Super Bowl sets new tweets per second record

As the Giants rallied to victory over the Patriots at last night’s Super Bowl, a new tweets per second record for a sporting event was registered, reaching 12,233 in the dying moments of the game.

During the final three minutes alone, Twitter recorded an average of 10,000 tweets per second. Madonna’s half-time performance helped Twitter record an average of 8,000 tweets per second for a five minute period, peaking at 10,245.

Super Bowl 2011 peaked at 4,064 tweets per second, meaning this year’s record eclipsed last year’s by around 200%.

The previous tweets per second record for a sporting event was registered during the Women’s World Cup final between Japan and the United States last summer, reaching 7,196 tweets per second.

The all-time tweets per second record was set by none other than the Japanese, reaching 25,088 during the premiere of Japanese movie Castles in the Sky.

Other records include the 2011 Japanese New Year at 6,939 tweets per second, Steve Jobs’ death at 6,049, Bin Laden’s murder at 5,106, Japan’s earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 at 5,530 and the British Royal Wedding last year at 3,966 tweets per second.

Will this summer’s London Olympics put all these to shame?