Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Last week the dominant subject among bloggers was a global poll that illustrated strong sentiment for treating cyberspace as a kind of universal public utility. On Twitter, technology was once again the focus. And a senior citizen disc jockey was the week’s YouTube favorite.
For the third straight week, the Obama Administration’s renewed efforts to pass a health care bill topped the news agenda while the U.S. economy followed in the No. 2 slot. Ex-Congressman Eric Massa’s weird cable TV tour also generated attention. And troubled Toyota found itself in the news again, albeit this time with somewhat more sympathetic coverage.
For the second time in a month, the issue of gay rights drew intense interest from the blogosphere. The Chilean earthquake finished a close second while news about Google was the lead topic on Twitter. And on YouTube, four of the five top videos were about an animal trainer drowned by a killer whale at SeaWorld in Orlando.
The media last week were focused squarely on politicians. While Obama’s health care gamble was the top story, Jim Bunning’s quixotic Senate crusade, a Texas gubernatorial primary and the resignation of a powerful House committee chairman were also big news. The only non-politics story in the top five was the tragedy in Chile.
Bloggers weren’t very interested in the politics of the big Washington bi-partisan health care summit last week. But they engaged in a spirited debate over a health care warning issued by some pediatricians. On Twitter, several different Web-focused subjects gained the most attention. And Tiger Woods’ media mea culpa drew more than half a million views on YouTube.
With the legislative process stalled in recent weeks, the media turned away from health care reform. But President Obama’s much-awaited February 25 summit meeting changed that. Meanwhile, a modicum of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill fueled coverage of the economy and a mea culpa before Congress put Toyota in the headlines.
Following an interview with one of the leading scientists in the so-called “Climate-gate” controversy, bloggers engaged in a passionate exchange over the merits of climate change science. On Twitter, an airline’s treatment of an overweight celebrity was the top story. And on YouTube, the tragic death of an Olympic luger was a leading driver of traffic.
The economy was the top story last week, but it faced stiff competition from U.S. medals in Vancouver, fighting in Afghanistan, a retiring senator in Indiana and an attack on the IRS in Texas. And then there was Tiger.
Free versus pay? When it comes to music, bloggers last week strongly championed free. On Twitter, strong views over privacy issues surfaced when Google released its new social networking feature, Google Buzz. And a conversation between Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly attracted over a million views on YouTube.