Priscilla Chan Victim to Facebook Stalking

Priscilla Chan is Mark Zuckerberg's girlfriend. College News reports that she and Zuckerberg have been victims of Facebook stalking and have taken out a restraining order against the stalker, Pradeep Manukonda, 31.

Time online reports that Manukonda followed Zuckerberg home and sent him flowers along with a handwritten letter.

TMZ obtained a Facebook rant that was sent to Zuckerberg's sister Randi:

Super Bowl XVL Ticket Fiasco - Patron Speaks On It And Dallas As Host

The Dallas / Arlington Ft.Worth - but let's just say "Dallas Super Bowl" - was marred by weather, bad planning, and a ticket fiasco so talked about it wound up in David Letterman's monologue last night on Late Night With David Letterman.

Now, a patron comes forward to talk, on video, about the Super Bowl XVL Ticket Fiasco and how Dallas performed as a Super Bowl game host: my long time friend Stuart Guskind, who was one of the 500 or so people to get tickets to seats that a fire marshall has not signed off on, for some reason.  (We talked using Skype live video, Monday. Guskind was in a Dallas restaurant and had his webcam and wifi-ready laptop with him, so we made a video interview on the spot, that I recorded from Georgia.)

"Stewie," as we call him, is part of a group of friends I've been to eight Super Bowls with, going back to the 2000 Super Bowl in Atlanta, where we met. That's where I met our mutual friend, and one of my best friends now, Beth, who worked for the NFL, and also for sports agent Leigh Steinberg; Stewie has been a family friend to Beth and her brothers. So, as a whole, we've seen a lot of Super Bowls.

But Super Bowl XVL was different. Generally, because I got to within eight NFL votes of bringing the Super Bowl to Oakland, the NFL has annually allowed me to buy two tickets at face value to the game. That's gold I've never took for granted. On two occasions, I've given one of my two tickets to Stewie or one of Beth's Brothers. (Yep, given it, not taken extra money for it.)

The only one time I've sold my Super Bowl tickets was for the Jacksonville game in 2005 and because just before it, my Mom called to say she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer - I called the NFL to let them know what I was going to do. (She survived, was later declared cancer-free, and I watched Super Bowl XVL with her at home in Georgia.)

As for Super Bowl XVL, I knew it was going to be a spread out affair, and elected not to go last fall. Beth and her brothers didn't go either. That left Stewie, who took his son to his first Super Bowl experience; as you will learn, it didn't go all that well. Stewie and I talked about it for a good 30 minutes on video (I took the most usable Skype files as the recording signal kept going up and down for a time.)

So how was it for Stewie?

"We've been to about eight or nine Super Bowls (together) Zen," he said, "this was the worst." It was the worst set up I've ever seen at a Super Bowl. They were short on staff, there was no sign-up leading to gates, there were gates that were not open, people were stuck two hours waiting to get it, older people who were handicapped had a difficult time trying to get it, and if they weren't in a wheelchair, forget it. If they had a cane to walk with, they stood in line like every other slob did. It was awful. It was terribly set up."

The Fire Marshall Ticket Fiasco And Ticket Brokers

Stewie's experience was marred, first, by a Dallas cab driver strike. The shortage of cabs from the hotel he stayed at The Sheraton North Dallas (where, Stewie says, the staff was "unbelievably awesome"), to the stadium, caused him to pay $300 to get their on game day.

At first, he didn't have Super Bowl tickets, and ticket brokers, who he says "took over the Super Bowl" and ruined it for patrons, were charging upwards of $3,800 for a single ticket! Guskind was fortunate enough to happen upon a woman who won her tickets via a lottery and sold two of them to him for $1,500 each - still higher than the $800 face value, but better than what others were paying brokers for their tickets.

So he had his tickets for $3,000 and spent $300 to get to Cowboys Stadium because of gouging cab drivers, but his troubles were just beginning.

