Tweeting the #debates: Round one

Oct 04

Web Only

Tweeting the #debates: Round one

Commentary on US presidential debate dominates social media.

US President Barack Obama (R) and Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney (L) shake hands moments before the start of the first presidential debate at Magness Arena at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, October 3, 2012. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB

US President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney met in Denver, Colorado for their first debate, marking the opening of the final stretch of the US presidential campaign. Many of the millions tuning in took their commentary to the web, where the debate became the most discussed US political event in Twitter’s history.

The Stream spoke to Alex Howard (@digiphile), Washington correspondent for O’Reilly Media, in addition to members of our online community for their analysis on the night's social media events.

Here is our coverage from around the web:

View the story "Tweeting the #debates: Round 1" on StorifyTweeting the #debates: Round 1The Stream follows the online conversation surrounding the first debate of the US presidential campaign.Storified by The Stream · Thu, Oct 04 2012 09:35:19The Stream: 03/10/2012 Presidential Debates (1/3)ajstreamTwitter's @gov account tracked peaks in the online conversation surrounding the #debates hashtag and pegged those moments to key talking points during the event.undefinedTwimgOnline discussion also spiked on the online forum Reddit. A discussion thread started in collaboration with Al Jazeera English generated more than 7,800 comments.I think social media basically allows campaigns to harvest strategies that are immediately marketable. Anything that spreads through social media probably has a resonance that campaigns can then use. I wouldn't say that campaigns were ever able to do this before--even weather balloons used to be pretty bad because it would only reveal how people in the Beltway felt about it. At the same time, advantage Obama on social media. They simply own it, the same way Republicans own radio. Blue State Media is an astonishingly good marketing group that is behind the Obama campaign's branding, both in this election and in 2008.parles comments on Special Mod Announcement: Al Jazeera wants the Reddit community's live opinion on tonight's Presidential Debate! Click here!After the debate, @digiphile discussed the volume of debate-related discussion that surged on Twitter.The Stream: 03/10/2012 Presidential Debates (2/3)ajstreamOnline comments centered around the popular television character Big Bird spiked after Romney explained why he would cut federal funding for the PBS channel. 17,000 Tweets per minute for "Big Bird" and 10,000 Tweets per minute for "PBS". #debatesTwitter GovernmentundefinedStaticflickrGoogle released a list of the most-searched terms during the debate, including general queries and specific financial policies that Obama and Romney discussed. undefinedStaticflickrMany on Twitter around the world used #factcheck in their tweets to respond to the candidates' claims during the debates. undefinedGoogleusercontentCan any American separate fact from fiction in this debate? #factcheckSteven RattnerThe term "interrupted" also trended in the United States as many criticised journalist Jim Lehrer's debate moderation for allowing the candidates' frequent interjections. undefinedGoogleusercontent"Before he interrupted me." Revealing line. Romney has gotten under Obama's skin.Robert Costa#Romney seems to be moderating his own debate. #AJStream #debate2012 #ObamaKingsley ShetehAfter the debate, we asked The Stream community for their thoughts on the results of the debate. The Stream: 03/10/2012 Presidential Debates (3/3)ajstreamOpinion was split on which candidate performed better, but many agreed that Obama's performance was underwhelming, and Romney's move to more moderate positions was surprising. Romney is winning, but only because he's moving closer to Obama's current positions. I'm quite confused to be honest. I like moderate Romney, but until today he's been absent from this race.Jaydog523 comments on Special Mod Announcement: Al Jazeera wants the Reddit community's live opinion on tonight's Presidential Debate! Click here!@AJStream. i think all mitt romney did was just to attack obama.he didn't lay out much fact abt his plans on the economy.okeke lewisPundits on cable TV now tearing each other apart trying to figure out why Obama's debate performance was so lackluster. #ajstream"Kola airfinance#ajstream #TheWinnerIs #Romney mostly because #Obama had lost his debating skills after four years in White House. #Obama got ambushed.Pasha@AJStream #debate2012: winning a debate doesn't make you an effective president.Eugene Nwa Eneremadu