Wetpaint Announces Top 2008 Trends and Topics in Social Publishing and Predictions for 2009
Here
you will find awards for the most popular topics and personalities
online for 2008 and predictions for the emerging trends of 2009. From
Miley to the L Word and True Blood to Little Big Planet, this is your
online trend watch.
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) -- Voter suppression, True Blood, Join the Impact, Miley Cyrus and Dude Boobs rank among the most topics driving interest and activism online in 2008, according to Wetpaint,
which hosts more than 1.2 million socially published websites. Wetpaint
today announced the 2008 Top Trends and Topics in Social Publishing, as
represented by the millions of contributions made by everyday Internet
users on the Wetpaint network. The year's social publishing zeitgeist
reveals a cultural canvas that is hot for television, games,
smartphones, social causes, and education, as well as, shall we say,
some unusual interests.
"I am always fascinated by the topics that rocket to popularity in
any given year," said Ben Elowitz, CEO of Wetpaint. "When people
create, collect, and organize content together about something they're
really into, the results are always amazing - and certainly never
predictable."
Based on traffic and contribution to Wetpaint sites, the top content categories in 2008 on the Wetpaint network were:
1. TV Fansites
2. Social Activism
3. Gaming
4. Smartphones
5. Education
Even though the economy is in the doldrums, there seems to be little
that stifles television fans' enthusiasm for their favorite show and
actors. Wetpaint users dedicated more time to creating, collecting, and
organizing television content than any other subject matter. The top
television fansites were:
Top TV Fansites:
1. True Blood
2. Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles
3. The L Word
4. As the World Turns
5. CSI
6. The Deadliest Catch
7. Hannah Montana
8. Dexter
9. High School Musical
10. House
"2008 was the year of the vampire! Because of the pop culture
phenomena like True Blood and Twilight, we saw the popularity of
zombies and the supernatural skyrocketed among Wetpaint users this
year," said Michael Bolognino, community manager for Wetpaint.
"Cultural rewind will reign supreme in 2009. We're already seeing a lot
of interest in "back to the future" with fansites for shows like the
new 90210 and the coming revival of 21 Jumpstreet."
Top Causes Galvanizing Social Activism:
1. Join the Impact
2. Voter Suppression
3. Obama Delegates
4. Obamapedia
5. Save Darfur
"Its no surprise that Obama dominated the online political
mindshare, but what was surprising was the surge in so-called 'flash
activism,'" continued Bolognino. "2009 will see an explosion of people
using the Web to organize social movements. Everyone saw what Obama did
and will try to replicate it for their own cause."
This year's the best example of that trend was Join the Impact. In
about a week's time, 300 simultaneous protests attracting a quarter
million participants around the world were organized using Wetpaint.
Top Gaming Sites:
1. Last Chaos
2. Free Rider
3. Sword of the New World
4. Little Big Planet
5. Fracture
"Community-based gaming was one of the hottest trends of the year,"
said Bolognino. "Fans were so eager to make their mark on titles like
Little Big Planet and Spore that they created and contributed to
Wetpaint sites months before the games even hit the shelves. And we
can't forget about the MMORPGs--gamers flocked to the network to build
virtual libraries of tips, tricks, and strategies for multi-player
online games like Last Chaos and Sword of the New World."
Top Smartphones:
1. T-Mobile Dash
2. AT&T Tilt
3. T-Mobile G1
4. Sprint Touch
5. HTC Mogul
While the iPhone might dominate the headlines, Smartphones continue
to generate significant online chatter as Smartphone owners seek new
ways to get the most from their handheld gadget.
Bolognino continued, "The Smartphone community is amazing - Smartphone
users ask and answer more questions than any other community. The sites
are an amazing resource. 2009 will bring even more interest to the
category as the Google phone gains traction and other models make their
debut at the Consumer Electronics Show."
Education
From the University of Washington School of Law to Canberra Grammar
School, professors and teachers are becoming by necessity very Web
2.0-savvy. Faced with evaporating budgets, thousands of teachers
extended their classroom curriculum online via free Wetpaint
communities created for and with their students. They are using
Wetpaint to keep students engaged and interacting with the subject
matter beyond the classroom. 2009 promises more of the same as more and
more professors, teachers, and students grow increasingly comfortable
leveraging technology to extend their classroom interaction and
learning.
The WWW: Weird, Wild, and Wonderful:
1. Warrior Cats
2. LOLSpeak Dictionary
3. Dude Boobs
4. Chuck Norris Jokes
5. Zombie Survival & Defense
"Not a day goes by that I'm not surprised, confused, shocked, or
LoLing at a new Wetpaint site," said Bolognino. "From male mammaries to
Chuck Norris to Zombie survival tips, I can't even begin to imagine
what 2009 will bring in terms of the weird, wild, and wonderful. The
one thing I'm sure of - next year's list will be even weirder."
About Wetpaint:
Wetpaint is the leader in social publishing. With the world's largest
network of over one million social sites and partnerships with major
brands such as Dell, The Discovery Channel, Fox, HP, HTC, New York
Giants, Showtime, and T-Mobile. Wetpaint offers the industry's most
proven social publishing platform for mainstream users and businesses
alike. Wetpaint is backed by Accel Partners, DAG Ventures, Frazier
Technology Ventures, and Trinity Ventures. For company information,
visit wetpaint.com.
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