He tried to buy a ticket to The NFL Tailgate Party: an event annually held before the game on stadium grounds for the "NFL Family." I've been to three parties of this kind: in Atlanta, San Diego in 2003, and Miami in 2007, and only once did I pay a scalper the price of $50 to get a ticket. Yeah, $50 in San Diego and from a person who was waiting for people to show up, they didn't come, and I refused to pay $100 for a tailgate ticket, so I talked him into the $50 price.

Stewie wasn't so lucky. This is another example of where ticket brokers have taken over the Super Bowl.

"Brokers were charging $1,500 to $2,000 a ticket to get into the tailgate party," he said. Stewie managed to spend $200 for two tickets, so that was $400. But the way the NFL Tailgate Party - a giant pre-game event with top name performers, all the gourmet food you can eat, and celebrities everywhere -  works, you have to have your Super Bowl Game ticket and the NFL Tailgate Party Ticket to get into the it. That's where things got weirder still for Stewie.

"We wait in line for an hour," he says "we get in, we get the pat down, go in, and it (the Super Bowl tickets) comes up declined. So the supervisor comes over and says 'We've got a problem with your tickets.' From what we hear, the fire marshall hasn't signed off on your seats. So she says 'We can't allow you into the stadium.' I say 'Hold on, I've got tickets for the Tailgate Party, she says 'We don't care. We can't let you in. Your tickets have not been signed off on.' I was like, 'Hold on. You're telling me that the tickets, that we got, that someone got from the NFL; I paid for these - they're not fraudulent."

She agreed but said she could not let he and his son in. Stewie said "I'm not waiting in line again. She said 'Sir, you need to leave.' (He says) Listen, I'm not leavin'. I just waited in line for an hour-and-a-half, I'm not waiting another hour-and-a-half to get back in." Then the stadium supervisor says to Stewie that he has to go to something called "The NFL Ticket Teissuance Lot" to get reissued tickets.

Stewie said - and rightly because there's no such thing as an "NFL Ticket Reissuance Lot," she made that up - "I'm not leaving." The Supervisor said that if he didn't leave "We're going to bring the police over here, and they're going to arrest you."

Unbelievable.

The stadium screws up and threatens to arrest him, rather than help him.

So - as I predicted while Stewie was explaining what happened - they sent him to "Lot 11" and no one was there. And another security guard said the stadium people were sending patrons to Lot 11, but they needed to go to Lot 4, clear on the other side of the massive Cowboys Stadium. It took he and his Son another 20 minutes or so to walk over to Lot 4.

But once they got to Lot 4, it was fenced off. So another security guard sent them over to a trailer: the NFL Ticketmaster Trailer. That's where he got some help because Stewie says the Ticketmaster people were dealing with other patrons who were sent to them, even though it wasn't their problem. But, unlike the Cowboys Stadium people at the NFL Tailgate Party, the Ticketmaster people were kind enough to make some calls and try and help Stewie and his son.

By the time the Ticketmaster people figured out where to send him, there "was a group of about 400 to 500 irate people who just stood in line for an hour-and-a-half to two hours and just experienced the same thing we did. So there's ready to be a riot going on." he said.

So the NFL had put a tent up to help them, but that was another quarter-mile away, in an outer lot away from the stadium, and accessible via a foot bridge. (Man, the miles are starting to pile up, here.)

So once they get to this tent, "There are three NFL guys standing their. Said 'Ok we are here to get our tickets reissued.' (They said) Oh, no. We don't have any tickets for you." So Stewie asked "What are you going to do?" And the answer he said he got back from the NFL people at the tent was "We don't know."

Stewie was confused by the whole deal. After waiting for another 20 minutes, an NFL person made a call and told the crowd that developed, "Everybody in Section 426 to 430 (he said 126 to 130 in the video, but corrected himself as he talked) you're OK to go in," and then, Stewie says, "He runs away. He literally ran away."

Stewie's tickets were in Section 429 A, upper deck level. The Sections that were the problem were Sections 426 to 430, a special set of bleacher seats installed because the Dallas North Texas Super Bowl people wanted to break the Super Bowl game attendance record.

