Social Media Burning Up Over Heat Wave

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The nation’s worst heat wave in years has people virtually sweating it out and trying to cope on social media.

Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other online forums have already racked up more than 4 million references to hot weather this month and that number is increasing rapidly, says Joe Schab, president of Mastermind Marketing, which tracks social media chatter.

Even Justin Bieber can’t compete: On Twitter, usually a stronghold for “Bieber Fever,” the heat is nearly four times as popular a topic as the 17-year-old pop singer, Schab says. Sorry President Obama, but heat updates are outpacing conversations about the debt ceiling 24-to-1, he says.

The heat wave has been linked to 22 deaths and made life miserable for millions of Americans as far north as Minnesota, south as Texas and east as Maine.

While Schab says most posts are complaints, they’re not all hot air. From offering safety tips to broadcasting hot deals, folks are using social media to :

•Warn: Hundreds of American Red Cross local chapters are transforming into online heat wave “cheerleaders” encouraging people to visit cooling centers and stay hydrated, says Wendy Harman, director of social strategy at Red Cross headquarters.

•Experiment: The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, S.D., set out to test whether it was hot enough to fry an egg on a sidewalk , posting the findings on Facebook. Though the egg wasn’t ready for the breakfast table, meteorologist Jenni Laflin says video experiments like this are attention-grabbing while still underscoring hot weather hazards.

bulletConnect: Maine resident Coleen Daskoski never saw her dream of becoming a weather girl come true. But the Weather Channel’s Facebook page helps her feed her appetite for the latest heat wave news.. “If I can’t be in the weather department, at least I can do something on their websites,” Daskoski says.

•Sell: One New York City food truck, the Cupcake Crew, sold out of several $5 cupcake and iced coffee “heat wave specials” marketed on Twitter and Facebook. “We have to do something to jazz up sales,” says owner Frankie “Cupcakes” Mancini.

•Create: On the heels of “Snowpocalypse,” the Washington Post’s online Capital Weather Gang is holding a contest to nickname this summer’s scorcher. With candidates like “TemperRapture,” “Saunathon” and “Sweat Ceiling” in the running, it’s a heated race, to say the least.

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