Social Media Superstorm: Presidential Election 2012 looks at how the London Summer Olympics, Hurricane Sandy, the Debates between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, and the 2012 Presidential Election were powered by a rapidly changing and chaotic social landscape.

1. Social Media Superstorm:
Presidential Election 2012
Dr. William J. Ward aka DR4WARD
Social Media Professor

2. London 2012 - Social Olympics
Photo Credit: Joe Rocco Newsday
Opening Ceremony 9.6 Million Tweets
17 Days 150 million tweets
Volume 100-150 times greater than
Beijing 2008 Olympics

3. Launched 2006
2008 - 6 million users / 300,000 Tweets per day
2012 - 517 million users / 400 million Tweets
per day
141.8 million users in the U.S.

4. Launched 2004
2008 - 100 million users
2012 - 960 million users
167 million users in the U.S.

5. Launched 2012
2011 400 million users
2010 100 million users
2010 23 million users
2009 25 million users

6. London 2012 - Social Olympics

8. U.S. smartphone adoption fastest in tech history
Launched 2007
55% of U.S. mobile users own a smartphone
74% of 25-34 year olds now own
smartphones
Nielsen 2012

12. Spread Of Earthquake-Related Tweets
08/23/11 1:51 PM EDT

13. Hurricane #Sandy
For Many, Social Media
Replaced Traditional News
Sources During Storm

14. Twitter and Facebook
were a lifeline for
people during the
hurricane.
13.7 million tweets sent during the Super Bowl in February 2012

15. After Hurricane #Sandy, ‘We Are OK’
Top Facebook Status

16. Hurricane #Sandy

17. The rise of social media like social
networking sites and blogs has
helped the news become a social
experience for consumers
People use their social networks and
social networking technology to
filter, assess, and react to news.
Pew Research Center’s
Internet & American
Life Project 2012

18. Social Media Superstorm:
Presidential Election 2012

19. Followers
2008 2012
Obama: 112,474 Obama: 22.7 million
McCaine: 4,603 Romney: 1.7 million

20. Supporters
2008 2012
Obama: 2.3 Million Obama: 31.7 Million
McCaine: 620,359 Romney: 11.8 Million

21. 88% of people who watch TV have a second screen in
front of them
62% of people use Social Media while they watch TV.
Source: Nielsen 2012

22. Launched 2010
2012 - 18% of adults have a tablet computer.
Source: Pew Research Center’s
Internet & American Life Project
2012

23. "The use of social media is
becoming a feature of political and
civic engagement for many
Americans."
60% of U.S. adults surveyed use social-
networking sites including Facebook and Twitter
and of these users,
66% have conducted either civil or political
activity through this communication channel.
Pew Research Center’s
Internet & American
Life Project 2012

26. First Debate Results - Polls & Pundits?
Romney wins debate, in all polls Obama lost ~ New York Times
Why Obama Lost The First Debate - And Might Lose The Next
Ones ~ Forbes
15 Tweets That Explain Why Obama Lost the First
Debate ~ US News & World Report
Pundits Agree: Romney Wins Round One—and It Wasn't Even
Close ~ Slate
2012: If Obama loses, blame the
debates ~ NBC

28. #BigBird

29. Twitter Analytics - SocialMentions.com
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Obama Romney
Strength is the likelihood that your brand is being discussed in social media.
Sentiment is the ratio of mentions that are generally positive to those that are generally negative.
Passion is a measure of the likelihood that individuals talking about your brand will do so repeatedly.
Reach is a measure of the range of influence.

30. Twitter Analytics - SocialMentions.com
Sunday, November 4, 2012
#Obama #Romney
Strength is the likelihood that your brand is being discussed in social media.
Sentiment is the ratio of mentions that are generally positive to those that are generally negative.
Passion is a measure of the likelihood that individuals talking about your brand will do so repeatedly.
Reach is a measure of the range of influence.

31. Journalists Election Night
Newsrooms
CNN Wall Street Journal

33. Election Results

34. Lessons from the
Social Media Superstorm:
Presidential Election 2012
Big Data Analysis
Consider the source / Fact Check
Social will become more predictive with wider adoption
Both Distraction & Enhancement

35. Dr. William J. Ward aka DR4WARD
Social Media Professor