Social Media and the Presidential #Debates

Now that the Presidential debates are over, it's time to discuss how social media fared while the debates raged on.

First and foremost, I'd like to say that both camps were quick to Tweet and post material about the debates on their respective social media sites, even while the candidates were still in the midst of debating. It makes my heart sing to see how social media continues to develop into a major political tool.

This being said, let's recap on why social media was the clear winner of the 2012 Presidential debates.

· The Numbers Don't Lie: A combined 12.24 million comments and Tweets were made on Facebook and Twitter during the second debate alone. That is a lot social media activity for an hour and a half event. What's notable here is that people flocked to social media sites to share opinions, comments, and rally around each other. That kind of unity is powerful and noteworthy.

· Topping the Social Media Charts: According to this article from the Washington Post, the second Presidential debate was the top political debate of all time on social media. In fact, the second debate was ranked as the third most talked about event in general on social media, while the first debate came in fifth place. That means two of the top five spots for most popular events on social media go to the 2012 Presidential debates.

· Romney's "Binders Full of Women" Remark : As far as social media buzz goes, this remark from the debates takes the cake. When explaining how he staffed his cabinet as governor during the second debate, Governor Romney stated that he looked through "binders full of women" to hire female employees. As a result of this remark, Binders Full of Women began trending on Twitter and became an instant "meme". The phrase even spawned a Facebook page, which gained 300,000 "likes" in less than 24 hours. Need I say more?

· Romney's "Big Bird" Jab: During the first debate, Governor Romney generated even more social media buzz when he stated that he would cut funding from PBS, specifically commenting that Big Bird "has to go". Romney's comments inspired countless "memes" and prompted liberal blogger Cale Crout to create a fake Big Bird Twitter that dishes out anti-Romney Tweets. Once again, all debate responses turned to social media.

· Obama’s “Horses and Bayonets” Comment: During the third debate, Romney stated that the U.S. Navy now has fewer ships than it did in 1916. Obama’s response? “Well Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military has changed.” Bayonets quickly began trending on Twitter after Obama’s zinger, and an array of Bayonet “memes” has hit the internet. Once again, social media users flocked together during these debates to express their opinions on their favorite social sites.

No matter which candidate you're voting for this November, there is no denying that regardless of how the votes swing, social media has had an outstanding election season.