LA Times – Top 10 Moments in Social Media, and a Few of my Own

The Los Angeles Times has just published their Top 10 Moments in Social Media in 2009. In their year-end summary their list goes from #10 down to #1. I’ve added my thoughts,  reversed the order, and added four of my own.  Feel free to comment on these as well as add your own social media memorable moments in 2009.

The LA Times List

1. Hudson River plane landing – I have to agree with the LA Times. The photos taken from an iPhone of this brilliant landing clearly reflects the change in how we now gather the news. It was a powerful shot. I think I’ll upgrade my mobile device this week.

2. Iran “green” protests – I think I missed this one where the avatars turned green. I’ll wait and see the film instead.

3. R.I.P. Jeff Goldblum? – With or without the web, he seems to fall prey to rumors. Thanks to the LA Times for the others I missed, including Natalie Portman, George Clooney, Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Michael Lohan, alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, Jared from Subway, Emma Watson and P. Diddy

4. R.I.P. Michael Jackson – The power of the Internet at its best.  I recall the moment I saw the news on my Facebook live stream. I was sitting in a panel at the Social Networking Conference in Beverly Hills, still commenting on my thoughts about Farah Fawcett’s sad death earlier that day when the news about MJ broke. Confused at first as to whether the MJ was Michael Jordan or Michael Jackson, I,  like the others started commenting. When news breaks online, we have to take a serious look at social media for news distribution. When polled at a Digital LA event I attended a month later, more than 60% of the room found out about Michael Jackson on Facebook or Twitter. I found myself in front of my television watching the memorial service tweeting about the musical selections and the speeches on-stage. It was my first Twitter funeral. I have a feeling there will be more to come.

5. Susan Boyle launches career – The power of video and YouTube brought her from “frumpy” to “famous.” Kudos to her and others such as Gary Vaynerchuk who made online videos a household word.

6. Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN – It was an interesting race. Kutcher went from the underdog to beat CNN to the 1-million mark of Twitter followers. Sure, I saw the billboards on the freeway promoting the campaign. Anything that engages community to benefit a charitable organization gets my vote.

7. Twitter and Facebook under hack-attack – I experienced a few minor glitches, but never found my sites to be unavailable. The phishing emails have become annoying. The bottom line: Don’t rely on only one form of social media. Try the new Backupify service to back up your tweets, streams, friends, and followers.

8. Google Wave – I have to agree here with the LA Times. I was excited and thrilled to receive my not-so-exclusive invitation. I tweeted about it. We all did. And then I lost interest as it wasn’t user-friendly enough for me. I’ll wait for the next wave and join in again.

9. Whopper Sacrifice – Did I miss Burger King’s free offer to entice Facebook fans to remove their friends in favor of a F>R.E.E. burger? Perhaps it’s because I’m a vegetarian. In any event, thank you to my friends who didn’t de-friend me in favor of red meat. It’s nice to know I’m still popular.

10. The World of Web – They call it the new currency. No mention is made of monetization, but clearly bloggers and businesses using social media have less time on their hands as they are jumping in on the bandwagon.

Thank you to Andrew Nystrom and Mark Milian for a terrific article.

As usual, I like to add my tw0-cents and have listed a few more for your reading pleasure.

11. Facebook Marriage – The October wedding of Kelly and Kelly Hildebrandt, the couple who shared the same name, met on Facebook. “Girl Kelly” in Florida did a simple Facebook search for her name and up popped “Boy Kelly” from Texas. A Facebook friendship turned into a beautiful courtship. They appeared in my Cyber Love Story of the Week as well as on the Today Show and numerous other media outlets.

12. Facebook becomes “third largest country” in the world. – Hitting the 350 millionth subscriber in December shows their startling growth. Facebook is now multi-generational with parents spying on their children’s walls and kids seeing who their parents are now dating. Facebook went from a personal photo album and social connecting to creating business brands. Every business should have a Fan Page. It’s like having another website to promote your brand.

13. Twitter accountability – Oops! I used the wrong hash-tag at a conference and within moments on Twitter, I was corrected by another attendee. The value of messaging in real time is clear. When you make a mistake, you stand corrected instantly.

14. Mobile Dating – For the younger generation and the tech-savvy, they have moved from traditional online dating sites to iPhone apps such as Skout, Hot-or-Not, Grindr, and more. Why wait for an email when you can meet up or hook-up now? Meeting “in real life” has taken on a new meaning.

Julie Spira is a social media expert and author of the bestselling online dating book, The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Visit her at SocialMediaMore.com

Click here to read full article from the LA Times