Casey Anthony Trial: Social Media Let Us All Be Pundits

Social media are to the Casey Anthony case what cable television was to O.J. Simpson's: The technology made both murder trials available to the masses.

The nation watched — or could have watched — the eight-month televised murder trial of the pro-football player in 1995, forever changing the way the public participated in the U.S. judicial system.

And now it's happening again, according to a story by Bianca Prieto at orlandosentinel.com.

The omnipresent Internet — coupled with social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook and LiveChats that bring people together virtually — is providing a global audience a front-row seat to the biggest trial in Central Florida history.

In 140 characters, tweeps can #hashtag their way into the never-ending conversation on @Twitter.

Through the social-media site Twitter, where users can instantaneously post short musings or links to other websites or photos, millions of "tweeps" — as the users are called — can let their followers know what's on their minds sometimes using hashtags (#CaseyAnthony) to connect with others on the same topic.
With the click of a mouse, they can also use Facebook to instantly publish their thoughts about the trial to their online friends.

Or, if really invested, they can watch the live-streaming video and then discuss (and sometimes argue) with strangers in the Orlando Sentinel's online-chat room — which has attracted up to 124,680 people per day.

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