Archives for posts with tag: twitter

In case you haven’t heard or seen, Super Bowl XLV TV coverage begins on Fox Sports at 2 p.m ET today, with the kickoff at 6:29 p.m. ET.

Fans, sponsors, and more are pulling out the stops for what’s being described as a classic matchup between two old-school, cheerleader-less football franchises in an unexpectedly icy stadium.

For a sport that has never failed to capture national attention, it’s interesting to see the size of each team’s respective fan nations are in landmass — and to notice how the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers areas are almost evenly matched.

Here’s graphic designer Jared Fanning‘s take:

The United States of Football by Jared Fanning

A slightly different, visually exciting version was posted on I Love Charts:

The United States of Football, from I Love Charts

National spectacle knows no bounds, however, and Visa, smartly, is taking advantage with dynamic visualizations of Twitter chatter, including a look at football-related trending topics in the days leading up to today’s big game:

Visa Super Bowl Twitter trending topics map

Not everyone will be focused on Super Bowl pre-game coverage, or at least that’s what Animal Planet is counting on.

The Puppy Bowl is back, offering entertainment to those who prefer tumbling fuzzy animals to the charging bulls of the gridiron. Broadcast starts at 3 p.m. ET (tape delayed to 3 p.m. Pacific).

Meanwhile, advertisers have put up big bank to be a part of today’s big game. “Fox was seeking between $2.8 million and $3 million for 30 seconds of time,” writes AdAge, which rounds up facts on all the spots.

Reporting has always been about digging for facts, finding people to talk with, and gathering visual and aural accounts. Now that broadband is widespread, the tools have changed.

This Saturday, I’ll be in South Florida teaching an Online News Association workshop on where to go and what to use to mine, crowdsource, and distribute stories. It’s part of ONA’s free all-day Parachute Training program. Today’s the last day to register.

As I put the finishing touches on my talk, I’d like to know:

  • Which tools and methods are most effective for you? Twitter and Facebook for querying, discussing, and linking are two. Others?
  • Are there specific tasks you want to figuring out? For example, how to filter through many streams of information to find gold?

Leave a comment, or reply to me @MacDivaONA on Twitter.