 minutes of live action.

Of those 4 million Tweets, 26% were about foreign policy; 21% discussed the economy; and 16% were regarding taxes. However, several of the moments that inspired the most Tweets per minute were quips the candidates made. Tonight’s top Tweets per minute (TPM) peaks were:
- Biden: "Now you're Jack Kennedy?" (58,275 TPM)
- Ryan: “They got caught with their hand in the cookie jar turning Medicare into a piggy bank for Obamacare.” (55,540 TPM)
- Biden discussing the timeline for leaving Afghanistan (54,944)

The full timeline of conversation and notable moments can be seen below (click to enlarge):

While the unexpected star of the Presidential debate turned out to be Big Bird, tonight’s buzzword was malarkey, which generated more than 30,000 Tweets. Another notable figure of the evening: moderator Martha Raddatz (@MarthaRaddatz), Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent for ABC. Viewers expressed their delight in her moderating skills:

I vote for Martha Raddatz to moderate all the debates. #vpdebate
— Roger Ebert (@ebertchicago) October 12, 2012

Now she's arrived. @martharaddatz gets a Louisville Slugger. Secret Service note, she won't bring it on stage. #debates twitter.com/rickklein/stat…
— Rick Klein (@rickklein) October 11, 2012

Political insiders and pundits closely followed the discussion and shared their views:

Tough sell for Biden to defend Afghanistan policy when he argued so long and hard against it.#vpdebate
— Ron Elving (@relving) October 12, 2012

Great tactic by #Biden, talking directly to seniors down the camera lens. #PMTdebate
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 12, 2012

Ryan hits Obama for doing the View instead of meeting with Bibi
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) October 12, 2012

Ryan's answer is focusing more on the Libya question than Biden, who pivoted to foreign policy successes.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) October 12, 2012

Joe Biden won - not because he was aggressive which he was - but because he didn't let Ryan get away with making stuff up. #VPDebate
— Hilary Rosen (@hilaryr) October 12, 2012

Yes, we saw your frustration, @joebiden, but it was with Ryan taking him to cleaners.
— Karl Rove (@KarlRove) October 12, 2012

Where were the Presidential candidates while their running mates debated in Danville? Twitter was full of pictures showing how the campaigns and tonight’s VIPs experienced the debate:

PHOTO: @mittromney debate contest winner Christine watches the debate w/ the Gov over pizza #RomneyRyan2012 #tcot twitter.com/ZacMoffatt/sta…
— Zac Moffatt (@ZacMoffatt) October 12, 2012

President Obama watched the VP Debate on CNN on board Air Force One. See this WH Photo. #CNNDebate twitter.com/SamFeistCNN/st…
— Sam Feist (@SamFeistCNN) October 12, 2012

With my son and his friend on stage after the debate! twitter.com/MarthaRaddatz/…
— Martha Raddatz (@MarthaRaddatz) October 12, 2012

Great Reuters photo of Paul Ryan giving his son a high five after the debate. twitpic.com/b3a7rb
— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) October 12, 2012

We’ll be back again in just five days for next Tuesday’s town hall debate between the @BarackObama and @MittRomney.

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

Tonight Vice President Joe Biden and Governor Mitt Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, will take the stage in Danville, Kentucky for their first and only debate. It starts at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, and is expected to cover a wide range of issues.

The election conversation has been going strong on Twitter since last week in Denver. Since that debate, in fact, there have been about 4 million campaign- and debate-related Tweets sent. As they prep for tonight, Vice President Biden and Rep. Ryan are sharing behind-the-scenes photos and tweeting out messages to rally their followers. And tonight’s debate moderator, ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz has been sharing her sojourn to the stage too:

Great pep talk from one of my most trusted advisors. twitter.com/PaulRyanVP/sta…
— Paul Ryan (@PaulRyanVP) October 11, 2012

RT if you’re on #TeamObamaBiden tonight: twitter.com/JoeBiden/statu…
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 11, 2012

Moderator walk-through for the #VPdebate, about ready for @paulryanvp & @joebiden to join me! twitter.com/MarthaRaddatz/…
— Martha Raddatz (@MarthaRaddatz) October 10, 2012

With the VP candidate stand-ins from #centrecollege. Can you tell who's who? twitter.com/MarthaRaddatz/…
— Martha Raddatz (@MarthaRaddatz) October 10, 2012

Follow the debate on Twitter tonight using the hashtag #debates, and be sure to follow our @gov team, who will be tweeting the most interesting stats of the night.

