Japan Earthquake Social Media Coverage: Disaster By The Numbers (INFOGRAPHIC)

When disaster struck Japan, online reactions to the earthquake and tsunami coursed through Twitter in near-record time.

However, even with an unprecedented number of shocking disaster videos and imagery made available by the very plugged-in and technologically savvy Japanese, in 2011 the Tweets Per Second (TPS) for the disaster were still outdone by the likes of the Bet Awards, Brazil's elimination from the Copa America, the end of the women's FIFA World Cup, Steve Jobs' resignation, the MTV Video Music Awards, the Troy Davis Execution, and New Years.

For what was arguably the biggest world event of 2011, the Japan tsunami and earthquake ranked behind the hashtag #tigerblood.

Take note, Twitterverse -- In 2011, you gave more notice to a made-up drink by Charlie Sheen (at least hashtag-wise) than a mega-disaster that changed the face of a nation.

Comments

[Shep11]

06:57 AM on 03/12/2012

Are we supposed to buy into the fact that social networking sites are the true pulse on what we find to be important in life.

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to tweet about it, did it really fall?"

[Blackorpheus]

03:17 AM on 03/12/2012

Social media's prime function is not to record real-time tragedies, but to isolate us from them.

[Aurel1us]

04:09 PM on 03/11/2012

Finally proof that twitter users are generally the more vapid people in society.

[Kenz300]

02:11 PM on 03/11/2012

The nuclear disaster at Fukishima is far from over.

This disaster continues today with no end in sight.

TEPCO and the Japanese government need to allow outside monitors to report on the progress.

[Janzee12000]

10:46 AM on 03/11/2012

Are these the top 16 by volume for the year/2011? List seems truly lacking... Maybe a demographics chart of users might help explain...

[Lohikaarme]

06:31 AM on 03/11/2012

This analysis is flawed in the sense that when the earthquake and the tsunami hit japan most of Japan's twitter service was not working for a while so the Japanese themselves could not tweet much about this events until much later.

[Sing Out and Slap Iron]

10:46 AM on 03/11/2012

Ever think you may be over-analyzing this?

[yadayer]

03:30 AM on 03/11/2012

What about people's reaction to Tebow's overtime touchdown pass against the Steelers?

[Doug Earl]

11:44 AM on 03/11/2012

Maybe only Americans care about American football.

[RJB Boston]

12:38 PM on 03/11/2012

proves that evangelicals dont tweet

[Brautigan]

12:45 AM on 03/11/2012

What's the point of this? That activity on Twitter is not a good indicator of what's important in life?

No, say it isn't so!!!!!

[Janzee12000]

10:42 AM on 03/11/2012

You meany! *pouts*

[Bkaas]

12:18 AM on 03/11/2012

I wonder why our Country seems to be headed downhill...

[Sing Out and Slap Iron]

10:47 AM on 03/11/2012

Care to try to explain your post?

[Bkaas]

11:31 AM on 03/11/2012

Just the huge amount of social media interaction about meaningless junk, compared to events that actually affect our species. For instance, see MTV VMA's versus Raid on Osama Bin Laden.

[JFWaller]

01:40 PM on 03/10/2012

twitter = smalltalk for small people. Who cares?

[Sing Out and Slap Iron]

10:51 AM on 03/11/2012

I would figure someone that doesn't care about a subject wouldn't comment on a subject. What's your excuse.

[JFWaller]

03:53 PM on 03/11/2012

Just providing feedback to the forum admin (in the most obvious way I can see), to let them know that some of their readers consider this a non-story.

[CinemaItaliano]

10:02 PM on 03/09/2012

Does anyone remember when Anna Nicole was the most covered news story of the year over Iraq and Afganistan, before Twitter?

[LMDAustin]

02:00 PM on 03/10/2012

Yes, I sure do remember.

And look at this graph; the MTV awards garnered the most tweets of all.

Amazing. Simply amazing. I believe ir says something about the AGE of people tweeting, also.

[Alma Carranza]

12:46 AM on 03/11/2012

I think the VMAs had such a large number of tweets because Beyonce revealed her 'pregnancy' on the red carpet.
(yes, I did put quotes. Take it as you will.)

[grod805]

11:33 PM on 03/10/2012

Haha. I remember in high school we were going to build a new monument and every graduating class was going to have a plaque with the biggest news story that happened during that year. One of the students suggested that for that year (2007) we have Anna Nicole Smith.

That story was insane though. She gave birth, then her son died and then no one knew who the father was and then she died. All in like a couple of months.