And those seats, Stewie said, were "very dangerous..and extremely steep and a little rickety.  The hall ways between the bleachers were too narrow."  He contends that the narrow passage way, combined with a lack of signage along the Cowboys Stadium stairwells, would have made it chaotic to get out of the place in an emergency.

Because of that, and the weather and staffing issues, and the cab strike, the Dallas Super Bowl 2011 was a "terrible experience" for Stewie.  He doesn't want the Super Bowl to return to Dallas, even though he thinks Cowboys Stadium itself is amazing.  I think Dallas deserves another chance, but then, unlike Atlanta in 2000, I wasn't there.

What Can The NFL Do?

The big question is what can the NFL do to avoid this problem in the future?  Well, let's take a look at what happened according to what Stewie said.  The first problem was with the lack of crisis management training to the staff at the NFL Tailgate Party.  Had the Supervisor took it upon herself to really help patrons in trouble, the "Lot 11 diversion" would not have happened.  She also treated Stewie (and perhaps others) as if they did something wrong, when they did not.

It reads and sounds like the  Supervisor at the Tailgate Party was just passing the buck, which made the ticket problem morph into a service problem.  Ticketmaster is to be commended for having people who cared enough to help, but she could have done that too.

The other problem was with the cabs and the weather and how Dallas handled it.  The Texas habit of treating cold weather as this weird thing that happens, rather than something they are prepared to deal with, has, after decades of inaction, finally caught up to them - and at a time when great planning matters most.  

Snow is a part of life in Dallas.  There should be snow-removal machines in abundance, and not just for Super Bowls.

And The Super Bowl Ticket Brokers?

Now on the matter of ticket brokers and Super Bowls, that's a hard nut to crack, but the best thing the NFL can do is have an online Super Bowl-only secondary ticket market system that has a price limit for tickets posted there.

The system would, at least in theory, deter brokers from reselling them there because the profit margin would be eliminated, and it would give those patrons who really can't use their tickets and don't want to gouge people a place to go and sell them.  

As for the seat problem at Cowboys Stadium, it reads like a last minute decision made more by the Stadium, and not the NFL.  In fact, it feels like the NFL staff may have balked at the decision to add the seats.  Knowing NFL Special Events as I do, it's hard to see them just rubber-stamping the decision to add the new seats.  

I think that's why the fire marshall was brought in so late; it seems the NFL was harmed by a last minute decision by the Dallas and Cowboys Stadium hosts all to break an attendance record that, with all of that drama, it reportedly didn't break after all.  

Stewie told me that some of the people who were part of his "fire marshall" group were sent downstairs to a basement in Cowboys stadium, where they watched the game on tape-delayed big screens and had access to a special bar.   All the better to get drunk and stew about what happened to them.

Oh, and getting transportation out of the stadium wasn't much better.  Stewie spent another $200 for a van ride back to the Sheraton.   So if you're adding this all up, that's about $4,000 - not including the hotel room - that he spent for this Super Bowl.     I've never spent anywhere close to that for any Super Bowl game week.

Sad.

Max Page an Adorable Darth Vader

One of the most memorable Superbowl Commercials was a Volkswagen commercial which featured an adorable little boy in a Darth Vader costume trying to command all that is around him.

That boy is Max Page and he is in the headlines for his role as Darth Vader in the Volkswagen commercial. The 6-year-old and his mother Jennifer went on the "Today" Show this morning to unveil that underneath the Vader mask was an adorable boy who resembled a young Anakin Skywalker.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Mike Munchak Titans New Head Coach; Perry Fewell Rooney Rule Tool

The Internet's buzzing with the news that long-time Tennessee Titans Offensive Line Coach, and Houston Oilers Legend Mike Munchak (photo at left) became the man to replace the departed Head Coach Jeff Fisher. But as Munchak celebrates his new title, New York Giants Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell (photo below) is fast becoming a "Rooney Rule" tool, having been rejected by the Cleveland Browns, the Denver Broncos, and now the Tennessee Titans.

