• Sunday’s Showdown: Follow the action on & off the field

    Thursday, January 31, 2013

    Are you part of the @49ers’ #questforsix? Or maybe you’re more excited about the halftime show and the commercials? Whatever is bringing you to the TV on Sunday, you’ll find unprecedented access, entertainment, and team spirit on Twitter. With over 13 million Tweets during last year’s game, the Super Bowl is one of the biggest events on Twitter. Twitter shines most during unpredictable live events — and few things are as unpredictable as the Super Bowl. With dramatic plays on the field, superstar performances, buzzworthy commercials, and millions of passionate fans, Twitter is the place to be.

    To get started, you’ll want to follow your favorite players and the team you’re rooting for: the here. You can also explore and follow players, teams, and stars on the game’s Discover page.

    Their performance on the field is one thing; players (past and present!) are just as exciting to follow on Twitter:

    Who has louder fans on Twitter? It’s a tight race: since the conference championships, there have been just about the same number of mentions of each team, with a slight edge going to the @ravens:




    Of course, Sunday is about more than game itself: The commercials and the halftime show starring @Beyonce are favorites of millions. Our Ad Scrimmage page after the first commercial break, and then vote on your favorite ones with a Tweet using each ad’s unique hashtag. Voting closes Tuesday night at 11:30pm Eastern, so make your voice heard early and often.

    Last year, Madonna performed at halftime, which generated more than 100,000 Tweets per minute. This year’s musical stars are already generating a lot of buzz:

    Whether in joy or agony, join the chatter on Twitter this Sunday. (And speaking only for myself: Let’s go @49ers!)

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

    Posted by @ at 3:56 PM

  • Updates for viewing photos and videos

    Wednesday, January 30, 2013

    Today, we’re rolling out several enhancements that make it easier to view photos and videos on Twitter — in particular, on profiles and in search results.

    • Large photos, right on the page. Click a photo from a profile page or in search results to see a larger version of that photo without leaving the page.

    • Video. Media galleries now include videos from Vine, YouTube, Vimeo, and other partners whose videos appear in expanded Tweets.  


    What’s more, tweet pages now let you see more of the conversation related to a Tweet. Check out @chenosaurus)
    Software Engineer

    Posted by @ at 12:10 PM

  • #OnlyOnTwitter: State Department changes

    The beginning of a new term in Washington marks changes in many of the government’s highest offices. Yesterday was noteworthy at the US Department of State, as outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held her last Town Hall, and Senator John Kerry was confirmed as the new Secretary. Of course, both occasions played out on Twitter. Secretary Clinton solicited questions via #AskState (@StateDept dubbed it #GlobalTownHall):

    Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, @JohnKerry was unanimously approved by the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and 94-3 by the full Senate to become the next Secretary of State. Many of his current & future colleagues tweeted the process as well as their congratulations once his confirmation became official:

    Posted by Bridget Coyne (@bcoyne)
    Government, News & Social Innovation Team

    Posted by @ at 9:03 AM

  • Twitter Transparency Report v2

    Monday, January 28, 2013

    Last July we #TTR), publishing six months of data detailing the volume of government requests we receive for user information, government requests to withhold content, and Digital Millennium Copyright Act-related complaints from copyright holders.

    Since then we’ve been thinking about ways in which we can more effectively share this information, with an aim to make it more meaningful and accessible to the community at large. In celebration of transparency.twitter.com.


    In addition to publishing the second report, we’re also introducing more granular details regarding information requests from the United States, expanding the scope of the removal requests and copyright notices sections, and adding Twitter site accessibility data from our partners at Herdict.

    We believe the open exchange of information can have a positive global impact. To that end, it is vital for us (and other Internet services) to be transparent about government requests for user information and government requests to withhold content from the Internet; these growing inquiries can have a serious chilling effect on free expression – and real privacy implications.

    It’s our continued hope that providing greater insight into this information helps in at least two ways: first, to raise public awareness about these invasive requests; second, to enable policy makers to make more informed decisions. All of our actions are in the interest of an open and safe Internet.

    Posted by Jeremy Kessel (@jer)
    Manager, Legal Policy

    Posted by @ at 7:35 AM

  • This Week on Twitter - Jan. 28

    On most Mondays, this series alerts you to key things happening on Twitter in the coming week. A live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a candidate or author, a pro sports team Tweepstakes — this is the way to keep current on the can’t-miss moments on Twitter for the week ahead. - Ed. 

