If I lived just one mile further south than my home in Guildford my MP would be Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, until today famous only for looking like a cross between a nodding dog and a frightened rabbit caught in the headlights.
That all changed just before 8:00 AM this morning, and within an hour the MP was showing at number 5 in the worldwide trending statistics on Twitter. One place ahead of him was James Naughtie of the Radio 4 Today programme who had inadvertently catapulted Mr Hunt to worldwide fame. Just half an hour later, Andrew Marr came in at number 6 in the Twitter charts after he repeated Mr Naughtie’s spoonerism.
This all shows just how fast the Twitter world reacts to events, whether amusing or serious – and shows why companies who are serious about their image pay very close attention to what happens on Twitter and take steps to react to it.
To give Jeremy Hunt full credit, he was rapidly on Twitter himself, tweeting “They say prepare for anything before going on Today but that took the biscuit… I was laughing as much as u Jim or shld I say Dr Spooner”. A great example of how to use Twitter to react positively and turn an embarrassing moment to his advantage.
