Twitter top trending topics of 2009 – Iran Election, Michael Jackson, Google Wave
As the year draws to a close, Web companies will be compiling and publishing lists which sum up the previous year. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo have done this for years but Twitter has now joined the fray with its top trending topics of 2009.
Twitter has grown during 2009 both in popularity and stature. People now see it as a tool for sharing news and views, and gaging what is popular and happening at any given moment. Twitter’s trending topics are a representation of what people are tweeting about, and so provide a good idea of what has been important during the year past.
Twitter has broken down its top trending topics of 2009 into several categories, as follows.
News Events
1. #iranelection
2. Swine Flu
3. Gaza
4. Iran
5. Tehran
6. #swineflu
7. AIG
8. #uksnow
9. Earth Hour
10. #inaug09
Iran and the Iranian elections dominate this list. And Twitter had a big part to play in the election, with those in the country keeping those outside the country up to date on proceedings. Swine flu is the other big trend, and that’s no surprise as people sought information about the pandemic.
People
1. Michael Jackson
2. Susan Boyle
3. Adam Lambert
4. Kobe (Bryant)
5. Chris Brown
6. Chuck Norris
7. Joe Wilson
8. Tiger Woods
9. Christian Bale
10. A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez)
No surprise to see Michael Jackson top this list following his death earlier in the year. People turned to the Web to find out if the rumors they were hearing were correct, and people carried on talking about the singer and his life long after he’d passed away.
Movies
1. Harry Potter
2. New Moon
3. District 9
4. Paranormal Activity
5. Star Trek
6. True Blood
7. Transformers 2
8. Watchmen
9. Slumdog Millionaire
10. G.I. Joe
Harry Potter and the second Twilight film topping the list? Hardly a surprise there. Paranormal Activity is more interesting as a Web campaign ensued in order to gain the low-budget scarefest a wide release.
TV Shows
1. American Idol
2. Glee
3. Teen Choice Awards
4. SNL (Saturday Night Live)
5. Dollhouse
6. Grey’s Anatomy
7. VMAS (Video Music Awards)
8. #bsg (Battlestar Galatica)
9. BET Awards
10. Lost
Reality TV still reigns supreme, with American Idol sitting pretty at the top. Saturday Night Live seems to contain something controversial or with viral potential every single week. And the VMAs were no doubt helped by Kanye West‘s outburst against Taylor Swift.
Sports (Teams, Events, Leagues)
1. Super Bowl
2. Lakers
3. Wimbledon
4. Cavs (Cleveland Cavaliers)
5. Superbowl
6. Chelsea
7. NFL
8. UFC 100
9. Yankees
10. Liverpool
The Super Bowl is still huge, providing the focus for the American sports calendar. But Wimbledon and two English soccer teams in Chelsea and Liverpool also make the list, which pleases me as a British guy.
Technology
1. Google Wave
2. Snow Leopard
3. Tweetdeck
4. Windows 7
5. CES
6. Palm Pre
7. Google Latitude
8. #E3
9. #amazonfail
10. Macworld
Google Wave has been talked about since it was first revealed, and now people are seeking out invitations to use it even if they don’t fully understand what it does. Apple fanboys will be happy to see Snow Leopard ahead of Windows 7, while Amazon can’t be too happy to see #amazonfail in the top 10.
Hash Tags
1. #musicmonday
2. #iranelection
3. #sxsw
4. #swineflu
5. #nevertrust
6. #mm
7. #rememberwhen
8. #3drunkwords
9. #unacceptable
10. #iwish
As TechCrunch notes, the Hashtag list must have been cleaned up before publishing as many of the ones which regularly appear are either unsuitable for a family audience or spam.
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