Twitter giveth, and Twitter taketh away. The social-networking site — which links users (yes, you, John Mayer) via 140-character mini-blog posts — has already been blamed for hastening the demise of Brüno, which opened on a Friday to $14.4 million and sank like a stone the next day. Now marketers are trying to use the texting site to their advantage. On the first night of Comic-Con, Sony Pictures stacked an audience with movie bloggers and screened the low-budget, R-rated sci-fi flick District 9. By 11:39 that night, audience members' Twitter raves had reached American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, who posted ''Omg I Want to See District 9 asap'' to her 220,000-plus followers. A Web sensation was born.
Will that buzz turn into box office? We'll know when the movie opens Aug. 14. Until then, Twitter lets execs — like Sony's marketing co-president Marc Weinstock — know instantly whether their efforts are working: ''It's lightning-quick feedback.''
Add your comment
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.