Game Changing Moments in 2011

It’s December which means every end of the year list you can think of will start multiply as the month goes on… so why not add to the list?

Recently on TV Week I found article that listed Twitter’s 2011 Trends by categories like movies, US TV Shows, musical artists, sports events and news topics. In an ultra-shocking nutshell, Justin Bieber won them all (!), yes even musical artists! Now that would be a truly frightening world wouldn’t it if that was real!

Upon second glance after realizing I slipped in that joke, media professionals can actually learn from this list.

How?

Besides the obvious that every human now owns a Twitter account, that word of mouth can be created or generated.

For instance, I know #Glee is popular. Duh, but what’s going on with the story lines that I can use that to my advantage? Or I can see that #SNL is also high on the list. Why? Watch it and observe. Maybe you won’t be able to glean an answer or like that type of humor, but guess what? Others are and paying attention to it. Granted, it’s not an election year – yet – which means watch out!- but until then people are still watching it and more importantly, talking about it and probably (re)watching online clips at work that Monday with others who did not see the show that week.

It’s all about those elusive and precious water cooler moments.

The Grammys, Oscars, Golden Globes, Kids Choice and MTV VMAs are also on the list. Which means they’ll probably be there next year as well. Use that to your advantage. If you know you’re going to get a captive audience, show off your greatest assets. It may not pull in billions of viewers, but it’s the word of mouth that generously makes up for it. Did you see Beyonce’s stomach? No? But did you hear about it?

Can you see where I’m going with this?

I also love the fact that the NBA is number 2 on the sporting event list! Got more action time than the actual game!

As for movies, Batman: Dark Knight Rises is #8. Which can only mean more attention as time goes on toward an eventual release date. Just shows the interest is still out there. Granted, teaser photos were released – but it all just keeps adding up to one hell of a hyped film!

As for news stories – those bind us together now. We all now share these experiences in common – remember when the world didn’t have internet or 24-hour cable news and we didn’t know what was happening across the globe at any random moment of the day? Those days are long gone. For instance, Japan’s tsunami really started to hit land around 11pm (Reno time) – but no matter what news-related channel I flipped to, I could watch the carnage unfold live right in front of my curious eyes. Twitter also proved to be a huge ‘human factor’ during Haiti’s earthquake and aftermath. Lost families found each other – searchers could be summoned to certain areas, and relief efforts could be assembled within minutes where need was located most.

I do think it’s interesting that Osama’s death ranked #5 on the list, while the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton ranked three spots higher on the same list. I could have sworn it would have been the other way around. But – once again I also think time plays a factor. Maybe not many people were up to watch the wedding in the U.S., as say in England and other parts of Europe. That massive population could have outranked weary and tired Americans who had a hard time staying awake around 3am. You do have to be somewhat conscious to type something on Twitter you know? But – I also know that’s why ‘texts from last night’ exists.

I don’t know – maybe Osama’s not important anymore – old news you know? The wedding was new and fresh; Osama had always been out there. Even the May/October rapture ranked above him. There’s also the thought that pop culture overrules news items like Osama – but that then wouldn’t explain why Japan was #1. I’m no expert – just an observer.

Another interesting tidbit – #Christmas is #6 on the overall list. It’s December 6^th. It’s below the #NBA, #LadyGaga, the #JonasBrothers, #Soccer/football and of course #JustinBieber. Maybe people really do still watch the NBA! I gave up after Michael Jordan retired.

I think another moment would be just using the word game changer. Why? Because it’s been so over-used and diluted, it now needs to go away along with win-ning!

Point is – spend some time with lists like this – study them. If not for research, it’ll still make for a great conversation around the water cooler at work.