The "Rooney Rule" was installed at the behest of Pittsburgh Steelers Owner Dan Rooney, who noted the wild imbalance between blacks on the playing field (a lot), and in the front office (too little). The problem that is to be erased is one of perception: that a person can be a better coach because his skin is light.

Ryan Isley of Cleveland.com said it best :

The “Rooney Rule” is a rule that the NFL instituted in 2003 that requires teams to interview minority candidates for their head coaching vacancies, which initially may have seemed like a good rule in principle. Unfortunately as time has gone on, the rule has become a sham.

While some claim The Rooney Rule works, it's causing a number of well-qualified minority coaches to be used over and over again as persons to talk to. The other side of the argument is that The Rooney Rule opens a wider field of possible coaching candidates, but the unfolding dynamic is that many of the white counterparts hired were not interviewed over and over again.

A Better Way

I think a better way is for the NFL to have a giant list ranking coaches by a kind of scorecard developed to eliminate possible race-bias and favoritism.  The top 10 coaches at the top of the list should form a pool of people interviewed for coaching openings.   While not perfect, the algorithm used would at least be a step in the direction of reducing human bias that's produced the problem the Rooney Rule was created to address.

Stay tuned.

Will 99ers Ever Walk Like the Egyptians?

Ask your self: Will 99ers Ever Walk Like the Egyptians? Speculation on this important issue is rampant in the Blogosphere - and the answer in great part lies with Washington D.C.

This week, Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) will be holding a Press Conference announcing a Bill to Help 99ers. Rep. Lee, Rep. Scott, and a representative from the National Economic Council will be present as well as the Co-Founder of the American 99ers Union, Gregg Rosen. Several members of the 99er Nation will be on hand in Washington D. C. Wednesday in support of The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act.

PRLOG (Press Release) - Feb 07, 2011 – The American 99ers Union is proud to announce that on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 10 a.m. EST a press conference will be held to announce the introduction of a bill that would add 14 weeks of (retro active) extended unemployment insurance for all unemployed Americans. The Press Conference is being held at the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C.

READ MORE HERE: http://prlog.org/11279670

Introducing this stop gap measure is welcome news to millions of hurting Americans who have not had UI benefits for up to a year ago, but getting Speaker Boehner to bring it to the floor might take some doing.

Even if the bill receives it due in the way of full debate and a vote in the House of Representatives, it’s passage is far from a sure thing - then there is the small matter of getting it through the Senate intact so President Obama can sign it into law ASAP. This is and has been a dire emergency situation for 11 months now and Washington seems unmoved by the utter urgency of the matter.

Weary from years of fruitless job search activities, trying to survive on nothing and every cry to Washington for help falling upon deaf ears, the millions of UI exhaustees must once again garner the fortitude and focus required to engage in the political battle which could very well determine if the 99ers will indeed ‘walk like the Egyptians.’

The Declaration of Independence references some important and timeless truths about the earliest American beliefs on the subject of human rights and what must be done when the government no longer is responsive to the universal principles laid out in this document.

........ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.......... That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness......when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism (the exercise of absolute power in a cruel and oppressive way), it is their (the people’s) right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of.....

The American people - the unemployed - the impoverished - the outsourced - the 99ers have all been suffering. Surely it is NOT yet reached the point where the people of the USA need to abolish their government, but it may be time very soon when we must take to the streets for peaceful petition and protest in large masses to make sure we the people are no longer pushed aside in favor of the lessor numbers of wealthy and big money corporate interests.

The question is what will make you leave the relative comfort and obscurity of your homes and get out there to make your needs known in a way that Washington cannot ignore?

If you are not yet there, perhaps you are not yet hungry enough, angry enough or desperate enough to do so. If that is the case then good. This means you are better off than many in America today who are not so fortunate. Or maybe we are just waiting this one last time on Washington to do the right thing and be quick about it.

Washington - Heads UP: This may well be your last chance to assure America is not the next Nation to take to the streets demanding you put main street first and help those victims of Washington’s greed and failures over the past decades. I implore you to listen to the people’s cry and HELP the 99ers NOW. It is the only humanitarian and American thing to do now!