    Monday, Jan. 28 
    In honor of the 2014 World Cup, which is 500 days away, international soccer superstar Pelé (@Pele) will be hosting a “500 days away” Twitter celebration. Pelé, along with other sports influencers, will be taking questions and tweeting to fans throughout the day.

    Tuesday, Jan. 29; 8:00 p.m. ET 
    Brian Malarkey (@TheTasteABC) will be live-tweeting during the show. You can follow and tweet along using the hashtag #TeamMalarkey.

    Thursday, Jan. 31; 9:00 p.m. ET
    As we mentioned last week before Project Runway’s (play.

    Ongoing
    ABC’s #ScriptTease ABC (@ABCNetwork) has a new weekly initiative called #ScriptTease: they will tweet a portion of the script for an upcoming episode. Follow along using the hashtag for a sneak peak of your favorite shows. Here is an example:
    Check back next week for more!

    Posted by Alexandra Valasek - (@AlzValz)
    Communications

    Posted by @ at 7:25 AM

  • Vine: A new way to share video

    Thursday, January 24, 2013

    Today, we’re introducing Vine: a mobile service that lets you capture and share short looping videos. Like Tweets, the brevity of videos on Vine (6 seconds or less) inspires creativity. Now that you can easily capture motion and sound, we look forward to seeing what you create.

    You can read more about the app on the download it for free from the App Store. We’re working now to bring it to other platforms, so stay tuned for that.

    Rather than tell you more about the app, we thought we’d just show you some of our favorite videos:

    Posted by @ at 8:10 AM

  • #OnlyOnTwitter: Inauguration Day

    Tuesday, January 22, 2013

    Tweets from yesterday’s Presidential Inauguration offer a glimpse into the pageantry that swept D.C. Whether they were dignitaries seated onstage or citizens lining the streets, plenty of people shared pictures that captured the spirit of the day.








    And finally, it turns out that sometimes one hashtag is worth a thousand words:
    Posted by Bridget Coyne (@bcoyne)
    Government, News & Social Innovation Team

    Posted by @ at 4:07 PM

  • An update to embedded Tweets

    Tweets bring you closer to what’s happening around the world, from breaking news to global conversations. With embedded Tweets, you can see and interact with Tweets across the web. We often embed Tweets here on our blog to highlight great Tweets, photos and other content shared on Twitter; you can embed any Tweet on your website too.

    Today, we’re introducing several enhancements that make embedded Tweets more engaging, useful and fast:

    More content and context. Embedded Tweets display photos, videos, article summaries and other content shared in a Tweet, just like you see on twitter.com. You can also view retweet and favorite counts to better understand engagement, and we’ve made some tweaks to the design so that embedded Tweets are easier to read.

    Posted by @ at 9:51 AM

  • The Road to Super Bowl XLVII

    Monday, January 21, 2013

    Twelve teams are down to two as the @Ravens punched their tickets to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans.

    For three weekends, NFC and AFC playoff teams faced off to battle for their conference championship titles, and as they did, fans flocked to Twitter to support their teams and get closer to the action.

    The two hottest games for Twitter buzz during the playoffs were the @Falcons, raking in nearly 4 million Tweets collectively. The playoffs’ most popular players on Twitter? @M_Ryan02.

    Throughout the playoffs, Twitter is where fans, athletes, commentators and more went before, during and after the game for all things NFL.






     Check back soon for more as we get closer to the #SuperBowl!

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

    Posted by @ at 9:56 AM

  • This Week on Twitter - Jan. 21

    On most Mondays, this series alerts you to key things happening on Twitter in the coming week. A live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a candidate or author, a pro sports team Tweepstakes — this is the way to keep current on the can’t-miss moments on Twitter for the week ahead. - Ed. 

    Tuesday, Jan. 22; 10-11 p.m. EST 
    After much clamoring from fans, Lauren Graham – the star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood – has joined Twitter as @NBCParenthood on Tuesday, Jan. 22 from 10-11pm EST, providing behind the scenes commentary and chatting with fans about one of TV’s most popular shows. Till then, use #AskLauren to tweet her questions, which she’ll answer during the finale.


