360PR Blog

Well, 2009 is nearly over and 360PR certainly was not going to miss out on the “year end list” fun!  We decided to compile our Top 10 Favorite Social Media Moments of 2009. Sure, the topic may be slightly played out, but does that make it any less important?  2009 concluded a decade of digital innovations: the iPod, BlackBerry, consumer GPS system, etc. And in our eyes, it most definitely went out with a bang!

So here they are, numbers 10 – 6 in our countdown, part one of a two-part social media extravaganza. Whether you think our choices are spot on or off-base, we’d love to hear your comments!

10. Burger King Whopper Sacrifice This year, Burger King challenged its fans to the ultimate test-delete 10 friends on Facebook, get a free Whopper-and created a slew of online buzz in its wake. Alerts popped up on mini-feeds everywhere (i.e. “Skye McIntyre sacrificed Lindsay Durr for a free Whopper”) and friends’ lists suffered significant depletions. But BK’s plan worked! Whether quirky, offensive, or just hilarious, the Whopper Sacrifice taught us all a valuable lesson-you can put a price on friendship, and that price is 1 Whopper.

9. Miley Cyrus Deletes Twitter On a more serious note, teen queen Miley Cyrus made headline news this year when she deleted her Twitter account. Outlets like The New York Times covered the “news” and, to respond to the public outrage inspired by her de-tweeting, Cyrus created this brilliant YouTube video. Wait-why is this #9, again?

8. “JK Wedding Dance” on YouTube This was probably the feel-good YouTube video of the decade. Something about this video struck a chord with online video watchers nationwide. In a year where everyone from Jon and Kate to Tiger and Elin headed for their attorneys, Jill and Kevin Heinz reminded us that love is out there, waiting, and it’s on YouTube. Several Today Show appearances and a hilarious Office spoof later, J&K are still going strong. They even used their tremendous popularity for a good cause; the pair helped raise over $26,000 for the Sheila Wellstone Institute, an organization that helps victims of domestic violence.  People questioned the authenticity of the video and wondered if a marketing team was behind it; marketers wished they could take credit.

7. Swine Flu Infects Social Media Swine Flu was one of the most serious topics of the year with an estimated 50 million cases in the US according to the CDC. However, the disease really went viral when concerned citizens began discussing it across Facebook and Twitter. According to Mashable, swine flu was the #3 topic trend on Facebook and the #2 and #6 trends on Twitter in 2009. For those who think Facebook and Twitter are only platforms for trivial discussions, think again.

6. Celebs on Twitter Want to be alerted every time Diddy sips Cristal? Well now you can-thanks to Twitter! Everyone from Lindsay Lohan to Oprah Winfrey to Shaq started microblogging this year, some more successfully than others (we’re looking at you, Shaq). Missed out on the celeb tweeting action? Check out CelebrityTweet.com to get all the latest updates in one place.

Filed under: Digital PR, Internet, Media and Press, Social Media |