As Ferguson exploded, so did Twitter with 3.5M Tweets

Steven Loeb · November 25, 2014 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/3aa3

Here are some of the most enduring from last night's protests around the country

Last night, after a Grand Jury voted not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, the country seemed to explode in anger and violence, with rioting, looting and burning buildings.

There were images on my television that I never thought I'd see. While it made me very sad to see that type of anger and aggression boil over into such actions, but even sadder that for many of them they likely felt there was no other way to express how they were feeling. This was not opportunism, as some would have you believe, but desperation.

For those not brave enough to actually go out onto the streets (and who could blame them?) they turned to their next best resource: Twitter.

In all, Twitter has revealed that there were 3.5 million tweets sent out about the decision, and that was by 11 P.M. Central Time on Monday night.

There have been over 3.5 million Tweets tonight mentioning the #Ferguson decision https://t.co/RqFRGgqSW7
— Twitter Data (@TwitterData) November 25, 2014

At its peak, over 52,000 tweets were being sent out per minute.

In addition, Twitter also released a heat map, showing the areas with the most activity. There are lot of tweets going out, until are 20:00. That's when it goes nuts.

I want to take a minute to compare the reaction to Ferguson on Twitter last night to other recent events. This year's Oscars, for example, saw total of 8.9 million tweets sent out, peaking at 85,300 Tweets per minute (TPM). The Freguson riots did, however, beat out this year's Super Bowl on Twitter, which saw 24.9 millon Tweets, but a peak of 381,000 Tweets per minute.

The message you should take from that: America still really needs to get its priorities straight.

And, finally, here are some of the most enduring images, and Tweets, from last night's protests:

Follow the #Ferguson @reddit live feed so you don't miss any updates. https://t.co/jlhiwL8BpS pic.twitter.com/01JRhlA8TC
— Alexis Ohanian (@alexisohanian) November 25, 2014

PHTOOS: Protests erupt across America after the #Ferguson grand jury announces its decision. https://t.co/OxrSVK3kJz pic.twitter.com/vcb7XSlWVg
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) November 25, 2014

.@Macklemore marches in Seattle to protest #Ferguson and Michael Brown verdict https://t.co/XcjKYp6gAE pic.twitter.com/QL9RpAGl61
— billboard (@billboard) November 25, 2014

#Ferguson: CNN Reporter Sara Sidner Hit by a Rock Live on Air https://t.co/woUhNr1AWM pic.twitter.com/KDvVvXdQKm
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) November 25, 2014

now everybody after all this is over make sure to tweet about it for 2 days and then forget it ever happened like we do every time #Ferguson
— Chris Rock (@ozchrisrock) November 25, 2014

PHOTO: A firefighter surveys damage in #Ferguson. Live updates: https://t.co/hehN7sutO7 pic.twitter.com/TtushwGsxH
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) November 25, 2014

“As long as these types of things keep happening, we'll keep seeing more nights like last night in #Ferguson.” https://t.co/wDnrQ8Aiyn
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) November 25, 2014

How events unfolded in #Ferguson in the days and weeks after Michael Brown's death: https://t.co/tpKwcHjil7 pic.twitter.com/Y949d7GdDS
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 25, 2014

The system enables young black men to be killed behind the mask of law #Ferguson #tippingpoint #change
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) November 25, 2014

As a society how do we do better and stop things like this happening time after time!! I'm so sorry to… https://t.co/VTe0rwXeek
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 25, 2014