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

Starting today, you can download a new version of Twitter for BlackBerry from the App World. This new release makes Twitter on BlackBerry even better: Now when you expand a Tweet to see the details view, you can enjoy article summaries from websites like CNN or beautiful photos from sites like National Geographic. And you’ll see contacts from your Device Address Book who are on Twitter, making it easier to find your friends.

Soon, we’ll change the way expanded Tweets display photos in our BlackBerry app, bringing you a faster and overall better experience. You’ll need to upgrade older versions to Twitter for BlackBerry 3.2 to continue seeing a full photo preview inside a Tweet.

Posted by Brian Frank @bfrank
Product Manager, Mobile

It’s a long-standing tradition for a family to gather on the couch to watch TV together. Tonight, Twitter is hosting a viewing party with one America’s funniest families: the Pritchett-Delgado-Tucker-Dunphys, of ABC’s hit show Modern Family.

Starting at 9pm ET / 8pm CT / 9pm PT, members of the @ModernFam cast and crew will live-tweet tonight’s special double-feature of episodes. You can tune-in, tweet-in, and spend the evening as part of the @ModernFam family of stars, producers, editors, and more.

Tonight’s live-tweeting cast includes:
Steve Levitan (@SteveLevitan) - Co-creator
Danny Zuker (@DannyZuker) - Executive Producer
Sofia Vergara (@SofiaVergara) - Gloria
Julie Bowen (@itsJulieBowen) - Claire
Ariel Winter (@arielwinter1) - Alex
Nolan Gould (@Nolan_Gould) - Luke
Rico Rodriguez (@StarringRico) - Manny
Ryan Case (@film114) - Editor
Clint McCray (@ClintMcCray) - Script Coordinator

To help you easily follow the whole 'Family' gathering, we've created an event page for the evening: Twitter.com/#modernfamily.

We’ve worked with ABC and the Modern Family producers to assemble this group of live-tweeters that will give viewers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of TV’s hottest comedy. Being a through-and-through “modern” family, the @ModernFam gang is active on Twitter. If you’ve only seen them from your couch, you’ll love getting closer to them on Twitter:

I will be live tweeting during east & west coast feeds. I edited the 2nd ep so for the 2 of you out there with editing questions, FIRE AWAY!
— Ryan Case (@film114) October 10, 2012

My son's soccer coach just said, "You can't spell "triumph" without 'try,'" and the look my son and I shared will bond us forever.
— Danny Zuker (@DannyZuker) October 2, 2012

Oh that Claire...she looooves her some Halloween. #ModernFamilyS4 twitter.com/itsJulieBowen/…
— Julie Bowen (@itsJulieBowen) September 12, 2012

Look at the belly!! #modernfamily
— Sofia Vergara (@SofiaVergara) September 27, 2012

Love this pic from last night! twitter.com/ClintMcCray/st…
— Clint McCray (@ClintMcCray) September 24, 2012

Continue checking back this fall TV season for more ways to get closer to your favorite shows and stars!

Posted by Fred Graver, Head of TV (@fredgraver)

Today we updated the TweetDeck app on all our supported platforms - web, Chrome, Mac and Windows. The update is live now on web.tweetdeck.com. If you use the Windows app, just restart to trigger an auto-update. Chrome app users should restart Chrome to update the app and the updated Mac app is available now in the Mac App Store.

This update makes TweetDeck easier to use with design enhancements, personalization options and the addition of several frequently-requested features.

Choose your theme

The traditional dark background of TweetDeck is clearer and cleaner, while maintaining the classic TweetDeck look. We have also added a lighter theme — a brand new colour scheme that offers dark text on a light background.

You can easily switch themes by clicking on the theme indicator on the top toolbar.

Change your font

Now you can change the size of the font used to display Tweets. On the General tab in the Settings pane, you can select Small (13pt), Medium (14pt) or Large (15pt) font sizes.

