textually.org: Cell Phones, Social Media and the Casey Anthony Trial

July 7, 2011

Cell Phones, Social Media and the Casey Anthony Trial

Casey Anthony is to social media what O.J. Simpson was to cable TV, according to Know Your Cell.

The Casey Anthony trial has been compared to the courtroom dramas of O.J. and the Menendez brothers-a full-fledged legal spectacle within a media circus firestorm. The use of smartphones and social media were huge players in adding contemporary fuel to this sensationalist trial; bringing this case to the forefront of national attention and emphasizing how our modern brood devours news stories.

In the age of the Kardashians and Charlie Sheen Twitter rants, journalists and bloggers inside the Casey Anthony murder trial courtroom were allowed to use smartphones, iPads, and other devices to disseminate information in real time. (Old school laptops weren't permitted because the judge wouldn't allow the sound of furiously clicking keyboards.) Even courtroom spectators were able to leak texts and tweets into the social media stratosphere; allowing the country to devour the trial 140 characters at a time.