Between Madonna and the Giants, Twitter came out on top

Yesterday’s 46th Superbowl in the States, which saw the New York Giants eke out a last minute 21-17 win over the New England Patriots, also saw an unprecedented surge in activity on social messaging phenomenon, Twitter. To the tune of 10 000 tweets per minute, that is.

Two periods during yesterdays American football tour de force attracted particular Twitter frenzy, first during Madonna’s world peace-themed, acrobatic half time show, where an average of 8 000 tweets per minute were recorded by Twitter in San Francisco- mostly decrying a woman of her age doing so many cartwheels; and then in the final three minutes when a late surge led by Giants quarterback, Eli Manning, led to the touchdown that won the game for the New Yorkers. Twitter activity surged to an unprecedented 10 000 tweets per minute in those three minutes alone.

In contrast, the last time Americans got so excited on Twitter was last year when Beyonce announced her pregnancy at the MTV Video Music Awards. The much anticipated adverts that run throughout the event, which attracts upwards of 110 million viewers, also got some heat on Twitter. This marks the second time the Giants have won the title  since 2008.

[Source: TIMES Live, CNN]