A year of improvements

Last December, we launched a new version of TweetDeck on a framework that helps us develop new features and integrate your feedback. Since the start of the year we have been making continued improvements to the TweetDeck apps. Here are just some of the highlights of our constant updates since we first launched these new apps back in December 2011:

• Swifter navigation - Including the new column navigator and trackpad scrolling, enabling faster navigation and easier column reordering.
• List management - Manage all aspects of your Twitter lists directly in the app.
• Profile improvements - New Profile design, including support for header photos and an indicator when a user follows you.
• Improved web support - Enhanced the performance of web.tweetdeck.com and added support for Firefox and Opera.
• Deeper discovery and engagement - Gain more insight via the Interactions and Activity columns. Take action on Tweets wherever they appear in the app.

Posted by Richard Barley @richardbarley
Project Manager, TweetDeck

Originally posted on the TweetDeck blog

In just a few hours, hip-hop’s legendary emcees and femcees will be in the building at the BET Hip-Hop Awards (8pm ET/ 7pm CT), showcasing their lyrical finesse. As always, Twitter will be your all-access pass to celebrate hip-hop’s biggest moments at tonight’s show.  
To get you ready for the big night, check out this special Twitter hip-hop page. Even after the show, you can use this page to follow your hip-hop favorites.  
Cyphers 
BET (@BET) has lined up some fun ways for fans (well, those of you on Twitter!) to get involved with tonight’s festivities. Here’s one: since a key element of hip-hop is the cypher, Twitter’s most-followed hip-hop moguls will showcase their lyrical wordplay during tonight’s cypher sessions. And BET is calling all fans to submit their hottest bars using the #BETTwitterCypher hashtag. They will choose your best two lines to make a full cypher.  
In addition to letting fans join the cyphers, some big-time names will be spitting their best bars on stage. West Coast’s coolest emcees and legendary supergroup The Ruff Ryders will take the stage for the #RespectTheWest and #RuffRyders cyphers. @KendrickLamar, @SnoopDogg and @E40 will kick off the first roundtable session for the #RespectTheWest cypher. Bar for bar, @DMX, @Cassidy_Larsiny, and @TheRealEve will lead the pack for the #RuffRyders team.  

ALERT! We got @snoopdogg + @tip + DMX in #HipHopAwards #BETcyphers, Watch Oct 9 at 8P/7c on @bet. twitter.com/HipHopAwards/s…
— BET Hip-Hop Awards (@HipHopAwards) September 27, 2012 

Not feeling the cypher? There are plenty of other ways to be part of the ATL conversation:

Live-tweeters 
@TheRealMikeEpps will not only be hosting on-screen; he’ll also be live-tweeting throughout the whole show. Follow him for nothing but laughs and his behind-the-scenes looks. Compton’s very own @KendrickLamar will be representing Black Hippy and live-tweeting too. In addition to Kendrick, two of Young Money’s freshest additions, @YMCMB_BW (Bow Wow) and @ItsMystikal (Mystikal) will be live-tweeting.

Join the convo
Your favorite celebs will be tweeting about tonight’s show using the official #HipHopAwards hashtag. Use that to stay up on the latest action during the show. Throughout each cypher round, #BETCyphers is the #1 hashtag to use to give your critique of who spit the hottest 16s.  
From cyphers to performances, all of your favorite artists will blaze the stage. Stay tuned in on Twitter. Don’t miss a beat.

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

Two teams remain undefeated through Week 5, but its not just their fans who are cheering. We’ve tallied up the Twitter chatter since Week 1, and results show that the QBs are leading the way. The top three most-tweeted-about players are:

Great Team Win. I promised Coach i wouldnt talk shit about the ass kickin.. lolim moving on with a humble heart. Time to get ready for NYG
— Bam Davis(@BamDavis76) October 8, 2012

 @KCChiefs QB Matt Cassell was escorted off the field in a stretcher after a hard hit from the @Ravens’ Haloti Ngata left him with a concussion, unable to finish the game. However what really stirred up controversy wasn’t the hit. Instead, it was fans’ reactions as they cheered in support of Cassell’s injury. Cassell’s loyal teammates spoke up after the game and reinforced their thoughts on Twitter.

I've said what I wanted to say and i won't be talking about it any further. I stand by what I have said. I believe what I said.
— Eric Winston (@ericwinston) October 7, 2012