Livetweeting

Submission 7,303

Part of a series on Twitter / X. [View Related Entries]

About

Live-tweeting refers to the practice of reporting on a developing story through a series of real-time status updates on the microblogging network Twitter. While the term can be used to describe citizen journalism in the event of a crisis or personal blogging in real-time, it has become increasingly associated with summaries of overheard and often-private conversations as logged by third-party spectators for entertainment.

Origin

Live-tweeting has its roots in the news media coverage of current events, one of the earliest examples being the CNN and Facebook's joint "live-tweet" coverage^[1] during inauguration of Barack Obama in January 2009.

Spread

Throughout 2009, a number of other "live-tweeting" sessions took underway, including Twitter CEO Evan Williams' wife Sara Williams^[2] giving birth to her baby and the world's first live-tweeted surgery^[3] at The Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, as well as a conversation between an Apple store employee and a prospective iPhone customer as overheard by Chris Brogan^[4], one of the first eavesdropped live-tweets on record.

Notable Examples

In February 2010, a 27-year-old woman named Angie Jackson^[5] live-tweeted her experience of going through an abortion procedure, which drew considerable amount of controversy.

On March 26th, 2011, comedian and cast member of Community Donald Glover^[6] live-tweeted a couple apparently having sex in a Bank of America ATM booth in New York City.

On May 2nd, 2011, Pakistani IT specialist Sohaib Athar^[7] unknowingly live-tweeted about a helicopter flying near his residence in Abbottabad, Pakistan, as the United States special forces prepared to raid the compound of Osama bin Laden, eventually receiving international attention for being "the guy who accidentally tweeted the raid."

Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).
— Sohaib Athar (@ReallyVirtual) May 1, 2011

In September 2012, Arshile Dorky^[8] (@hella_brad) live-tweeted his hallucinatory experience while tripping on LSD.

Serious tweet: should I take acid and go to a frat barbeque. I trust you guys to make the right decision for me
— Arshile Dorky (@hella_brad) September 8, 2012

In April 2013, Ex-NFL star Chad Johnson^[13] live-tweeted his day of hanging with a homeless man in Miami.

Homeless dude asked for a beer, I bought him a case of a 24 n a pack of Newports, we balling together fuck it… pic.twitter.com/xDUv5krSG5
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) April 27, 2013

In November 2013, Brooklyn writer Kyle Ayers^[14] live-tweeted a couple's public breakup on his apartment rooftop.

A couple is breaking up on my roof right now. I was just trying to enjoy the view. Now I will live tweet the breakup. #roofbreakup
— Kyle Ayers (@kyleayers) November 17, 2013

Also in November, ABC producer Elan Gale^[15] staged a live-tweet hoax involving a passive-aggressive encounter with a passenger while on a delayed flight on Thanksgiving Day.

Our flight is delayed. A woman on here is very upset because she has Thanksgiving plans. She is the only one obviously. Praying for her
— elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013