Big Brother struggling on Twitter Big Brother will send two young singles, who have never met each other into the house as a married couple. Courtesy Channel Nine OPENLY gay Ben and ex-AFL player Ed Lower are set to duel it out for this year's Big Brother crown. This year's winner could be the last however, as soft ratings were compounded by a lack of buzz on social media, according to analysis of Twitter conversations during last night's launch. Last year, the official Twitter hashtag #BBAU peaked at more than 1000 Tweets per minute during the season opener, and attracted around 45,000 Tweets in the first day. Best and worst things about BB Yet this year the #BBAU hashtag has attracted less than 30,000 Tweets, barely registering more than 300 Tweets more per minute at its highest point during the launch broadcast. The broadcast was not without its highlights, however. Twitter activity during last night's Big Brother launch spiked during the introduction of Ben, 30, the nervous, glasses-clad lookalike of Arrested Development character Tobias Funke. Based on first impressions, only former AFL player Ed Lower, 26, looms as a threat to Ben in the competition. Ed was the subject of more than 1000 Tweets during the show, trailing only Ben, and Tim, 29, a science student from Sydney. Tim's a serial show-off Tim is unlikely to last long in the house though, with a sentiment analysis from Topsy showing that Tim featured in more negative conversations than any other participant. But Big Brother failed to match the ratings of Channel 7's The X Factor last night. Seven's talent show - with judges Ronan Keating, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Dannii Minogue and Redfoo - averaged 1.633 million viewers across Australia's five capital cities. The young 14-year-old Jai Waetford brought the house down with his own song 'Don't let me go' What made Redfoo cry? The launch of Big Brother, hosted by Sonia Kruger, averaged 1.309 million viewers across its two hour running time. The two shows are set to fight it out two more nights this week - tonight and tomorrow night. Big Brother unveiled 12 of this year's housemates in its premiere episode last night. Channel 9's reality show also detailed two twists - the house would be split in two and that two more housemates would pose as a married couple. Big Brother's launch still stimulated more social media activity than last night's episode of X Factor. The #XFactorAU hashtag has been used about 8000 times in the last 24 hours, peaking at 3600 Tweets per hour in the same hour - less than half of last night's peak of #BBAU. News Corp Australia is awaiting comment from Channel 9 regarding the show's performance. This year's contestants are a more diverse group than last year with ages ranging from 24 to 42 and jobs including a former soldier, a high school teacher, an ex-cop and a sports agent. The house has been split into a luxurious Safe House and a grungy Half Way House with contestants selecting a key to determine their fate. The Safe House features a gym, spa, and swimming pool while the Half Way House has half-sized beds and very limited facilities. In tonight's show, two new housemates, Drew and Jade, are introduced and told that to stay in the house for longer than two weeks they have to convince other contestants they are married. A South Korean orphan, Mikkayla was adopted by an Australian family when she was six months old. Mikkayla Source: Supplied A born entertainer, Xavier gets his post work kicks from being the lead singer of a band and by making people laugh. Xavier Source: Supplied Darwin born and raised, Tahan is a striking mix of Aboriginal/Malaysian and Chinese heritage. She had a real NT childhood, riding quad bikes, swimming in waterholes and stealing mangoes from the neighbor's yard. Tahan Source: Supplied For starters, he counts his mum as his best friend: "Mum sacrificed so much for me and raised me on her own. Benjamin Source: Supplied An inner city type, Tully lives in a terrace house with girlfriend Tahlia and their pomeranian puppy, Luna. Despite having a good job with a top advertising agency, Tully says she never has any money: "Shopping makes me happy, but I never have extra cash to blow." Tully Source: Supplied Tim Source: Supplied In her younger life, Sharon was a policewoman, but rates her biggest achievement as losing 30 kilos "not once, but three times. Big Brother 2013 - Housemate Sharon Source: Supplied His brother Nick plays for the Western Bulldogs. Edward Source: Supplied An Australian soldier who has seen active service in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mathew has now left the army and settled back into the Queensland sunshine and the more peaceful life of a tradesman and surfer: "Being in the Australian army infantry was the most rewarding thing I have ever done and such an honour to serve this amazing country. Matthew Source: Supplied Newcastle NSW Born in Bathurst NSW and armed with a degree in public relations, Heidi travelled the world looking for her dream job, before finding it in Newcastle where she landed a gig as a breakfast announcer on the local FM radio station. Heidi Source: Supplied A Melbourne-based flight attendant she has a natural affinity with people, but her generous nature doesn't extend to beetroot which she has hates with a passion. If mum can't fix a problem, she turns to comfort food. Jasmin Source: Supplied Caleb Source: Supplied