99ers Aid Twitter Event Announced for February 15, 2011 at 8PM EST

Jason Tabrys, NY Liberal Examiner today announced his 99ers Aid Twitter Event will take place February 15, 2011 at 8PM EST

“Forsaken by the United States Government and vilified by some, America's long term unemployed, the 99ers, have strained to let their voices be heard.

On Tuesday February 15, 2011 at 8PM EST join us for #99erAID, a twitter chat designed to bring 99ers, 99er advocates, and journalists together to discuss the latest 99er news and strategy ideas for the growing, peaceful movement."

The event will be moderated by @99erAID (Examiner.com’s Jason Tabrys) and all who participate are asked to use the hash-tag #99erAID in their tweets. The hope is to trend on Twitter of course but more important than that, to inform, inspire, discuss and strategize the means to have a real positive impact to influence real solutions to this growing problem.

From Jason Tabrys’ (@99erAID ) Twitter Bio: Hosting #99erAID a twitter chat for 99ers, advocates & journalists who want to discuss the latest 99er news & strategy ideas for the growing & peaceful movement http://twitter.com/99erAID

The @99erAID twitter is up and running so all of you in Twitterville PLEASE follow him there for all updates leading to this event! I will see everyone there.

U-Cubed Launches New FaceBook Campaign

U-Cubed Launches New FaceBook Campaign - 99ers PLEASE NOTE:

On Friday, February 4th, 2011 the America was informed the National Unemployment rate had dropped to 9% after a dismal jobs growth number of less than 40K. A statistical impossibility if you only consider the jobs growth to population ratio, but the equation is based upon so many other factors. Many speculate that these numbers from the DOL are intentionally skewed by the powers that be.

Whatever the truth of the matter is, I agree with the following statement on U-Cubed’s Facebook page last Friday:

Screw the unemployment numbers. If you're unemployed, the only number that matters is 1: You! Tell Congress to stop talking numbers and start talking jobs.

The announcement came in a site wide announcement from Acting Executive Director
Ur Union of the Unemployed, Rick Sloan and read:

Dear UCubed Leaders & Activists:

The unemployment rate is now 9.0 percent. Only 36,000 jobs were gained in the month of January.

Those numbers grate on those still out of work – especially those who have exhausted 99 weeks of unemployment benefits and the 62 percent who never qualified for benefits. When you’re unemployed, the only number that counts is ONE – You.

You need a job. You need to get back to work. UCubed sees that. We’re fighting for you. Not for statistics.

UCubed renews its call for the White House and Congress to pass job-creating policies that put every American idled by this Great Recession back to work. We renew our call for a 21st century Works Progress Administration that will immediately create jobs while rebuilding our country’s failing infrastructure and manufacturing sector. And, we demand a Tier V for folks who have exhausted their 99 weeks of benefits.

It’s time Congress stop talking numbers and start focusing on real people whose lives and careers have been destroyed. Show your support for the unemployed. Head over to UCubed's page on Facebook and sign up today!

“Share” the UCubed page on Facebook by posting the link to your news feed and/or sending a message. http://www.facebook.com/ucubed

Whether or not you agree with what I am doing for the cause, I urge you all not to allow the opportunity to have behind your efforts this powerful resource of the IAM union in it’s incarnation of U-Cubed. Join the fight today and spread the word.

****See the press release at: http://www.unionofunemployed.com/blog/recent-news/ucubed-launches-new-facebook-campaign-in-response-to-january-unemployment-report/ Go there and PLEASE hit the LIKE button!!

Remember the deadline for U-Cubed State Directors nominations is rapidly approaching The beginning of March so get those forms in and stay involved. Winners get Week long Hollywood, MD training session and if elected the post duration of duties id for a 2 year term.

Darth Vader Commercial, Chrysler Detroit Commercial Top Super Bowl

What would Super Bowl XVL be without television commercials, and we had a lot of them to see and to pick from for our favorites.

