What Was Your Favorite Social Media Story Of The Year?

You don’t have to look hard to find a list of the most important social media trends, sites or services of 2011. It seems everyone has a list, filled with what they feel were the most earth-shattering social media stories of the year.

It’s true that 2011 did seem to be the Year of Social Media. Everything from the revolutions of thought to revolutions of service seemed centered around it, and lots of people took notice.

I’m not much for lists, but there certainly are a fair number of stories which I feel are worth mentioning again. So, here is my “Not A List” of the big social media moments in 2011:

Revolutions of Thought: From the London Riots, to the Occupy Wall Street Movement to the Arab Spring, social media was there. When it came to righting wrongs, and turning the tables on social injustice, social media was the weapon of choice. We saw protests erupt in some unusual places where social media had only just gained a toe-hold. Although social media networks were weak in some places compared to others, they were no less effective in challenging long-held beliefs and decades old regimes. The entire face of human civilization was changed as a result of social media, and the changes continue. It is difficult to gauge just how many lives were changed, nor how many other lives were influence, emboldened if you will, because of what was accomplished with a few well-placed Tweets.

Revolutions of Service: I can sum up the social media service news of 2011 in one word: Google+. The world waited with baited breath as Google slowly rolled out their new social media network. Initially the interest was strong and new users scrambled to get an invitation; to create their own Circles and Share their own stuff–much the same way folks have been doing on Facebook, only this was decidedly NOT Facebook. Some called it the anti-Facebook, but that’s a bit of a stretch. Although Google+ launched with a bang its number of new users has slowed to a trickle, leading some to question whether it can be sustained over the long run. Of course these people have failed to realize that Google isn’t trying to put Facebook out of business, they are trying to create a social media network for their existing legion of fans; folks who already use the abundance of other Google services, like Blogger, YouTube and Docs. In this way Google stands the best chance of surviving long term than any other existing social media network. It doesn’t need to attract users–it will slowly integrate everyone who already uses a Google service and thereby continue to grow its network organically.

In my opinion those are the two biggest social media stories to come out of 2011, but I really want to know is what do YOU think were the biggest social media stories of the year? And what do you think will come next? Tell me in the comments below:

Tags: social media 2011