By Sal Gentile and Madeleine Martino Fox
A key component of the success of Up w/ Chris's first year has been our incredible online community. Each week, thousands of smart, dedicated fans gather on Twitter to join our on-air discussion. They call themselves #uppers, and the growth of the hashtag has been nothing less than a phenomenon.
Mentions of the #uppers hashtag on Twitter have skyrocketed from just 11 the first time the hashtag was used in October 2011 to over 7,000 when Paul Ryan was announced as Mitt Romney's running mate in August. And the hashtag trends nationally for virtually the entirety of every episode of Up w/ Chris. As The New York Times put it in a profile of the show in June, "Like Deadheads or Trekkies, fans of the program cluster under a common nickname: Uppers."
To celebrate our one-year anniversary last weekend, we flew Wyeth Ruthven, the creator of the #uppers hashtag, to New York to watch the program -- and to tabulate his well-known hourly counts of #uppers mentions -- from the Up w/ Chris studio. While he was here, we talked to Wyeth about the birth and stunning growth of the #uppers hashtag, the milestones in the growth of the #uppers community and how the weekly #uppers conversation has changed the way viewers interact with the show. As Wyeth put it: "Up with Chris Hayes is like a conversation with footnotes."
:: Sal Gentile (@salgentile) is a segment & digital producer for Up w/ Chris Hayes, and Madeleine Martino Fox is a video producer. ::
Leave a Comment:
I am glad Wyeth founded and has done such good work for this phenomenal community. It has been a great pleasure of mine to be an #upper since Nov. 19th 2011. I might have lost hope for our nation ever recovering from it's delusional malaise without the beacon of sanity that is UpWithChrisHayes and #uppers. Thanks everybody!
Is Chris Hayes a Democrat? Is Chris Hayes a member of a political party. Is he a member of the Green party?
Chris is pretty up-front with his views. If you watch the show you'll learn a lot more about his politics than a party affiliation would tell you.
What's Wyeth's twitter handle?
Speaking as a senior citizen I love Chris's passion..I am usually too busy in the am but I make sure I sign into my computer and hear him discuss the issues with his panels..This is scary times but chris and his community gives me some hope which I need for the sake of my grandchildren..
Adinal- It's @wyethwire
Hey Chris! You're the greatest new interviewer on tv (I watch you on the web as I actually have trouble getting my caffeine levels up enough to keep up with you early in the morning). I have one favor to ask: Please take that tray of donuts and pastries off the table. As someone on a low carb diet and for whom those goodies are verboten, it's terribly distracting. I find myself dreaming about pastries... and then 'no, must listen to what Chris and his guests are saying!' and then back to the doooonnnnuts....! Ack!!
How about a nice bowl of oranges, apples, grapes and lemons instead? :) It'd be more colorful....