Tiger Woods' Apology on Twitter

Within seconds of Tiger Woods getting on stage in front of a Wizard of Oz-ish blue curtain, a set which one TV commentator likened to that of a cheesy infomercial, the Twitterverse was buzzing with tweets on Tiger Woods' apology.

Speculation on whether Tiger Woods' apology was sincere or just a dog-and-pony show to appease fans and sponsors ran rampant before and after Tiger Woods' bizarre public apology, a staged event to which Woods invited selected guests and silenced the news media from asking questions.

Tiger's apology sparks high volume of tweets

As reported by CNN, each minute of Tiger's speech sparked more than one thousand tweets that had the word "tiger" in it, for a total of about 94,000 tweets during the hour time frame of Tiger's apology. CNN obtained its informaton from Trendrr, a website which tracks Internet traffic.

Although Tiger Woods' looked contrite and worn down, he apparently did not convince everyone in the Twitterverse that he was truly sorry for what he had done. As DeadnGone87 tweeted, "#TigerWoods wuznt sincere cuz he read every single word off paper."

A Tweeter called nobleday thought otherwise, "I think he was humble & honest. He did what MANY other got-too-rich-too-young have done but is seeking 2 change."

Some tweeters took a more detached analytical stance, viewing Tiger Woods' apology from a public relations perspective. "Exhibit A of why PR shld be left to professionals: Tiger wrote most of his own statement today, and it showed (in a bad way)," tweeted justinkanton.

Another Tweeter was critical of Tiger barring the press from asking questions afterward, "Kudos to the Golf Writers Association of America for showing backbone and boycotting Tiger talk," posted Newsholes.

Tiger's troubles put in context by some tweeters

In light of more vexing problems faced by other Americans, one tweeter observed that Tiger Woods' apology did not merit so much media attention: "The press conference was a waste of tv air time. I need a job not #tigerwoods sob story."

In a similar vein, another tweeter posted, "I don't care how many women #TigerWoods slept with. I care about #gay and lesbian people being hunted down in #Uganda."

An oft re-tweeted post compared Tiger's plight to that of the animal with which he shares a name: "Crazy that we care about #tigerwoods while wild tigers are in danger of extinction." [For those unfamiliar with Twitter lingo and customs, re-tweets are posts (a.k.a. tweets) that other tweeters find so profound or notable that they post them to their own Twitter feed to share with their followers (people who subscribe to their feed)].

Some tweeters find humor in Tiger's apology

Some tweets about Tiger Woods' apology took a comedic approach. When Tiger defended his wife Elin, insisting his beautiful Swedish bride never hit him, one tweeter modified Tiger's words just a smidge. "Elin never hit me that night or any other night," said Tiger Woods, adding: "she's rubbish at hitting things with a golf club."

During the apology, a tweeter with a theatrical bent suggested: "Cue Connie Francis with "I'm sorry." Another tweeter riffed on Tiger's serial infidelity, "Tigerwoods is just a person. He puts his pants on the same way we do folks, well actually in his case he's taking them off," tweeted Fl0werrChild

Tiger's reference to his Buddhist beliefs inspired one tweeter to joke: "Tiger says he's returning to the practice of Buddhism. I think he temporarily confused that with the practice of Bootyism."

Tiger Woods' sponsors also took some ribbing: "Gillette still supports #TigerWoods So apparently, 6 women is the best a man can get," tweeted ChuckCash.

Another Tweeter took on Tiger Woods' sponsors and the media in a more pointed fashion, "I wonder, has anyone at Gilette, Gatorade, ESPN, CNN, The PGA, or General Mills ever cheated on their spouse?"

Celebrities tweet about Tiger's apology

Celebrities tweeters also opined about Tiger's apology. "Today is the birthday of Copernicus. The first man to prove the world does not revolve round Tiger Woods. Happy Birthday Copey," tweeted Craig Ferguson.

Never one to mince words, The View's Joy Behar, who also hosts her own eponymous show on CNN's HLN, tweeted, "If u want to rehab your image, shouldn't you wear a tie? Just sayin."

Another female comedienne, Joan Rivers, used Tiger's apology as an opportunity to crack a joke: "Tiger Woods and I are soulmates," she oan Rivers Tweeted. "At the moment I was being bounced off a plane in Costa Rica, he was being bounced off a hooker in Miami."

Tiger apology tweets range from cynicism to inspiration

After the apology, Tiger's hugs and handshakes with his invited guests were carefully analyzed and critiqued. "Anyone else notice that #TigerWoods mother wasn't really listening and had to be tapped on the knee so that she would give him a hug," tweeted JamesMNaylor.

At the end of the day, jaded skepticism pervaded many tweets, a reaction capsulized by ThatBoyGotSole: "Let's be real #tigerwoods is a billionaire there really isn't anything his money can't fix."

Some Tweeters even went so far as to feign the super-hyped Tiger Woods apology was a non-event, "Oh, really, did #tigerwoods say something today? Wasn't paying attention."

Others thought Tiger Woods' behavior off the golf course was nobody's business, (although, curiously, they still felt compelled to tweet about the apology). As PRDiva tweeted, "Im sorry, but am I the ONLY one that feels as if #TigerWoods doesn't owe me an apology OR an explanation?"

Finally, there were those arguably more evolved people who took solace from Tiger's apology and saw it as an opportunity for spiritual growth. One tweeter posted an uplifting inspirational quote by Jean Paul Richter, "Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another."

While all the tweeting about Tiger Woods' apology could be viewed as just a lot of white noise in cyberspace, the media hype and Twitter response surrounding the apology event prove that Tiger Woods' behaviors and public statements compel people to react in some way. Despite those who want to believe that what Tiger Woods does or says off the golf course is no one's business, the affairs (both literal and figurative) of the billionaire golfer have struck a nerve with the public.

Whether they respond with humor, sarcasm, disdain, forgiveness or detached criticism, the manner in which each person responds to Tiger's apology ultimately reveals more about that person than about Tiger Woods himself.

See also:
What Do David Letterman's and Tiger Woods' Affairs Have in Common?
Twitter Lists Creates Order Out of Chaos
Is Twitter Stupid

Sources:
Twitter.com #tigerwoods
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/02/19/tiger.woods.internet.reaction/?hpt=Sbin
http://www.accesshollywood.com/stars-weigh-in-on-tigers-apology_article_29206
http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/02/19/twitter-tiger-woods/