Last week, for the first time in two months, the most discussed news story on Twitter was something other than unrest in Iran. Instead, it was Twitter itself and the outage the site faced on August 6. In the blogosphere, attention was focused on an unusual lawsuit. And on YouTube, the top videos involved rising political temperatures in the dog days of summer.
The online community focused on two primary subjects last week – the passing of singer Michael Jackson and the continuing unrest in Iran. The reaction to the King of Pop’s death, along with stunning video of an Iranian woman referred to as “Neda,” demonstrated again not only the power of social media but the range of its use.
The protests in Iran consumed blogs and social media last week. Web users disseminated information, organized and demonstrated solidarity with protestors. In addition to tracking the blogosphere, this week’s New Media Index takes a look at Twitter and the explosion of tweets about Iran.
The most prominent narrative in social media online last week shifted from the stimulus bill to a critique of Obama’s first month in office. While the economic crisis was still a large topic, a policy change at Facebook created an uproar that forced the site to then change course.
With the AIG bonuses fueling outrage, the economic crisis received more attention from the social media last week than any other topic since PEJ began its NMI two months ago. And the week’s most viewed video was a casting call that turned into a stampede.
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