For me, three stand out, two of them favorites of many: the VW Darth Vader Commercial, the Chrysler Detroit Commercial featuring Eminem, and the Stella Beer Commercial, which, while it wasn't tops, was well-liked by many, including my Mom, who I watched the game with.

The the VW Darth Vader Commercial and the Chrysler Detroit Commercial were also tops in The Brand Bowl 2011, the annual online event that asks you to pick the best commercials and the ones that were the most "engaging."

What I liked about the Darth Vader Commercial was just how the little kid was trying to use "The Force," and how his dad started the car remotely, making his son think "The Force" worked. Cute. Nice. And a cool example of just how an idea and movie created by SF Bay Area local George Lucas has become such an indelible part of American Culture.

Ah, Doritos!

But Doritos got the most Twitter Tweets for its commercials, both good and bad. For example, there was the one commercial with the black couple, where the controlling wife follows her husband around and when a young, fit, hot white blonde chic flirts with on a park bench, the wife throws something intended to hit him, but knocks her out.

Not funny, but I'd like to be a fly on the wall at a party of mostly black women to see what they thought. My Mom was more shocked and not amused by it, and didn't understand "Why they'd make a commercial like that?"

I get that they're trying to communicate the issues that some black women may have with "white girls taking their men," but to actually express that by showing harm to a girl because she's white wasn't cool at; it's also insulting toward black women.

Jillian Michaels and Danica Patrick

I also though the GoDaddy.co commercial featuring Jillian Michaels, Danica Patrick, and Joan Rivers was funny, but I couldn't help tweeting that the two sports hotties, Michaels and Patrick, were making up for not doing a Playboy spread, considering the online content that was referred to in the commercial!

CNN Ali Velshi's Mean Twitter Tweets Stop: Ali Says Feud Over

A weird kind of feud with CNN's Ali Velshi that I never started is over. And the whole deal resulted in a tweet that was an acknowledged an error on his part, and another one expressing a plan to meet at 21 Club in New York, where this video-blogger will enjoy drinks with CNN's business anchor.

It started when - as I explained here - I simply sent a Twitter tweet that a guest Ali had on his Saturday show was long winded, and talked over Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

Ali responded in a tweet-testy way, asking who made me the timekeeper. I tweeted back that I did, and decided to use the tweets as a lesson in social media.

On Sunday, after my epic blog post on this matter, and airing some issues with how CNN tends to not present black pundits, I learned that Ali was involved in a bit of a Twitter snit with a 99ers blogger named "Paladenette," who just happens to blog at Zennie62.com, and that I didn't know about before. (If you don't know, 99ers are those who need unemployment insurance beyond the 99 day limit.)

So, I sent Ali this tweet:

@zennie62 Zennie Abraham
@AliVelshi @paladinette But that's the point, Ali, I don't have ANYTHING against you. You just went off! No good reason
17 hours ago

To which Ali responded back with this:

@AliVelshi Ali Velshi
@zennie62 I got you, Zennie. I grant you a SuperBowl Sunday pardon :-)
17 hours ago

And at that point, I proposed we meet at my favorite restaurant in America: The 21 Club, at 21 West 52nd Street, in New York City.

@AliVelshi Ali Velshi
@zennie62 ok deal - next time we're in the same place, drinks on me (if you don't mind having a racist buy you a drink :-( )
17 hours ago

As I tweeted, I don't think Ali's racist, and my post was more complicated that that by far. I think there are still race-based issues to talk about with how blacks are presented on television. To put it simply, when an expert on something is needed, the pundit tends to be white, and we hear and see blacks still more often than not on black issues.

That's why ESPN is a refreshing change. Because they call on athletes as anchors, regardless of color, you get a wide range of views. And ESPN's not afraid to take on the issue of "the black athlete."

I think CNN has good intentions, but there's this issue I have of CNN all too often having blacks as "window dressing" rather than as engaging participants on a panel. Sometimes that's the fault of the black participant, waiting to be asked a question. And waiting.

But in the case of an elected official, you don't make them wait, you make sure they get a chance to talk, even if you have to draw them out. That's just protocol.

