Sovini Tan

The news made at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco last week ricocheted through the internet’s many tech blogs. And on YouTube, a mixture of President Obama and the catchy pop tune “Call Me Maybe” was the most viewed news-related video for the second week in a row.

The hit song “Call Me Maybe” entered the news realm last week as a video of President Obama seemingly singing the tune went viral. The video also inspired numerous imitators, displaying the power of the online “meme.”

Bloggers and Twitter users love guessing about new high-tech devices and last week, they were busy discussing what the new iPhone would look like and whether Facebook would jump into the smartphone business. On YouTube, many users saw video of a gruesome crime.

The House passage of the Smith–Mundt Modernization Act led both liberal and conservative bloggers to voice strong concerns that it would pave the way for government influence on domestic public opinion. But they disagreed over who was to blame.

The naming of new celebrity judges for a popular reality show generated major attention in both the blogosphere and Twitterverse last week. And for the second week in a row, events related to the 2012 Mexican presidential election registered as the top news video on YouTube. 

During a week when North Carolina voters rejected same-sex marriage and President Obama endorsed it, the controversial issue inspired a passionate debate on blogs and Twitter. And in both social media platforms, those in favor of allowing gay couples to wed dominated those who were opposed.

An article that focused largely on the president’s relationships with some old girlfriends inspired bloggers to weigh in on both Obama and the article last week. On YouTube, protests in Malaysia calling for fair elections dominated the week’s most popular news videos.

A controversial column arguing that women are “hated” in the Arab world triggered an impassioned conversation in the blogosphere last week that included both warm praise and strident criticism. Another top subject on blogs included a tribute to a classic sports car.

The impending release of Google Drive and looming changes at Google+ triggered a lively online discussion last week as bloggers generally seemed to welcome these new developments. On Twitter, it was another big week for pop stars while a tragic car accident in Japan registered as the most viewed news video.

The sale of the photo networking site Instagram to Facebook for $1 billion gained attention on both blogs and Twitter last week as users were startled by the large price tag. Also, three separate media controversies kept the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin case in the news six weeks after the incident occurred.