I blogged last week about how cool it was to watch the inauguration online and communicate with friends via Facebook at the same time. I got this email from Iconoculture this afternoon talking about just how many people went to the web to participate in the event.
More than a million citizens packed into every nook and cranny of the National Mall last week to watch now-President Obama take the oath — but also groundbreaking was the throng of proud Americans who enjoyed the event via technology.
Internet video supplier Akamai Technologies reported a record 7.7 million viewers who watched the event via live streaming; CNN.com posted Facebook status updates, earning 27 million pairs of eyeballs; and Twitter messages were flying at a rate of five times the norm per second (AP 1.21.09).
Still, the online experience was not unlike Chief Justice Roberts' version of the oath: a bit rocky. Viewers on streaming websites like Hulu and CBS were bogged down by stuttering pictures and long login delays. At the root of the tech hiccups was the overwhelming surge of netizens heading online in unison. And the en masse infusion illustrates that the desire of consumers to engage in a digital setting is universal.
President Obama has earned the moniker of the first "Digital President," thanks to an administration that burst onto the social media scene (YouTube, dedicated websites, Facebook). Some say the key to his election success was communication via multiple tech platforms. The People have spoken. Are you listening?
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