How Did You Follow the Debate?

I found this article interesting, specifically the point regarding how people consumed the Presidential debate. 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57526885-93/friday-poll-how-much-of-the-debate-did-you-follow-on-twitter/

The article begins by discussing how, during the Presidential Debate last Wednesday, the phrase "Big Bird" was a tweeted 17,000 times a minute after the topic of cutting funding from PBS was raised.  It goes on to say that Twitter launched a dedicated page for the debates and last Wednesday's debate generated 10 million tweets, making it the most-tweeted political event in history.

The author mentions how many people did not even watch the debates at all, but got their debate updates via Facebook or Twitter.  The author admits he watched the debate with his iPad on his lap, so he could watch the Social reaction while the debate was occurring.    

I think Social media is a funny mechanism because on one hand, people are interacting through a machine and not having personal, in-person contact, which often allows people to say things in these forums that they might not say if the person was standing in the room with them.  Further, if people are not watching an event, but are just monitoring an event via Social media, they are solely depending on the interpretations of other people.  This is concerning as the speed of information is so fast now, should something inaccurate be posted, people often run with that incorrect information.  Yet, at the same time, Social media, when used in tandem with television or a live experience, allows users to immediately post opinions and immediately get feedback, whereas if someone watched it at home without the internet, people would have to exchange opinions much later in person and points may get lost or forgotten.  In the end, as long as people stay cognizant of the source of information and still stay informed directly themselves without depending on other people's opinions or interpretations, Social media has become a great way to exchange information.