Edelman Flow140 Reveals Tweets with Greatest Velocity During State of the Union

Jokes, Jobs and Gun Control Accelerated Fastest During President's Speech

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Twitter analytics from Edelman Flow140 captured the fastest spreading tweets before they went viral during President Barack Obama's 2013 State of the Union address. Edelman's new proprietary tool provides a real-time view of the biggest conversation starters, curators and amplifiers on Twitter.

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The State of the Union project, run by Edelman's Washington DC office, showed that a humorous tweet by astrophysicist @neiltyson on Earth's impending close-call with an asteroid rapidly seized broad attention on Twitter during the President's annual address. The tweet was retweeted more than 1,300 times within seven minutes. A White House tweet on the working poor was the second fastest growing tweet, with 700 retweets in four minutes. Third was a tweet immediately following the President's emotional appeal for gun control; @NRA's pro-gun rights message was retweeted nearly 500 times in five minutes. Edelman issued an infographic that summarized the results.

"It's exciting to see our teams leverage the capabilities of Flow140 for deeper insights into Twitter conversations than were previously possible," said Jonny Bentwood, Edelman Berland's Chief Innovation Officer.

"We are applying the tool for clients, enhancing companies' knowledge of the major influencers that impact their business and helping them direct their social engagement strategies in targeted and meaningful ways," said Tod Donhauser, practice lead of the DC technology policy team.

About Edelman:
Edelman is the world's largest public relations firm, with 66 offices and more than 4,500 employees worldwide, as well as affiliates in more than 30 cities. Edelman was named Advertising Age's top-ranked PR firm of the decade in 2009 and one of its "A-List Agencies" in both 2010 and 2011; Adweek's "2011 PR Agency of the Year;" PRWeek's "2011 Large PR Agency of the Year;" and The Holmes Report's "2011 Global Agency of the Year" and its 2012 "Digital Agency of the Year." Edelman was named one of the "Best Places to Work" by Advertising Age in 2010 and 2012 and among Glassdoor's top ten "Best Places to Work" in 2011 and 2012. Edelman owns specialty firms Edelman Berland (research), Blue (advertising), A&R Edelman (technology), BioScience Communications (medical communications), and agencies Edelman Significa (Brazil), and Pegasus (China). Visit http://www.edelman.com for more information.

SOURCE Edelman