World's first tweeting couch laid out for football fans

The 2.1m-long #MWEBTweetSeat, which was custom built in Cape Town, can actually tweet "#Laduuma!" or "#GoHomeRef!" when the printed cushions are squeezed or tossed into the air while watching any game in a Wi-Fi environment.

The couch has been launched during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which is the biggest sporting event in the world and the biggest social media event in history. Local couch surfers can now join the more than 5.5 million South Africans on Twitter and almost 10 million Facebook followers who are actively voicing their opinions, preferences and shout outs on social media platforms.

Take part in a global conversation

"Football is a prime example of how, from the comfort of a couch, and with access to MWeb's Uncapped Wi-Fi, you can take part in a global conversation while keeping your eyes glued to the match. The beauty of the #MWEBTweetSeat is that viewers can now multitask and what better way to express your joy or dissatisfaction with your team by tossing a cushion into the air, "said Carolyn Holgate, GM of MWeb Connect.

"The innovative #MWEBTweetSeat is a comment on the global 'second screen' trend of people connecting to social networks via a digital device while watching TV.

"As the culture of always being connected wherever you are grows, we've seen a change in how people use the internet and Wi-Fi over the past few years, and with events such as the football World Cup, the trend of interacting with televised or streamed content via web-enabled devices is certainly a defining internet behaviour of our era," said Holgate.

Globally, an estimated 3.6 billion viewers are tuning into the football action in Brazil and an estimated 70% of real-time World Cup fans are going online on their cellphones.

A recent local survey revealed that more than 60% of smartphone and tablet users in South Africa used their devices to connect to the internet while watching TV, especially in the evenings.

"If each of the 3.6 billion viewers watched 10 games and spent five minutes tweeting per game, that would add up to a whopping 126 billion collective minutes spent looking at a second screen instead of the TV during the World Cup period. I'm sure every diehard sports fan would love to have the #MWEBTweetSeat to watch the game on while engaging on social media without interruption."

The #MWEBTweetSeat is currently embarking on a tour that kicked off in Cape Town on 30 June and carries on in Joburg later this month.