The Social 7 - 2008 Year in Review
Welcome to the Social 7, and Happy 2009! Here at the Social 7, we had a bit of a party of our own; and to celebrate the new year right, we decided to mix things up a bit and recap the top 7 stories of the entire year. From acquisitions that weren’t to massive behavioral shifts, 2009 was a big year in the world of social media and marketing. Read below to catch our pick of the highlights.
Episode recap, plus the top Tweets, Picture, and Viral Video of the year after the jump!
Top 7 Stories
7. “Microhoo” - Who could forget about Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Yahoo this past year? But in case you were vacationing in Mars this past year, Microsoft’s bid on Yahoo! was the talk of the year. The company offered Yahoo! $31 per share - a deal worth $45 billion that, after much debate, Yahoo! ultimately rejected.
6. Facebook versus MySpace: Facebook started just a few years ago as a small social network on a select few college campuses… and since has grown into a household brand. This year the network implemented a highly debated user-profile redesign and its global traffic surpassed MySpace’s. Facebook’s is expected to surpass MySpace in monthly U.S. traffic in the next few months.
5. iPhone Takes Social Media Mobile: Apple’s iPhone and its massively popular App Store changed the way we interact with our phones and how we communicate with each other. Three of the top 10 downloaded free applications for 2008, included Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace - allowing all of us to stay connected to our social networks anywhere.
4. Economy Drives People Online: With news of a down economy cluttering our papers and TV sets, people are headed online in droves, for more reasons than one.
3. Twitter Gets BIG: Yes, Twitter has been around for a few years now, but 2008 was definitely the year the microblogging start-up, as it infiltrated the mainstream. Shaq wasn’t the only “big” reason that Twitter had a slam dunk year - it was at the center of a number of big stories.
2. Media Goes Digital: The past few years, we have been seeing a major shift occur in our media consumption habit… and this year it finally caught up with us. In 2008, 100 years of print editions for The Christian Science Monitor abruptly ended. Is the end of media as we know it in sight?
1. Election Gets Social: While some say Obama was elected President in November, others say it’s social media that won him the election. While we know that’s not entirely true, it certainly helped. In what could have been the most effective, integrated social media campaign to date, Barack Obama changed the way Washington, and possibly all politicians moving forward, interact with voters and the general public.
Tweets of the Year
Twitter was one of the top 7 stories of 2008 and the tweets it published connected us to many of the moments, events and people we won’t soon forget. Below are the top 7 tweets of the past year:
7) @palin_quotes:Asked on Fox News if she would try to run for president in 2012, she replied: “I’m like, OK, God, if there is an.. http://tinyurl.com/4fekll
6) @inwalkedbud: we just had a massive earthquake! still alive though!
(in response to China’s 7.9 earthquake on May 12)
5) @NPRbackstory: (michael monsoor) Navy SEAL Killed in Iraq Receives Medal of Honor http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89424939&ft=1&f=
4) @CNNMoney: Long, painful recession is likely - survey: A survey of leading economists showed Monday that the likeli.. http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/money_topstories/~3/455763586/index.htm
3) @080808news: Google News: Michael Phelps wins 8th gold medal in a single Olympics, breaking … - Los A.. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap-oly-swm-swimmin…
2) @anilenand: Mumbai city, where I live is under seige! Terrorist have gunned down the Anti terrorist Squad chief and encounter specia lists.Taken hostages
1) @BarackObama: We just made history. All of this happened because you gave your time, talent and passion. All of this happened because of you. Thanks
Social Shutterbug of the Year
More than 10,000 people have viewed this photo on Flickr, a composite of thousands of pictures of attendees at Barack Obama rallies.
Viral Video of the Year
The election this year generated tons of videos, both amateur and professional. Some of the most widely viewed, and definitely the most widely talked about, were the series of skits from Saturday Night Live with Tina Fey playing the role of Sarah Palin. You can watch her “interview” with Katie Couric here.
test Filed under Episodes | Tags: Facebook, iPhone, Media, Microsoft, MySpace, Politics, Twitter, Yahoo |
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