Brandtology's Countdown to Apocalypse

So will the world end on December 21, 2012? That is the question.

Let's see how Brandtology's advanced social media monitoring tools covered buzz about this so-called doomsday.

"According to the interpretation of the Mayan calendar, the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. The Mayans were known to be remarkable mathematicians and astronomers who constructed a sophisticated number system. This ancient society used a calendar system dating back to the 5^th century, and scientists acknowledged the calendar to be complex and the same time, incredibly accurate. The 21^st of December allegedly marks the end of the 5,125-year Mayan calendar and subsequently raises questions all over the world — will there be a year 2013?"

"Interest in the enigmatic Mayan society ascended since scientists and astronomers revealed their literal interpretation of the Mayan calendar. Buzz about the apocalypse started climbing on December 1 as netizens talked about the end of the world in social media; others started a countdown to the world’s end. Buzz volume pertaining to “Mayan” “end of the world” “december 21 2012” peaked on December 3, just 18 days before the big day, with 68,696 posts on Twitter. High volume of tweets on December 3 referred to a Wikipedia entry about predicted and failed dates for apocalyptic events – netizens poked fun at the looming end of the world news, describing these forecasts, including the Mayan prophecy, a “hoax”."

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"It is still unknown as to how the world will eventually end on December 21, but different ways and means were highlighted online, from the possible: a plague or pandemic, nuclear war, eruption of super volcanoes, solar flares or maybe an asteroid impact, or worldwide market collapse; to the quite absurd: machines and robots will take over the human race or maybe aliens will attack us? Doomsayers fuel the controversy about the impending December 21 apocalypse by pointing to the recent catastrophes and calamities all over the globe. Catastrophic events over the years have always been touted as a sign of the end of the world, and sharing of information (or misinformation) in today’s social media can prove vital but also destructive as it may lead to mass hysteria."

"Since the beginning of December, more mentions about the Mayan apocalypse were observed, but instead of creating mass hysteria, netizens took the bad news lightly by retweeting a list of places to “enjoy the apocalyptic showdown”; others joked about the Mayan prediction not coming from an age-old prophecy but a New Age, “magic mushroom trip”. A topic on Twitter that continues to trend is ‘Me on December 21, 2012’, as netizens retweeted a photo 7,476 times and 1,592 retweets for a video called ‘Is The World ENDING on December 21, 2012?’"
"Interest in the prophesized end of the world was observed, especially as the date of the predicted apocalypse drew nearer. Based on random sampled posts from November 7 to December 6, 42% expressed sarcasm over the Mayan prophecy in general, with comments like “The Mayans didn’t predict their own demise so the calendar is already wrong for them.”  25% poked fun at the issue and joked with remarks like “I’m pretty certain the world isn’t going to end on December 21, 2012.  A Mayan guy told me so.” There were still some who expressed worry and panic, almost the same as those who did not give any opinion on the matter."

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"The end of the world was visually depicted in the 2009 film, 2012, wherein a global catastrophe wreaks havoc and showcased the struggle of mankind to survive. Sony Pictures’ viral marketing campaign of the film caused a great reaction – millions of people who did not care about doomsday forecasts, suddenly did. Believers of this 2012 phenomenon started preparing drastically for a global upheaval and turmoil. The Mayan civilization became unfortunate “prophets” of doom. Only a few days before the supposed end of the world, should we start counting down to the apocalypse?"

"While the world may end in a different fashion from the movie’s cataclysmic conclusion, no one can really predict when it will happen and what will cause the world or mankind to end. Doomsday predictions and theories have been around for centuries and will always abound, but one must be wary and cautious of the information that flourishes online, lest they cause confusion, but more so, panic. We must not succumb to doomsday prophecies and forecasts and we must never rely on a mere calendar or ancient timetable to predict our fate."

Brandtology provides a range of analytical reports comprising statistics, trends, indexes, and charts that support its clients’ business goals and needs. Learn more about Brandtology here.

This article was originally published by Brandtology.

Til then...

xoxo Nash