     Thursday, Jan. 24 
    @ProjectRunway will have its season premiere this Thursday; fans will have several opportunities to follow along and join the conversation, including:
    • Runway Recall: The team from Lifetime will be launching Runway Recall, a new online game  that can be played while watching the show. Of course, you’ll need a Twitter account to play.
    • Real-Time Runway: See what’s trending and who’s live-tweeting during each episode. For three hours before and three hours after a show, check out Real-Time Runway for updates, what’s trending. 
    • Live Tweeters: Follow along for an inside peek at the perspective of live tweeters including: 


     Thursday, Jan. 24; 1 p.m. EST
    @JoannaColes. Use the hashtag #CosmoLIVE to ask her anything about Cosmo, her stint as a mentor on Project Runway, Cosmo’s new show on “The Job” on CBS.

    January 21-26
    Movie buffs who can’t make it to Sundance this year can follow the action with a live-tweeting cast in Park City. Follow @sundancefestnow and the hashtag #Sundance to solicit questions for the cast to answer throughout the week.


    Posted by Rachael Horwitz (@rachaelrad)
    Communications

    Posted by @ at 5:00 AM

  • 100 Senators and the 57th Inauguration

    Friday, January 18, 2013

    The 44th President and 113th Congress on Twitter On Monday (Jan. 21), Barack Obama will be publicly sworn in as President. While buzz about the Inauguration builds on Twitter, the legislative branch has some news of their own: as of today, all 100 members of the Senate as well as 90% (398 members) of the House of Representatives are on Twitter.

    When the 112th Congress convened in 2011, 44% of the Senate and 35% of the House were active on Twitter. In two years time, that’s grown to 100% of the Senate and 90% (398 representatives) of the House. Now there are 29 states with their entire delegation tweeting (both senators and all representatives); every state has at least 70% of their delegation tweeting. This map shows how many delegates from your state are active on Twitter:

    (click to enlarge)

    To find and follow your Senator’s Twitter account, check out this list of all 398 House members on Twitter.

    Another exciting new member of Twitter is Michelle Obama, who will now be tweeting from @FLOTUS about her life as First Lady. First on her Twitter agenda? Encourage participation in the National Day of Service:
    (And also, debut a new haircut! The word “bangs” had a thirty-day peak yesterday.)

    For those who won’t be standing on the Mall or along Pennsylvania Avenue on Monday, you can follow the proceedings (and parties!) via Twitter. Some accounts that will be offering news, information, and insights for the Inauguration are: @USCapitol, @DHSgov. All across the District, organizations, businesses, and attendees are using Twitter to share updates about what to expect from Inauguration Day:




    You can also watch live coverage of the Inauguration directly through Twitter. The @FoxNews account will be streaming coverage directly within a Tweet (pinned at the top of their timeline) through their implementation of Twitter Cards.

    Whether you’d like to get closer to the festivities on Inauguration Day, or connect with your elected officials year-round, Twitter is your ticket to DC.

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

    Posted by @ at 1:21 PM

  • NHL on Twitter: #hockeyisback

    Thursday, January 17, 2013

    The much-awaited start of this year's #hockeyisback. When the news was first announced earlier this month, fans were so excited that there were more tweets about the NHL than during the final Stanley Cup game last season. As the new season kicks off with 13 games on opening day, Twitter will be your all-access pass to follow the action on and off the ice.

    To ensure that you don’t miss a thing, check out these lists from mascot!

    This season you can also tweet to your favorite NHL fantasy expert and get real time answers to questions about who to start and more. Make sure to follow: @NHLFeldman.

    The fans aren’t the only ones pumped to get the season started: players and teams have been tweeting their excitement to get back on the ice.

    The @LAKings, the defending Stanley Cup champs, are especially ready to get back to the ice and raise their victory banner:

    Whether you’re tweeting #BlueshirtsAreBack or #LongLiveTheNote, all NHL fans on Twitter are counting down the minutes until #hockeyisback.

    Posted by Omid Ashtari (@omid)
    Head of Sports

    Posted by @ at 4:56 PM

  • Tracking the Oscar buzz

    Tuesday, January 15, 2013

    The Oscars may still be six weeks away, but Twitter is already buzzing about the past year’s biggest and best films. And now you can track and measure that conversation with the Twitter Oscars Index, available at oscars.twitter.com.

