Social media generated headline news on many fronts in 2011, making it challenging to identify the top social media stories of the year.
But to me, the biggest story in social media continues to be the oldest and long-running narrative--the incredible ways people are using these Internet-based tools of communication and collaboration to change their lives, politics, culture, governments and social institutions.
Social media played a major enabling role in one of the world's biggest news stories of 2011--the revolutions that swept the Middle East and North Africa. Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools garnered worldwide attention as people used them to organize protests that eventually led to violence and regime change.
The "Arab Spring," by showcasing the impact of social media, was a more important story than what individual companies did or did not do to their social media services, interfaces or business models.
To be sure, there were plenty of interesting social media business stories in 2011, stories that had significant impact on the millions of consumers and businesses that use them.
But taking the long view of social media, who really cares if the new social networking service, Google +, which launched in 2011, is rivaling Facebook? Or that MySpace slid into oblivion, raising the question of whether the same fate might befall Facebook one day, too?
And while the recent debut of Facebook's new Timeline profile feature may turn out to be a game-changer for how people use the world's leading social network, it hardly rivals the political and cultural impact of social media for compelling news.
But to me, the biggest story in social media continues to be the oldest and long-running narrative--the incredible ways people are using these Internet-based tools of communication and collaboration to change their lives, politics, culture, governments and social institutions.
Social media played a major enabling role in one of the world's biggest news stories of 2011--the revolutions that swept the Middle East and North Africa. Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools garnered worldwide attention as people used them to organize protests that eventually led to violence and regime change.
The "Arab Spring," by showcasing the impact of social media, was a more important story than what individual companies did or did not do to their social media services, interfaces or business models.
To be sure, there were plenty of interesting social media business stories in 2011, stories that had significant impact on the millions of consumers and businesses that use them.
But taking the long view of social media, who really cares if the new social networking service, Google +, which launched in 2011, is rivaling Facebook? Or that MySpace slid into oblivion, raising the question of whether the same fate might befall Facebook one day, too?
And while the recent debut of Facebook's new Timeline profile feature may turn out to be a game-changer for how people use the world's leading social network, it hardly rivals the political and cultural impact of social media for compelling news.
How People Used Social Media in 2011: Top Stories
So with that in mind, here's a short list of the three top trends in social media use in 2011.- Political violence and protest -- Social media was a key player in the uprisings and revolutions in 2011, starting early in the year in Tunisia and Egypt and eventually spreading to Libya and other countries with oppressive governments.
While the regime changes across the Middle East and North Africa dominated headlines, these tools also were used to organize protests that turned violent in London in August after police shot and killed a citizen, prompting the U.K. government to question whether they should ban the use of social media during major violent episodes. Public unrest also hit the U.S. in the form of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and social media helped that protest movement spread across the nation, too. - Citizens share news on social media -- Ordinary people continue to use social media in extraordinary ways, often making news in the process - and not just about political uprisings. So-called citizen journalism is going mainstream as more people break news that used to be reported first by professionals. An Afghanistan resident unwittingly broke the news about the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden when he posted about the racket it caused to his blog. Citizen videos were used to challenge the official police account of a pepper-spray incident involving student protestors in California.
People used Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media tools to collectively chronicle social events like the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. - Public figures exploit social media and make blunders -- Public figures of all kinds took to social media and made both smart and dumb moves as they figured out new ways to use the tools in promoting themselves, not always on purpose.
U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress after he accidentally zapped a photo of his crotch to all his followers on Twitter, thinking he was sending a private, direct message. Weiner eventually 'fessed up to his mistake after initially claiming someone had hacked his Twitter account. Reuters ran a story on the big blunders celebrities made in social media last year.
Actor Charlie Sheen attempted a comeback on Twitter after he lost his TV job in the midst of a public meltdown. Lady Gaga masterfully manipulated her "little monsters" of fans through the use of social media and became the most followed person on Twitter.