Obama Victory Sets New Records On Twitter

The reaction to President Obama's victory apparently broke several records on Twitter, the social media site reported.

"With 20 million tweets, Election Day just became the most tweeted about event in US political history," the site announced.

Minutes after news networks projected that Obama had won a second term, Obama tweeted a picture of him hugging his wife, which became his most retweeted tweet ever, Twitter reported.

At the height of the reaction to the networks' announcement just after 11 p.m., election-related activity spiked to an all-time high of 327,453 tweets per minute, National Journal has reported.

Politicians and pundits also took to the Twitterverse to provide analysis and congratulate victors. While some were happy, others thankful, several worried and a few smug.

In fact, Obama's social media campaign touched an emotional climax Tuesday when he proclaimed his victory on Twitter and Facebook.

"This happened because of you. Thank you," he tweeted to 22 million followers just minutes after the first U.S. network called his victory, in an indication of the importance he attached to social networks in his 2012 campaign.

"Four more years," he said straight afterwards, posting a photo of himself hugging First Lady Michelle Obama as other TV networks followed suit and, one-by-one, announced his re-election as 44th President of the United States.

The post was his most re-tweeted, with 432,000 shares, according to Twitter's government and politics account @gov.

The same picture of a relieved and happy-looking Obama hugging his wife appeared on the president's Facebook account and was shared tens of thousands of times by some of his 32 million fans.

According to Twitter, the election has become the most tweeted about event in the U.S. political history, with some 20 million poll-related posts fired out on people's accounts, and that was before Obama's re-election for a second term, the Sun Daily has reported.

Obama's victory also had several celebrities congratulating him using Twitter.

David Miliband, British Labor Party politician tweeted: "Great victory for President and for America. A win for rationality, unity and hope."

Singer Mariah Carey tweeted: "Incredible Speech!!! Watching in a room full of diverse people-all truly moved. Thank you America for President Obama - 4 more yrs."

Actress Eva Longoria of "Desperate Housewives," fame tweeted: "Amazing speech by @BarackObama re-elected for his second term! America is and can be united for the greater good of all Americans!"

First lady Michelle Obama was profusely thankful on Twitter: "More than anything, I want to thank you all for everything. I am so grateful to every one of you for your support and your prayers. –mo"

Former US Vice President Al Gore tweeted: "The Republican party can't continue to contest national elections by taking positions that drive Hispanics away."