Twitter has published its December edition of Stories.twitter.com, featuring its top 10 Twitter stories of the year.
Twitter Stories is a project started by Twitter last month, whereby the micro-blogging site receives submissions about unique Twitter-related stories.
“Each story reminds us of the humanity behind Tweets that make the world smaller,” says Twitter.
The December edition showcases Twitter's selection of the biggest and most unique tweet-related stories of the year.
According to Twitter, more than 60 billion tweets were sent in 2011. “To choose just 10 of these to sum up the year is virtually impossible,” says a post on the site's blog.
“Instead of attempting to identify the 'most important' Tweets of the year, we're recognising 10 Tweets that are emblematic of the many resonant moments that happened first on Twitter - or could only happen on Twitter.
“As these instances show, a single tweet can bring you closer to neighbours and heroes, immerse you in political change or disaster relief. You might even get a steak dinner where you least expect it.”
The top 10 stories of 2011, according to Twitter, are:
1. Online activist from Egypt Wael Ghonim, who was detained for 12 days for organising protests. Ghonim stated: "If you want to liberate a government, give them the Internet."
2. Shohaib Athar's inadvertent live-tweeting of the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound.
3. The story of homeless man Daniel Morales' use of Twitter to reunite with his daughter after 11 years.
4. NBA star Kevin Durant's use of Twitter to organise a spontaneous game of flag-football with his followers.
5. A group of Londoners using Twitter to organise clean-up efforts after the UK riots in August.
6. The world's reaction on Twitter to the earthquake in Japan in March.
7. Deaf German football fan Julia Probst, who reads the lips of players and coaches during matches and tweets what they're saying.
8. Passenger on a flight from New York to Palm Beach, Stefanie Gordon, who captured photos and a video of the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on her smartphone from the air, and tweeted them when she landed.
9. TV news anchor Okan Bayulgen's use of Twitter to relay emergency information following the earthquake in Van, Turkey. Using the information, two hours later, relief workers rescued two people trapped under rubble.
10. Peter Shankman jokingly asked his favourite restaurant to meet him at the airport with a steak. A waiter was waiting for him with his meal when he landed.
Twitter is encouraging all Twitter users to submit more stories via @twitterstories, or by using the hashtag #twitterstories. “Each month we'll curate a selection of profiles to share,” says Twitter.
* What do you think were the biggest stories of 2011? Tell us in the comment section below.
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