Amanda Slavin, the 26-year-old director of marketing and eventsfor a New York restaurant group, is used to getting skeptical looks when she pulls out her BlackBerry.
Whimsical or not, the Twitter fail-whale is now an icon of an adolescence that the company is eager to move past as the service has become a powerhouse medium for not only mega-events like Election Night conversations and debates but also for corporate marketing teams eager to tap into the sentiments of crowds and gain real-time insights and opportunities.
At least one company has begun marketing mobile drone command vans for police use that could be used at large public events such as the marathon and has been used at the Rose Bowl in past years and during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"We're lucky because we're involved in fun events and celebrations that guests already like to talk about, " says Donnie Robertson, director of marketingfor the company.