Facebook has released its 'Memology 2011' statistics, highlighting the biggest trends on the social network for the year.
Facebook's Memology 2011 was developed by data scientists Jonathan Chang and Eytan Bakshy.
Chang says: “Memology takes the pulse of this global community by comparing this year's status updates to last year's, unearthing the most popular topics and cultural trends - or memes - emerging on Facebook.”
The death of Osama bin Laden tops the global topic chart for the year, followed by the American Superbowl.
Charlie Sheen, Steve Jobs and the royal wedding also make the top 10.
Almost 10% of all status updates on the social network spoke about Osama bin Laden on 1 May 2011.
“Charlie Sheen captured people's attention in March, when his trademark 'winning,' 'tiger blood' and 'goddesses' memes took off,” says Chang.
In April, the royal wedding dominated conversations, as Chang says the phrase 'Royal Wedding' shot up 600-fold in the days prior to the big event.
Planking down under
According to Chang, the trend exploded on Facebook in May after Max Key, son of New Zealand prime minister John Key, posted a Facebook photo of himself planking in the family lounge with his father in the background.
“The fad quickly lost steam, then rebounded in July when celebrities such as Tom Green, Chris Brown and Katy Perry drew more attention to it. But even they couldn't stem planking's eventual decline,” says Chang.
Acronyms that went viral this year were “lms” (like my status) and “tbh” (to be honest).
Chang explains: “A new use of 'lms' emerged this year as a way to interact with friends on Facebook. 'lms and I'll post your best feature' asks friends to like a status and get a response in the comments. This catapulted 'lms' to become the fastest-growing meme of 2011.”
Facebook has also measured which news articles were the most shared during the year, and the Japan earthquake comes out on top. Here's the full list:
1. Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami (New York Times)
2. What teachers really want to tell parents (CNN)
3. No, your zodiac sign hasn't changed (CNN)
4. Parents, don't dress your girls like tramps (CNN)
5. Father Daughter Dance Medley (Yahoo)
6. At funeral, dog mourns the death of Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan (Yahoo)
7. You'll freak when you see the new Facebook (CNN)
8. Dog in Japan stays by the side of ailing friend in the rubble (Yahoo)
9. Giant crocodile captured alive in Philippines (Yahoo)
10. New Zodiac Sign Dates: Ophiuchus The 13th Sign? (The Huffington Post)
To see the full 'Memology 2011' report, please click here.
Share