On Monday, October 4th the internet experienced a whirlwind blackout from the headquarters of social media giant Facebook. All around the world users were trying to refresh their Instagram feed, post status updates to Facebook, and message friends on WhatsApp. The thing is, the code that was merged early Monday morning to push a new update across the tech conglomerate’s platform(s) actually shut down every single social app owned by Facebook Inc. Instantly turning off the most frequently used social media platforms and apps around the globe in one click, users were both confused and intrigued with the madness. Leaving only YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter left with the lights on for the 6 hour blackout the chatter moved to a traditional place of communication, Twitter.
By noon time, an hour into Monday’s social media blackout, the words “Facebook” and “Instagram” had been tweeted over one million times placing it at the top of the Twitter Trending page internationally. With no other socials to run to in order to fact check the Instagram outage, users migrated quickly to Twitter to talk about what was going on. Being the big conversation pit that the platform is, it felt like a home team win for many long time Twitter users, and a rare appearance for those who seldom tweet.
As a long time Twitter user, I can say this will go down in history as one of the most comedic days on the platform. With no knowledge of what caused the outage or how long it was going to last; conspiracies flew around and memes were generated by the minute. Users had a field day knowing that there was no in-the-moment plan of return for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Messenger. Social media managers rushed to their phones and laptops to publish an array of tweets falling in the categories of humor, satire, and confusion. Playing on the fact that just about every social media online at the time was bound to communicate via Twitter for the duration of the day, the official Twitter account kicked off the fun by tweeting a very subtle hello… to literally everyone
hello literally everyone
— Twitter (@Twitter) October 4, 2021
Within minutes the tweet accumulated over one million likes. At the time, the official Twitter account had 58.1 million followers. Over the course of the day that number increase by 2.1 million, all coming from the hilariously simple tweet sent off from their twenty-something year old social media manager. If you aren’t an avid Twitter user this may sound foreign to you, but nearly every major brand that has a Twitter presence is known for hiring a millennial copywriter to run and curate tweets from their Twitter account. This keeps their tweets on-brand while still being able to be noticed. Incoming: just about every single social media manager on Twitter who brought us an immense amount of joy and humor throughout Monday’s Facebook and Instagram outage.
A round of applause for all the brand accounts that chimed into the conversation under Twitter’s Hall Of Fame “hello to literally everyone” tweet that brought comedy and an on-brand essence to the timeline during Facebook’s outage Monday. Here are some of our favorites:
Instagram Joined the Conversation Right Away with Weary Eyes
Hi and happy Monday 😵💫
— Instagram (@instagram) October 4, 2021
We’ve All Been There, Teams
*unmutes mic*
Hey everyone.
— Microsoft Teams (@MicrosoftTeams) October 4, 2021
On Brand Tweet of the Day by Zoom
hi can everyone see my screen
— Zoom (@Zoom) October 4, 2021
Let Twitter Drive the Hot Dog Car
can we have the keys to the hot dog car
— Twitter (@Twitter) October 4, 2021
The Penguins Have Joined the Conversation
Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave. pic.twitter.com/8e4YVP3bHf
— DreamWorks Animation (@Dreamworks) October 4, 2021
We’ll Take 59 Million Chicken Nuggets
hi what can i get u
— bubba wallace stan account (@McDonalds) October 4, 2021
Brady’s Account Manager Doesn’t Miss
NFL Passing Facebook &
Yards Record Instagram🤝
Broken
— TB12sports (@TB12sports) October 4, 2021
Twitter Founder @Jack ‘s Honorary WhatsApp Jab
thought this was supposed to be encrypted…
— jack⚡️ (@jack) October 4, 2021
Metallica Has a Twitter!?
HEYYYYYY-AHHH!
— Metallica (@Metallica) October 4, 2021
Twix & Dell… Having a Sidebar?
Did the left or right Twix tweet this? Inquiring minds want to know.🤔
— Dell (@Dell) October 4, 2021
Are We World Record Breakers?
Record for most people on twitter at once has probably been smashed by now 👀
— #GWR2022 OUT NOW (@GWR) October 4, 2021
Just Did It!
Got ‘Em
— Nike.com (@nikestore) October 4, 2021
Rounds on Budweiser!
Let’s all go to the bar.
— Budweiser (@budweiserusa) October 4, 2021
Same, Oreos. Same.
Just here to read the replies
— OREO Cookie (@Oreo) October 4, 2021
Afterparty & Burgers, Anyone?
we’re a little late here but we’re open 24/7 in case there’s an afterparty
— Whataburger® (@Whataburger) October 4, 2021
6 Hours No Instagram Feels Like a Lifetime
How long this day has felt pic.twitter.com/fCQV7dl9Eo
— adidas (@adidas) October 4, 2021
Amazing Call to Action, AutoZone
Now is a good time to go check-in on your check engine light.
— AutoZone (@autozone) October 4, 2021
Great One, IHOP
Pancakes never crash
— IHOP (@IHOP) October 4, 2021
And It’s True, Everyone Working in Social Is Human
Sup. We’re doing laundry and tweeting. What’s everybody else up to?
— Samsung US (@SamsungUS) October 4, 2021
At the end of the day, it’s nice to see that Twitter is a place where brands can all join in on the conversation in a way that fits their image, tone, and identity. These tweets act not only as humor, but as a friendly reminder that social media is a place entirely ran by Creators. The humanizing aspect to these tweets brings a new perspective to how social media users view these brands and how they feel about them when they encounter them in their every day lives. But, we can’t stop at just highlighting Brands doing well. This is Glewee, we’re here for the every day Creators, too! Here’s some user generated content that get some honorable mention:
Memes From The Moon!
It’s not working here either pic.twitter.com/QEos6ywvDz
— Terry Virts (@AstroTerry) October 4, 2021
What’s Breaking the Internet More: Squid Game or Instagram Being Down?
— TarIk (@TTarekoo) October 4, 2021
This Did Numbers
When Instagram & Facebook are down. pic.twitter.com/mVFlVOOCOC
— Netflix (@netflix) October 4, 2021
Spirit Halloween Taking over Silicon Valley FAST
wow they move fast pic.twitter.com/FmsPJURgEp
— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) October 4, 2021
Not the Intern!!!!
its my first day interning at facebook guess what i just did LMAOOOOOOO
— myesha thee stallion (@myeshachou) October 4, 2021
Honestly, Imaginable…
Mark zuckerberg right now. 😂 pic.twitter.com/CaMX9fqzWy
— Thoha Yasin 🇲🇻 (@ThohaYasin) October 4, 2021
Always Bet the Home Team
— تركي الثابت (@tut2b) October 4, 2021
We’ll End with Gordon Signing Off!
— Gordon Ramsay (@GordonRamsay) October 4, 2021
This should help give some insight on how to stay in the conversation as a Brand across all social media platforms… even when some of them are down. If you would ever like to connect and collaborate with Creators on Twitter to turn your products / services into relatable, meme worthy content feel free to reach out and Glewee will do what Glewee does best: use the voice of Brand Advocates to make your Brand memorable on social media.
Article By Christian Brown & Anthony Tzortzis
