About TwitChange

As I understand it TwitChange is a set of eBay auctions that let’s you “buy” a slice of a celebrity’s Twitter activity. You can bid on getting them to follow you, mention you, retweet you, or all of the above. The money goes to a great cause – CARE – that helps women and girls escape poverty. What better way to celebrate International Women’s Day than working towards global social change, right?

Learn more at TwitChange

Celebrity Networks

Sure, getting a celebrity to follow, mention, or retweet you would be cool (I know I loved it when @HartHanson replied to me), but who could you reach with that single mention or retweet? In the spirit of social change, I set out to see what the networks of some celebrities on TwitChange look like to see just how much impact a winning bid could potentially buy.

Amy Brenneman

Ms Brenneman’s network is loosely connected, meaning that not many people who follow her follow each other. I could imagine that friends who follow one another on Twitter and who like Private Practice (or Judging Amy, etc.) to follow her, but the density (0.00019) of her network tells us that really individuals and not groups of friends follow her. Brenneman also has 23,450 people with 2 degrees – her followers and their followers. It’s likely that any Brenneman tweet reaches fewer people (not all of her followers retweet everything she says, obviously), but still, that’s quite a few people, especially when you compare it to your own network. Some other players (using centrality measures) in her network include @caterinatweets, @timmydaly, @kadeestrick, and @audraequalitymc. That her castmates (Caterina Scorsone, Tim Daly, KaDee Strickland, Audra McDonald) are also central in her network is not surprising – if you follow one person from Oceanside Wellness, you probably follow a couple. Here’s a quick-and-dirty rendering of @TheAmyBrenneman’s network:

In the next day or so, I hope to have similar info on the other three actors I mentioned, and I’ll render more interesting (and useful) graphs. While you wait, why not donate to CARE?

Turns out I’m not alone in liking the ad or in liking Hem. Scrivener likes Hem and appreciates the ad too. Let’s hope that the ad, and maybe Mandy Moore liking “All That I’m Good For” give Hem the boost they deserve. Go buy their music!

I’ve seen Hem twice – once at Schuba’s during a blizzard and again at the Ark on a perfectly nice evening. I’ve introduced a number of friends to their music, and I remained indebted to Elizabeth for introducing me in the first place. Sometimes I try to decide which song is my favorite, but I can never choose just one. Rabbit Songs wins for best Hem album though.

Update: The song in the commercial is “The Part Where You Let Go” written by Dan Messe. Dan wrote the wonderful “Half Acre” as well, but that’s not the song in the commercial. There you go, emailers, the answer. Enjoy!