C-SPAN Turns 30

Written by Boyce Upholt on March 19, 2009, 10:58 AM

According to C-SPAN, the Twitter era really began 30 years ago, when the in-session exploits of congressmen were first revealed to voters through live television coverage. Of course, in today's era of Internet voyeurism, 30 years seems like old age and the network's staid coverage just doesn't offer the acess that modern constituents, weaned on congressional reality shows and blogged recipes of Senatorial spinach, have come to expect.

But a look at the numbers shows that for all of Twitter's flash and high profile, its users make up just one small niche of voters. C-SPAN, in a poll conducted in January, reports a whopping 39 million viewers who tune in at least once or twice a week. Twitter, according to Compete.com, has 6 million unique monthly visitors.