Even Some Groundhogs Are Fodder for Social Media

[image error]For those that care, mostly individuals in the Northeast and Midwest who battle winter weather conditions for a good four or five months a year, the news the morning of Feb. 2 was met with some confusion.

As Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow on Gobblers Knob in the early hours, he told the nation that there would be six more weeks of winter. "Many shadows do I see: six more weeks of winter it must be."

The Groundhog Day celebration is steeped in a German superstition that claims if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will go on for another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will arrive early.

Winter, what's that?

Many people around the nation are asking just exactly what that is, given it is has been unusually mild and there has been minimal snow these last several months across areas typically freezing and digging.

With temperatures projected to hit the mid-40s later in the day, this year's Groundhog Day event may contrast what some see as anything but winter.

Much of the Northeast has seen little snow and above-average temperatures through January to date. Perhaps the early season dumping of snow that hit many of those same areas this past Halloween was more of a trick than a treat.

As Phil's message was delivered to the thousands in attendance, it quickly spread across Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools.

Some of the tweets, many of which added some humor regarding Phil, included:

Happy Groundhog's Day, we suppose, if you're happy that Punxsutawney Phil continues to not make sense.
Do your best Punxsutawney Phil impersonation: tell us your predictions for the economy in the next six weeks.
My daughter this a.m.: "I've never seen the Groundhog thing with Punxsutawney Phil." Me: "You've seen the movie…Same basic thing.

So, is this just a lot of hot air (cold air if you're standing outside in Punxsutawney on the morning of Feb. 2) or would this groundhog and his handlers really be sharing something of value with us all?

As many of us who eat, live and breathe social media on a daily basis know, many worldwide turn to sites like Twitter and Facebook to get their real-time news these days, even forgoing more traditional sites like television and newspaper web pages.

Heck, Phil and the men who await his prediction each year in the Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney, some 65 miles from Pittsburgh, even have their own Web site. Not bad for a big furry rodent and handlers who don tuxedos each year for the extravaganza.

For those who still believe in Santa Claus (I do), the Easter Bunny (I do) and the tooth fairy (not so sure on this one), Groundhog Day is a chance to celebrate the true fact that winter is half way over.

And for those keeping score at home, Phil has now witnessed his shadow 100 times and hasn't seen it a mere 16 times since 1886, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle. There are no records for the remaining years.

So, whether you care about Groundhog Day or not, you can bet "Punxsutawney Phil" will once again be one of the top trending topics on Twitter come Feb. 2, 2013.

And that is a prediction we can safely make….

Photo credit: today.msnbc.msn.com

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