How 'Sharknado' Became a Social Media Phenomenon

If you've been anywhere near Twitter in the past 24 hours, you've probably been sucked into the phenomenon that is . The campy Syfy TV movie, which aired Thursday night, has dominated conversation on the service for the past day. How did a low-budget B movie become the hottest thing on the Internet?

Twitter dissected Sharknado's rise in a blog post Friday night. The movie about tornadoes that scoop up sharks from the ocean and dispense them on unfortunate Los Angeles residents was the most-tweeted TV show from the night, generating during broadcast and 5,000 tweets per minute at its peak. That put it well ahead of competing shows Big Brother and a Royals-Yankees baseball game.