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The Tweekender: How Hurricane Sandy dominated Twitter

More than 20 million Hurricane Sandy tweets were sent between Saturday and Thursday. Plus, more news from the week on Twitter. 

 

Kris Holt

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Posted on Nov 2, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 8:08 am CDT

With hundreds of millions of tweets per day, it’s impossible to follow everything happening on Twitter. Every Friday, the Daily Dot rounds up notable Twitter news and stories from the past week—in 140 characters or less.

  • Congratulations! You all are now sending more than half a billion tweets a day.

  • More than 20 million Hurricane Sandy tweets were sent between Saturday and Thursday. Sandy accounted for 20 percent of all searches Monday.

  • Twitter was a lifeline for many affected by Hurricane Sandy, with the NYFD social media manager playing a key role in relief efforts.

  • Early investor Chris Sacca revealed gave an insight into internal Twitter turmoil.

  • An official Twitter app for Windows 8 is on the way.

  • Here’s a look at how Twitter turns breaking news into relevant search results within 10 minutes.

  • Despite widely shared misinformation during Sandy’s East Coast impact, Twitter is not getting involved with fact-checking tweets.
  • 10 Illinois students were suspended over tweets.

  • Goosebumps author R.L. Stine wrote a terrifying tale in tweets for Halloween.
  • A Toronto Maple Leafs player adorned blackface for his Michael Jackson costume and shared a photo.

  • Nicole Scherzinger wore a not-at-all gimmicky dress that displayed tweets as fans sent them.

  • The arrest of a businessman over a Twitter comment led to a free speech debate in India.

  • Leann Rimes is reportedly ready to sue more Twitter users.
  • Justin Trudeau, angling to become leader of the Liberal Party, is slightly more liked among English-speaking than French Canadian tweeters.

  • An educator tries to follow every teacher he can.

The week’s best new accounts: Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin might well turn out to be interesting on Twitter. He isn’t yet. So far, Laura Dern has mostly tweeted about her Colorado campaigning for Barack Obama.

Photo of the week: It’s Psy and Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey. Little more needs to be said. (@psy_oppa)

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*First Published: Nov 2, 2012, 6:53 pm CDT