We’ve seen the impact of social media on sporting events, but with a global event like the World Cup, we’re really seeing the reach of the matches. In the Cup’s first week from June 12 through June 18, Facebook saw 459 million, like and comments. That dwarfs what the service saw for the Super Bowl (185 million) and the Oscars (just 25.4 million).
Twitter saw 12.2 million tweets alone for the first game of tournament between Brazil and Croatia, most of that coming from the host country. One thing you may not know is that Brazil has the fifth-most Twitter accounts behind the U.S., UK, Canada and Australia.
We’ve seen how sports brings people together on social media, but to see it in such giant numbers is astounding.
We don’t have official numbers for the Luis Suarez bite in the Uruguay-Italy game, but we know the reaction was very swift.
As we reach the Knockout Round and the games get bigger, the social media reaction could get wider if that is even possible. The World Cup has become a global party and we’re all part of it.
[CNN]
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About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.