@Giania: You’re not alone in pointing me to the Questionable Content cartoon. I’ve emailed the author to see if there’s a connection, but have yet to receive a reply.

Web comic Questionable Content just used “fisting” as part of a joke title (in reference to puppets).

The author is very active on Twitter. I submit that (I think) it is not coincidence at all.

@CassieST: Yes, thank you, you have fulfilled your fisting duties. Oh. That sounds wrong.

@Jenny, Bloggess: Well, you were part of the inspiration for all this, so you shouldn’t feel too bad about “missing out”. Though do you really want to link “arthritis” and “fisting” in the same sentence? It sounds like a nasty accident waiting to happen.

Stilgherrian, I salute you, and I think I possibly love you.

‘Fisting Twitter’ as a term just works so well!

Just like the “-gate” suffix has been used for every political scandal since Watergate, the “-fisting” suffix now means something like “to disrupt by via Twitter” or “to disrupt with Twitter bots”.

I wouldn’t over analysis what was said on the show, he was probably only drawing attention to the subject, as mentioned above it’s not expected that he go into technical detail about Twitter to the rest of the nation who are not tech savvy.

And assuming he did his research, he would have known that Lily Allen had a Twitter account prior to the interview. You normally ask questions that you already know the answer to.

@Chad Capellman: That’s a very good result. But your real aim probably isn’t “score high on Twitter trends” but something like “create a positive impression for your work” or “build a long-lasting relationship with your audience”. Twitter trends are about fast-rising terms in the global conversation. I suspect that a slower rise in profile with a more solid foundation is of greater value.

@caronnect: Rove Live‘s role isn’t “explain Twitter to the uninitiated” but “entertain people through conversations with the stars”. Does it matter that his explanation lacked something?

@jjprojects: I’d label what I did “play” rather than “gaming”. To me, the word “gaming” implies an ulterior motive, an intent to defraud the system somehow. This was, I reckon, a genuine trend as people, of their own free will and without any subterfuge, kept using the word “fisting”.

I’d never even thought of it as marketing. Indeed, in that light it’s not much of a success. While there were a few new followers, yes, most people playing the game never encountered my name or URLs.