Hudson River Rescue Photo Named Top Social Media Moment of 2009

The Los Angeles Times has named its Top Ten Social Media Moments of 2009, with the top spot going to the dramatic, in-progress iPhone pictures of the rescue of the US Airways flight that crashed into the Hudson River in New York in January. According to the newspaper, the photos defined the new reality that “no moment has to be missed just because a reporter or photographer didn’t happen to be near the scene.”

Also making the list was the death of Michael Jackson, including the ability of the news to spread throughout social media sites like Twitter before mainstream news organizations had confirmed his passing. Hoaxes involving false reports of the death of celebrities such as Jeff Goldblum and Natalie Portman also made the list.

The protests in Iran after the disputed presidential election also made the list. However, the newspaper noted that while social media was valuable in disseminating information despite the country’s tight leash on news, no real change actually came from the so-called “Twitter Revolution.”

Facebook Revamps Help Center for New Year

Facebook has added new features to its Help Center to make it faster for users to find the information they need. According the company blog post, the improvements include:

• A new search interface that displays related help pages and matches help content for other languages if there are no results in your language.
• Filters on the left-hand side to navigate the available content types: FAQs, user-to-user support, and the new privacy and safety pages.
• Separate user-to-user support navigation for those who simply want answers from other users along with those who want to answer other people’s questions.
• Unique Web addresses or URLs for each FAQ so you can share them with friends and family who are looking for help.

British Convict on the Lam and on Facebook

The Press Association reports that an escaped convict has been taunting law enforcement officials in England by posting messages over Christmas on Facebook. Craig Lynch was convicted of aggravated burglary and sentenced to seven years in prison but escaped from Hollesley Bay Prison, a minimum-security “open jail” near Woodbridge in Suffolk in September. He has since gone onto Facebook to give updates of life on the run.

According to The Sun, his Facebook page features a picture of him cooking a Christmas dinner and another picture with him making an obscene gesture while holding a sign with the phone number to call if he is spotted. Lynch currently has more than 1,200 friends on Facebook, on which he frequently taunts the authorities who are looking for him.

Pepsi Ditches Super Bowl Soda Ads in Favor of Social Media Campaign

The Super Bowl has lost one of its mainstay advertisers to social media. According to Mashable.com, Pepsi has decided to pull its drink ads from the upcoming NFL championship game this January in favor of a $20 million social media campaign.

The Pepsi Refresh Project will start on January 13, 2010 when the public can submit suggestions on projects that will “refresh” their communities through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Voting on projects will begin on February 1, with the projects receiving the highest vote totals to be funded by Pepsi. The company expects to spend $20 million on the various projects.

While the Pepsi brand won’t be seen during the Super Bowl, PepsiCo will still be spending money to advertise its other offerings – such as the snacks under its Frito-Lay umbrella – during the big game.

“We will be back with ‘Crash the Super Bowl’ and Doritos again,” said Frito-Lay spokesman Chris Kuechenmeister. “Doritos will air three consumer-created spots this time around and is aiming to take the top three spots of the USA Today Ad Meter.”

Facebook Top-Searched Term in 2009, Google Most-Visited Site

Facebook was the top-searched term in the U.S. in 2009, representing 0.67 percent of all searches, according to an analysis of the year’s top 300 search terms by Experian Hitwise. This marks the fourth year in a row that social-networking related terms have dominated the results.

Bumping down last year’s winner MySpace, Facebook climbed from the 10th spot in 2008 to the top spot this year. In fact, four variations of the term were among the top 25 terms in 2009. MySpace was the second most-searched term this year, followed by Craigslist, YouTube and Yahoo Mail.

The data also revealed that Google was the top-visited site for the second straight year, accounting for 6.70 percent of all U.S. visits between January and November 2009. Yahoo! Mail came in at second with 4.44 percent of visits, followed by Facebook (4.26 percent), Yahoo! (3.36 percent) and MySpace (3 percent.)

Google and Microsoft Deals Help Twitter Reach Profitability in 2009

Twitter has reached the milestone of profitability thanks to $25 million in deals to make its content searchable on Google and Microsoft Bing, according to a report on Monday by BusinessWeek. Anonymous sources told the magazine that the two deals – reached in October – will allow the microblogging site to record a small profit for the final quarter of 2009.

Twitter CEO Biz Stone declined comment on the company’s finances, other than to say in an email that “we’re thrilled about the partnerships we’ve formed this year and we’re looking forward to opening Twitter even more in the future.”

BusinessWeek’s two sources said that the Microsoft and Google deals were “huge” with the Google deal earning the company $15 million and the Microsoft deal generating another $10 million in revenue.

Never Forget Another Anniversary, Thanks to Facebook

Facebook has added a new category to its profile section allowing users to share and recognize relationship anniversary dates. The new “Anniversary” field shows up on profiles under the Relationship section of the Info tab. Once submitted, the anniversary date will be featured on your profile and the profile of your significant other.

Of the new feature, Jackie Kong writes on the company blog, “Besides being able to view anniversaries, you’ll also be reminded of your own anniversary from the Events section on your home page so you can better prepare that romantic dinner or celebration you have always envisioned.”

Chicago Blackhawks Honored By Mashable.com for “Best Brand Use of Twitter”

Mashable.com has honored the Chicago Blackhawks for their social media outreach, according to the NHL Web site. The team was recognized for the “Best Brand Use of Twitter” in the Third Annual Mashable Open Web Awards, an international online voting competition that covers major innovations in web technology and achievements in social media.

“The Chicago Blackhawks are thrilled to be recognized in Mashable’s Open Web Awards, an honor we couldn’t have won without the amazing support of Blackhawks fans and our devoted followers on Twitter,” said Blackhawks Director of New Media and Publications Adam Kempenaar. “Their passion drives our social media efforts, as we continue to look for fun, innovative ways to interact with our fans and encourage them to embrace our brand.”

Twitter’s 2009 Top Trending Topics List

Twitter has released its 2009 Top Trending Topics list, revealing the most popular topics and issues that captured the world’s attention over the past year. Coming in as the most prevalent topic among all keywords, hashtags and phrases were the Iranian elections. The terms “#iranelection,” “Iran” and “Tehran” were all in the top 21 Trending Topics with “#iranelection” finishing second behind the regular weekly winner “#musicmonday.”

In messages of 140 characters or less, the top three people most tweeted about in 2009 were Michael Jackson, Susan Boyle and Adam Lambert. Other people that made the top ten list included Chris Brown, Tiger Woods and Christian Bale. Within the movie category, “Harry Potter,” “New Moon” and “District 9″ made the top three spots. Other movies that made the top ten list included “Star Trek,” “Paranormal Activity” and “Slumdog Millionaire.” The most popular technology topic in 2009 was the Google Wave, while the hottest TV topic was “American Idol.”

Charities Using Social Media to Reach Out to Volunteers, Donors

Charity organizations are becoming savvy when it comes to outreach through social media, and the Baltimore Sun reported on Tuesday about several Maryland-area charities that are using sites such as Facebook and Twitter to connect with potential volunteers.

For example, the Salvation Army is giving people the ability to put a virtual version of their famous red kettles on their Facebook pages as a way for their friends to donate to the organization. Organizations such as the United Way are using Twitter to update the public on families who were helped by donations made during the holiday season.

“We’re hoping to get this new audience, and we hope in the end there is a fundraising component with it,” said Amrit Dhillon, communications director for the United Way of Central Maryland.

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