Well, that aside, the overall lesson was in how to develop buzz and content. This matter started to pick up traction because Ali's a public figure, and to a lesser extent so am I. Personally, I think we should have played out the feud for ratings.

21 Club, here we come!

NFL and Super Bowl XLV Score With Social Media

Green Bay Packers! Your 2010-2011 @NFL Champions! Good game, Steelers had a chance #SB45, originally uploaded by dennis_p.

The Green Bay Packers weren't the only Super Bowl XLV winners. The National Football League scored big too, via the advertisers who purchased time to air their Super Bowl ads, and in some cases combine them with coordinated Social Media efforts.

And Social Media platforms scored big too, especially the microblogging platform Twitter and the photo sharing site Flickr. For example, this photo was posted by dennis_p using just his Blackberry directly from Cowboys Stadium after the Super Bowl. Since dennis_p left the photo available for sharing via blogs like Blogger (another platform), that opens the way for sharing of that content via Twitter and then Facebook for those Twitter users taking advantage of the use of that app as I do.

All of this adds up to a new form of media that works to deliver information faster than standard news websites. Live blogging has been replaced by live tweeting using Twitter streaming widgets. And the game has changed from using Google track events to Twitter.

In fact the game's changed so much in Twitter's direction that a new website used the popularity of the hashtag "Superbowl" introduce itself: heapr.com.

heapr.com is a site that combines Google and Twitter searches on one page, and presents both faster than either one. So fast, it's addictive.

The Top Twitter Topics Over 30 Hours, and Glee

The Super Bow's impact can be seen in the list of the top Twitter topics over the last 30 hours according to Trendistic.com: glee, green
the packers, win, game, commercial, this, they,usher, halftime show
fergie, the black eyed peas, half time, where, best, the steelers, super bowl, christina, the superbowl, she, watching, the national anthem, your.

Of the list, one one wasn't obviously directly related to The Super Bowl and that was Glee. But Glee benefited from being the lead telecast after the Super Bowl and thus the one benefiting from a lot of ads during the game. On top of that, Glee's demographic includes those 18 to 30 and most likely to be on Twitter.

In closing the Super Bowl provides the best crucible from which to grow a social media campaign. You can go the expense route and buy ads at $3 million for a minute, or you can go boostrap as heapr.com did and become the tweet of choice for Twitters using key hashtags like "Superbowl."

Not a bad strategy.

President Obama, Super Bowl Champion Packers Coming To White House

Just over two weeks ago, President Barack Obama, perhaps trying to motivate his hometown Chicago Bears, said that he was looking forward to greeting the Monsters Of The Midway To The White House after their expected Super Bowl win.

The trouble is that was just before their NFC Championship loss to the Green Bay Packers. After the game, Cornerback Charles Woodson, in a passionate locker room speech, said that Obama expected the Bears to be at the White House, "so we're going to see Obama at The White House."

The room erupted in cheers.

Now, after a dramatic 31- 25 win in Super Bowl XVL tonight, the one fact lost in the victory is that the Packers are now due for a trip to The White House to see that greatest of Bears fans President Barack Obama.

Amazing.

Aaron Rodgers MV, and The Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl Champs

The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31 to 25 in a Super Bowl XLV game that was a nail biter to watch. Cal Bear and now Green Bay Quarterback Aaron Rodgers finally got out from under the considerable shadow of Brett Favre to earn his first ring.

Congratulations to Aaron Rodgers, who I personally watched go from an expected number one pick in the first round of the San Francisco 49ers in the 2005 NFL Draft, to become the 25th pick in the first round of the Green Bay Packers.

And that year, the Niners Offensive Coordinator was the same person who is now the coach of those Champion Packers, Mike McCarthy.

Amazing.

Aaron played with class and calm, overcoming head injuries and team injuries to march his squad through the Wild Card of The Playoffs, past the Chicago Bears in The NFC Championship, and to this Super Bowl game.

Aaron Rodgers is the Super Bowl XLV MVP.

GO BEARS!