As paralympian Oscar Pistorius heads to the North Gauteng High Court today, the rest of the world will head to social media sites, especially Twitter, for blow-by-blow bite-sized updates and as a platform to express their opinions.
Interest in Pistorius' trial has been ramping up since the beginning of February, with more than 13 000 conversations from 7 000 people - some 2 000 of which happened in the last 24 hours alone, notes Fuseware.
As his trial, for the alleged murder of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day last year, gets under way, Fuseware expects more people to join the conversation and as many as 100 000 conversations on Twitter alone by the end of the week.
The event is expected to be a tipping point for social media use in SA and is generally regarded as the social media event of the year, with the potential to grow the local Twitter base by as much as an additional third, according to World Wide Worx.
Hashing it out
Hashtags #OscarTrial and #OscarPistorius are likely to trend again on the first day of the case, which turned the world's gaze on SA's justice system. Twitter will be the de facto source of news, and publications will use this to their advantage to drive traffic.
Media houses started setting up equipment over the weekend and journalists posted pictures of their positions outside the High Court precinct, which was a hive of activity this morning in the build-up to the trial's start.
The trial begins just hours after the Academy Awards - also known as the Oscars - ended in the US, and many users have made reference to this as attention turned to SA. "Time for the real Oscars," says @MrThiaps, under the hashtag #OscarTrial.
Twitter will also be the stage for many to post comments about the trial, and thought leaders that are found to be reliable, such as Eyewitness News journalist Barry Bateman, will be closely followed. The trial will be the first such high profile case to be laid out on Twitter. This has already led to tweets from those reflecting on the intense social media scrutiny and public interest.
@Brendon_Shields: "How things have changed. Full on court hearing right here on our timeline second for second. Wouldn't want to be in his shoes!"
Many users are likely to be glued to their timelines for most of the day. "Don't wanna go to work!!!! #OscarTrial," adds @TES_V28.
But even before the trial started, some users were already fed up with all the coverage. @mia_tessy: "Honestly, I'm getting irritated with seeing and hearing about the #OscarTrial. It's everywhere!!!"
Oscar trial account
The athlete's media management team set up a Twitter account last week to cover all aspects related to the trial.
The @OscarHardTruth account - which has more than 29 400 followers - was described by media spokesperson Anneliese Burgess as "a key outlet of information" intended to be a "factual sharing platform".
However, the immense public interest surrounding the trial has resulted in numerous dubious social media accounts linked to Pistorius, one of which was mistaken for a message from the athlete before his court appearance.
A message posted on the Oscar Pistorius-Official Facebook yesterday page was quoted by local and international media, but was dismissed as untrue by Pistorius' media team. "The so-called 'Oscar Pistorius Official' Facebook page is fake. We have reported it to Facebook and are attempting to have it shut down," said Pistorius' team.
Pistorius was quoted as saying: "Thank You for the continued support and words of encouragement during this difficult time. The team behind the Facebook Page (Oscar Pistorius-Official) and the Twitter page; I really appreciate the time, dedication, and effort that you put into letting the nation share their support, love, and encouragement. I will try to respond to personal messages as best I can. Again Thank You. -Oscar #OP" [sic]
The page has 605 "likes" and mainly features messages of support for Pistorius, as well as links to previous interviews and achievements. "He is not alone in this journey. We are out there. Sharing, caring, tweeting, praying and always, always believing in him," one user says.
Unprecedented
Fuseware MD Mike Wronski says interest is "ramping up very quickly". He notes there has been a consistent rise in the conversation level, which has spiked on the back of big news events - such as on 14 February this year when the average volume increased ten-fold.
Wronksi says because of the open nature of Twitter, everyone has a stage and will take to the platform to put their opinions out there. He notes publishers will take advantage of the medium to drive traffic and generate copy by aggregating tweets that they will republish.
Media covering the trial will be most influential tweeters, while Bateman (@barrybateman) has so far received the most mentions, says Wronski. He says reliable thought leaders will quickly pick up followers as the trial unfolds on Twitter - the first time the media service will be used in such a way.
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says the trial will be a tipping point for social media in SA and is expected to add between a million and two million new users to the South African base of six million.
Goldstuck says the trial will rival conversations around Nelson Mandela's death late last year. Fuseware notes Pistorius was the second-most talked about event on Twitter in 2013, eclipsed only by Madiba's death and the events around that.
Other social media sites - such as Facebook, Google + and YouTube - will also see traffic gains, says Goldstuck. He adds much of the coverage of the trial will be posted onto YouTube. "There's no question it will be the event of the year."
Last week, the North Gauteng High Court ruled Pistorius' trial may be unobtrusively broadcast via small, unmanned spy cameras, setting a significant precedent for SA, and the world at large.
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