If you’re like most of the world, you had a few moments of pure nostalgia on Google this morning after catching wind of their interactive tribute to Pacman. How did you do? I made it to level two!
The page and concept itself is absolutely a new level of genius for Google—who has entertained users with creative “Google Doodles” since 1999.
But was there more than mere creativity behind Google’s home page this time?
Where did you first find out about Google’s playable Pacman page? I found out through Twitter contacts and began spreading the word on Facebook. I assumed I was spreading “old news,” when, in fact, most of my Facebook and Twitter connections had no idea about Google’s move. What? They hadn’t visited Google yet either today?
The fact is, social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook are becoming our first source for news these days, not Google. We log in each morning to get “the latest buzz” from friends, contacts and connections.
So, was Google’s move a calculated attempt to infiltrate the Social Networks with their own buzzworthy news?
It will be interesting to see how the numbers play out over the next few days.
At this hour (1:19pm Eastern) , TwitScoop‘s “Hot Trends” shows that Google-related Tweets have taken an immediate spike and are dominating the network.
Mentions of "Google" on Twitter (Source: Twitscoop)
Google and Pac-Man Related Terms (Source: TwitScoop)
But, Google’s spike in activity doesn’t stop with Twitter. According to Social Mention’s Trend Report, mentions of Google are spiking across the networks!
Mentions of "Google" across Social Networks (Source: Social Mention)
So, tell us, where did you first hear about Google’s Pac Man Page?
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