As we reflect on the previous year, I think it’s safe to say that 2009 was truly the Year of Twitter. Sure, Twitter actually made its debut in 2006 but 2009 marked a year in which the platform saw unprecedented success and credibility as a microblogging site. From celebrities to politicians to athletes, the world was all-a-twitter in 2009 and there were some pretty twitterific moments to remember. Social media blog Buzzmarketing Daily has released its Top 10 Most Important Tweets of 2009. These are the tweets changed the landscape of Twitter, media and journalism and communication as we know it. In keeping with yesterday’s theme of social media being used to report breaking news and change the course of a crisis, we’ve picked a couple that really stood out to us.
4. Tweet: There’s a plane in the Hudson. Im on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy
From: @jkrums
Our Take: No one will ever forget the scene that day when a US Airways plane carrying 155 passengers and crew made an emergency landing right in the Hudson River. Much like the recent Haiti earthquake just last week, the first images and information reported were from eyewitnesses on their Twitters like @jkrums before reporters and journalists arrived at the scene. The relationship between traditional journalism and Twitter changed forever.
5. Tweet: Allah – you are the creator of all and all must return to you – Allah Akbar – #Iranelection Sea of Green
From: @persiankiwi
Our Take: During this historical, yet corrupt election, the Iran government shut down email, texting, phone calls and Facebook- but not Twitter- in an attempt to limit any news about the election. As a prominent Iranian reporter, @persiankiwi continued to report news on the election through his tweets until he was presumably killed. The above was his last tweet. One more example of how traditional journalism and social media intersect to provide coverage of major world events.
Which tweets stood out most to you?
