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MTV Awards Beat Obama and DNC on Twitter

An already social-media-dominating Democratic National Convention hit its highpoint last night (Sept. 6), culminating in a Twitter record-setting speech by President Barack Obama as he accepted the party nomination.
/ Source: TechNewsDaily

An already social-media-dominating Democratic National Convention hit its highpoint last night (Sept. 6), culminating in a Twitter record-setting speech by President Barack Obama as he accepted the party nomination.

[SEE ALSO: If Obama-Related Tweets Were Votes, Would He Win?]

But the hashtag #dnc2012, in fifth place, was no match for #vma, as MTV's Video Music Awards show, airing concurrently with the convention, easily took first. And though many people were thinking about the presidential election, even more were wrapped up in the MTV election, with #voteonedirection and #votebieber both placing ahead of #dnc2012, according to Twitter analytics site Statweestics this morning (Sept. 7).

Music fans tweeted in votes for the most sharable video, with new band One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" beating Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" by nearly 1.5 million tweets (which would be a huge victory in a swing state). Curiously, viral-video sensation Carly Rae Jepsen was far, far behind in fourth place, with " Call Me Maybe."

Bing (#bing), Microsoft's search engine, took second place. It sponsored the VMA Twitter vote.

Still, the DNC was a giant on Twitter in the political arena. According to Twitter's official blog, the convention generated more than 9.5 million tweets, more than double the Republican National Convention. And yesterday's 4 million was about equal to the entire RNC event.

Obama’s acceptance speech set a new record for political moments: 52,756 tweets per minute right after the speech concluded. Some highlight tweet counts, according to Twitter:

  • 43,646: “I'm no longer just the candidate, I'm the President”
  • 39,002: “I will never turn medicare into a voucher”
  • 38,597: Discussing Medicare
  • 37,694: “We don’t think government can solve all our problems…”
  • 34,572: Quips about the Olympics and “Cold War mind warp”

[SEE ALSO: How to Make Your Own Memes]

Though not always known as a smooth talker, Vice President Joe Biden also caused a stir — in a good way. He led out of the gate with a tribute to his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, who had just spoken before him, recalling his five proposals before she said "yes," and calling her Jilly.

‏Twitter user @michonblog wrote, "Biden just said 'grandpops.' Between that and Jilly, I'm in love. Gaffe away, Joe. I'll forgive you, always."

And @metroadlib wrote, "'you're the love of my life and the life of my love.' joe biden to 'jilly' biden. heart. skips. beat."