Twitter Helps TIME Decide 2013 Person Of The Year

TIME (@Time) magazine has been known for decades for identifying a "person of the year" to refer to someone who has made the biggest impact worldwide in a particular year. For 2013, Time partnered with Twitter to select the most qualified individual who will top the list. However, the new twist involves getting the suggestions of social media users via the hashtag #TIMEPOY. This time, people can be part of the process and help pick the best person who deserves the award the most. The collaboration between Twitter and Time will feature Poptip, which will collect tweets from individuals using the hashtag #TIMEPOY. Each time social media users recommend a POY candidate, they only need to include the hashtag in their tweets. Vine videos of suggested persons will be featured by Time on its official website. The suggestions will not serve as votes but instead, help Time editors improve their choices. In the end, the editors will still pick the winner based on their own judgment with special consideration given to the thousands of tweets and responses garnered from users on the hashtag. Here's how the tweeting public has responded to the hashtag, so far: totalling 313,600 tweets and over 406 million impressions since the announcement on November 30. Nancy Gibbs (@NancyGibbs), Time managing director, will declare the official 2013 Time Person of the Year on December 11, 2013 on the Today show. Suggestions are accepted until 11:59 p.m. ET on December 4, 2013. Suggestions can only be forwarded using social media site Twitter. The current approach is an innovative way to boost the interest of social media users and increase engagement. Many times, social media fans like to get involved in the process by sharing their own insights and perspectives on important matters. Currently, pop star Miley Cyrus seems to be the top pick among users. Other contenders who are in the top as of this writing are Recep Tayyip Erdogan (the Prime Minister of Turkey), Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (the Egyptian general), Narendra Mori (the Chief Minister of State of Gujarat, India), Wendy Davis (the Texas senator known for her 13-hour filibuster) and Bashar Al-Assad (the president of Syria). Miley Cyrus has personally been tweeting on #TIMEPOY and encouraging fans to help vote for her to garner the top spot. Related links, blogs and videos are shared by users as the hashtag continues to trend.