    Year-round, movie buffs come to Twitter to discuss, analyze, and rate the movies they watch; during the Hollywood awards season, that conversation kicks into high gear. Sunday night’s Golden Globes, for example, saw over 4 million Tweets. The Twitter Oscars Index reflects the ebb and flow of the movie-related conversations throughout the awards season, showing how positively fans are commenting on nominees on Twitter.


    The Index reflects the sentiment of Tweets about nominees in the 6 biggest categories of the night: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director.

    You can slice and dice the data in many different ways: looking at, for instance, how a certain news event or another award affects Twitter conversation around a nominee over time. On January 10th, the day Oscar nominations were announced, you can see that conversation around Jacki Weaver (Best Supporting Actress, Silver Linings Playbook) rose significantly:

    After Amour won Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes on Sunday, positive buzz noticeably increased (in blue):

    Another way to explore the Index is by comparing nominees to each other to see which is garnering the most positive sentiment. The Golden Globe winner for Best Director was Ben Affleck (for Argo), but he didn’t receive a directing nomination for the Oscars, leaving the field open to a great deal of speculation. Based on the Oscar Index, directors Steven Spielberg (for Lincoln) and Ang Lee (for Life of Pi) currently have the most positive buzz on Twitter:

    The score for each nominee that reflects how conversation around that term compares to all other conversation on Twitter. For example, a score of 87 for Silver Linings Playbook indicates that Tweets discussing Silver Linings Playbook are on average more positive than 87 percent of all Tweets. This may remind you of the Twitter Political Index, which focused on the Twitter conversation around presidential nominees Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Indeed, the Oscars Index employs the same underlying methodology; as we did earlier, we're once again partnering with Topsy (@Topsy) for sentiment analysis. We also worked closely with the Academy on this project.

    Awards season also brings out the armchair film critic in many of us, as we rattle off our personal picks and pans, and predict who will take home that coveted award at the end of February. The Twitter Oscars Index offers a way to measure those discussions that happen on Twitter, and provide insight for all those closely following the exciting Oscar races. While the next six weeks are sure to be filled with crystal ball predictions of how the illustrious Academy members will vote, the Twitter Oscars Index provides another dimension to the story: the voice of the fans.

    Posted by Fred Graver (@fredgraver)
    Head of TV

    Posted by @ at 8:58 AM

  • This Week on Twitter: 14 January

    Monday, January 14, 2013

    On most Mondays, this series alerts you to key things happening on Twitter in the coming week. A live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a candidate or author, a pro sports team Tweepstakes — this is the way to keep current on the can’t-miss moments on Twitter for the week ahead. - Ed.

    Monday, Jan. 14; 10 p.m. ET 
    Hawaii Five-O (post.
    Monday, Jan. 14 
    International tennis superstar Maria Sharapova here.

    Wednesday, Jan. 16
    @TwitterMovies using the hashtag #SafeHaven.


    Twitter is the best way for fans to maximize their TV-watching experience, and this week, they can tweet or follow along with shows’ anticipated season premieres, including:

    Wednesday, Jan. 16 - Thursday, Jan. 17; 8 p.m. ET 
    American Idol (@Americanidol) #AmericanIdol


    Friday, Jan. 18; 10:00 p.m. ET 
    Best Week Ever (@BestWeekEver) #BestWeekEver

    Check back next week for more!

    Posted by Rachael Horwitz (@rachaelrad)
    Communications

    Posted by @ at 6:00 AM

  • A look back at Hollywood's golden night

    Sunday, January 13, 2013

    Full of laughs, tears, and surprises, tonight’s Golden Globe awards show (and red carpet) rang up over 3.6 million Tweets, bringing the grand total of Globes-related Tweets over the past 24 hours up to 4.2 million.

