Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
With its wintry TV tableaus, last week’s massive snowstorms topped a news agenda tilted toward the nation’s Capitol. Not only did Washington D.C. bear the brunt of the snow’s wallop, but Beltway-based battles over the jobs and health care came next in the roster of leading stories.
Free versus pay? When it comes to music, bloggers last week strongly championed free. On Twitter, strong views over privacy issues surfaced when Google released its new social networking feature, Google Buzz. And a conversation between Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly attracted over a million views on YouTube.
Bloggers weren’t very interested in the politics of the big Washington bi-partisan health care summit last week. But they engaged in a spirited debate over a health care warning issued by some pediatricians. On Twitter, several different Web-focused subjects gained the most attention. And Tiger Woods’ media mea culpa drew more than half a million views on YouTube.
Anticipation and reaction to Apple’s new iPad was the hottest topic on Twitter last week. Blogs, though, were more caught up with a British program made up entirely of footage shot by chimpanzees. In both arenas, the President’s State of the Union Address drew little reflection.
The failed terror attack on NWA Flight 253 led the news on blogs, Twitter and in the mainstream press last week. The online community debated everything from who to blame for the close call to the impact on airline travel. On YouTube, a spectator’s view of a Christmas Eve attack on Pope Benedict XVI generated the most views.
A story about a British sex study was the No. 1 news topic in the blogosphere last week while news of an elitist dating site led on Twitter. On YouTube, a Brazilian news anchor got himself into trouble for making insulting comments he thought were private.
Social media responded strongly to the tragic earthquake that shattered Haiti last week. Beyond conveying information and first-hand accounts, Twitter became central in the effort to raise funds through text-messaging to help relief organizations. On YouTube, surveillance videos gained widespread attention.
The recovery efforts following the tragic earthquake in Haiti continued to be the main subject of interest in parts of social media last week—particularly on Twitter and YouTube. Blogs also discussed details of the quake’s aftermath, but the blogosphere paid more attention to other topics, including warnings from European countries about security risks involved with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
Last week, bloggers gave more attention to the subject of global warming than at any time this year. And while skeptics continued to focus on “Climate-gate,” defenders were more vocal than in previous weeks. On Twitter, the growing Tiger Woods scandal earned the most attention. And on YouTube, a feisty exchange between the White House press secretary and a reporter was the most viewed news video.