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.”