    During the show, viewers at home tweeted along with all of the night’s most exciting, entertaining, and emotional moments. The moments that drove the biggest Twitter conversation of the night were:
    -Jennifer Lawrence winning Best Actress in a comedy or musical: 19,886 TPM
    -Anne Hathaway winning Best Supporting Actress in a comedy or musical: 19,695 TPM
    -President Bill Clinton introduces ‘Lincoln’: 18,290 TPM

    Nominees and attendees started their tweeting early, giving all their followers a personal glimpse into what it takes to get ready for one of the year’s biggest red carpets:
    The stars continued to tweet (those tiny clutches must have just enough room for a cell phone!), offering fans at home a virtual seat at their table. As the winners were announced, tweets from attendees, as well as celebs watching from home, showed an intimate glimpse of what it’s like to see your fellow nominees, co-stars, or favorite stars, take the stage to accept a Golden Globe:

    Everyone watching along, whether at home or in the audience, also weighed in on hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Based on the outpouring of complimentary Tweets, it looks like they were two of the night’s big winners too.

    With many more awards shows paving the way until the Oscars, we can’t wait to see what keeps everyone else buzzing throughout awards season!

    Posted by Grace Chu Lee (@gracelee)
    TV Partnerships

    Posted by @ at 9:45 PM

  • Hawaii Five-0 lets viewers decide whodunit

    Friday, January 11, 2013

    Have you ever wished that you had the chance to direct an episode of your favorite show? Do you think you’d make a great detective? Next week CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 (@HawaiiFive0CBS) is letting the viewers sit in the director chair and put on their detective hat.

    Fans of Hawaii Five-0 will be able to choose the ending of the show in real-time on Monday evening. The #H50 team will spend the episode investigating the mysterious death of a professor, with the TA, the student, and the boss all prime suspects. As the drama unfolds on screen, viewers will see a prompt to vote for the culprit by tweeting #theTA, #TheStudent or #TheBoss. Behind the scenes, the Hawaii Five-0 production team will be tallying the votes immediately, and will put the most popular selection on air to end the show.
    The episode airs from 10-11pm ET & PT on Monday (Jan 14), with separate voting for the east and west coast. That means that each half of the country may see entirely different endings, based on what’s being most tweeted during the local broadcast. (CBS will make all 3 versions available online following the show.) This marks the first time a primetime drama has put the outcome of a scripted show into the fan’s hands via Twitter.

    Posted by Grace Chu Lee (@gracelee)
    TV Partnerships

    Posted by @ at 10:02 AM

  • Stars live-tweeting the Golden Globes

    Thursday, January 10, 2013

    The brightest stars in Hollywood will flock to the Beverly Hills Hilton for the Golden Globes Awards (@goldenglobes) this Sunday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT. And while fans will be watching on their TVs from countries around the world, they can get even closer to the show and feel like they’re part of the action (and the after parties) by tuning in on Twitter.

    Actors, directors, style icons and other VIPs will be live-tweeting to share inside experiences from on the red carpet, in the audience, backstage, and sometimes watching along on their couch. With the dinner party setting of the Golden Globes, the awards show is known for providing fans a unique glimpse of TV and film’s most talented stars. Following along on Twitter is like having a seat at the table, being a part of the conversation with your favorite celebrities.

    The Golden Globes live-tweeters include:

    Julia Louis-Dreyfus @OfficialJLD - Nominee for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series
    David Spade - @DavidSpade
    Sofia Vergara - @SofiaVergara  - Nominee for Modern Family
    Hayden Panettiere - @haydenpanettier - Nominee for Nashville
    Megan Hilty - @meganhilty - Star of nominee Smash
    Audrina Patridge - @AudrinaPatridge
    Nina Garcia - @NinaGarcia
    Omar Epps -  @omarepps
    Camila Alves - @iamcamilaalves
    Marlon Wayons - @MARLONLWAYANS
    Retta - @unfoRETTAble
    Todd Barry - @ToddBarry
    Krista Smith - @KristaSmith
    Ra Ra Riot - @rarariot
    Christos Decades @ChristosDecades
    George Kotsiopoulos - @GeorgeKotsi
    Maria Menounos - @mariamenounos
    Tyler James Williams - @TylerJamesWill
    Shanola Hampton - @ShanolaHampton
    Katee Sackhoff -  @kateesackhoff

    Whether you’re tuning in for the fashion, results, acceptance speeches or witty banter, you can engage or just follow along with your favorite nominees and fellow fans using the hashtag special page we built that features the live-tweeters all in one place.







    Posted by
    Fred Graver (@fredgraver), Head of TV
    and
    Kate Bowen (@kateb), TV Talent Relations

    Posted by @ at 5:00 AM