Friday Poll: How much of the debate did you follow on Twitter?

Twitter hosted a debate tweet explosion.

(Credit: Screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET )

Twitter launched a new star during the presidential debate on Wednesday, but he wasn't wearing a suit and tie. Big Bird from "Sesame Street" was the subject of an explosion of tweets after the topic of cutting funding to PBS came up between President Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney.

There was a point during the debate where the phrase "Big Bird" was tweeted 17,000 times a minute. That's some serious action for a fictional creature. He also spawned a slew of satirical accounts. This all just goes to show how Twitter has turned into a thermometer for hot news topics.

Anticipating the eminent hoopla, Twitter launched a dedicated page for the debates. All in all, the debate generated 10 million tweets, making it the most-tweeted political event in history.

This brings us to an interesting crossroads in how people are getting their news. Some folks I ... [Read more]