The Year in Review 2012: Our Editors’ Picks
It was a fast-paced year of social trends and developments impacting many areas of our lives, from privacy to shopping and even the English language itself. Here are our editors’ picks for the Top Ten Posts of 2012, providing you a bite-sized look at key social moments in 2012:
- Five Emerging Social Trends of 2012—Matt Goddard describes a rapidly accelerating shift in social media and marketing, where consumers are at the center of the experience and brands are hastening to respond.
- Social Media Transforms the English Language—Alex Brown describes CollinsDictionary.com’s campaign to crowdsource submissions for new words. “Tweeps,” “cray,” and “yolo” made the list.
- Consigned to History by the Smartphone—The iPhone 5 arrived this year to great fanfare. As smartphones make our lives more convenient, what prior innovations have they consigned to history? Steve Watts takes a look.
- How to Use Pinterest to Get More Traffic to Your Blog—Pinterest became one of the social world’s fastest-growing sites in 2012. Andreea Ayers explores how you can make the most of your Pinterest presence.
- Social Media and Showrooming: Tips for Retailers—Consumers turned to their smartphones while shopping more than ever before this year, searching for deals while browsing in-store. Dr. Gary Edwards outlines how retailers can best respond to this trend.
- Go Ahead, Tweet It: Seven Ways to Take Advantage of the Social Power of Your Satisfied (and Not-So-Satisfied) Customers—Online reputation management was increasingly important in 2012, with some brands faring better than others in their efforts. Ron Kaufman shares how you can deliver excellent customer service and respond to complaints using your social presence.
- Social Media to the Rescue: The American Red Cross Story—Incidents of extreme weather were widely reported throughout 2012, from the Midwest Tornadoes to Hurricane Sandy. Jo Ellen Warner explains social media’s important role in disaster response.
- Best Practice Social Business Strategy—Business executives increasingly recognize social’s important role in their strategy, but not all of them have yet figured out what best practices to adopt. Mark Cameron details a few emerging principles that have taken off.
- How to Promote Your Content Online—As more businesses and individuals forge their online presences, how can you distinguish yourself in promoting your own content? Daniel Vahab and Lisa Chau provide a clear action plan for doing just that.
- Facebook Battens Down Against Data Democracy—Facebook, Twitter, Google and other tech giants made headlines again this year for controversial policy changes regarding privacy. Henry Lawson looks into Facebook’s recent controversial community vote and what it means for control over our digital lives.
