UPDATE: Today, join IVN as we take a look back on Twitter in 2012 and the year of “firsts."

What: "A Closer Look at Twitter in 2012"

When: Today, December 6, 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern

Where: Tweetchat.com

Hashtag: #indyvote

As the second largest social network in the world, Twitter has transformed the way we interact on and offline. As the year comes to a close, we want to take a closer look at how the social network has impacted 2012. What better way to discuss the topic than by holding a tweet chat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_tpGWs7Rrc

Twitter not only responded to the current events of 2012, but shaped them. As a year of "firsts," 2012 marks the beginning of a new digital era for journalists, politicians, public figures, voters, athletes, artists, and users worldwide.

This year was the first time a presidential debate was followed on Twitter, marking the beginning of a live fact checking phenomena. In 2012, millions of Americans participated in the most tweeted about event in history: our Presidential election.

The year 2012 is also the first year in which professional athletes were disqualified from the Olympic Games because of a tweet. It marks the first time Twitter was used as a primary source for information in the days following a natural disaster.  Twitter created a space for open communication in the Middle East; not only facilitating protests, but providing the platform to live-tweet a war. In fact, the Israel Defense Force and Hamas both live-tweeted the most recent conflict.

By the numbers, the impact of Twitter is undeniable.

• The most retweeted photo in history was tweeted by President Obama on November 6, 2012: 785,000.
• 90% of Senators & House members, 42 Governors & 35 world leaders have Twitter accounts.
• People sent more than 20 million tweets about Hurricane Sandy between October 27 and November 1st. That's 7 million more tweets than were sent during the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Combined.
• Since 2011, the number of users on Twitter has more than doubled, rising from 200 million to over 500 million Twitter users.
• With over 31 million tweets, the 2012 election was the most tweeted about event in U.S. politics, peaking at 327,000 tweets per minute.