Facebook has released its Year in Review, a look back at the people, moments and things that created the most buzz in 2012 among the billion people around the world on the social network.
The newly listed company assemble a series of trend lists, chronicling the top events, the most popular public figures, the most listened to songs on Facebook across different territories.
In the UK, the London 2012 Olympics was the most discussed topic, with E L James’s erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey in second and marmite X Factor contestant Rylan Clark in third.
Whitney Houston’s death in March and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee made up the rest of the top five, while One Direction and The Avengers also featured in the top ten.
Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye was the social network’s top song of 2012, followed by Fun’s We Are Young and We Found Love by Rihanna.
Additionally, users can access their own personal year in review via their own profiles, featuring the 20 biggest moments of their year, including life events, highlighted posts and most popular stories.
Twitter also released its top trends of the year this week, with Boris Johnson dancing cringe-worthily along to the Spice Girls at the closing ceremony of the Games the most talked about moment on the micro-blogging site.
In the US, president Barack Obama was the most prominent person and political figure, while the presidential election was the most talked-about event on the social network.
The most popular song was We Are Young by Fun, followed by Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye and, of course, Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jespen.
Popular TV shows Duck Dynasty (a reality show about rich hunting rednecks) and Honey Boo Boo (another reality show about a child beauty pageant contestant) provoked the most discussion. The Hunger Games was the most buzzworthy book and movie of the year on Facebook.
Meanwhile, the most number of local check-ins came from Times Square, New York and Disneyland in California.
The most talked about tech of the year was Instagram, Facebook’s own Timeline, Pinterest, Draw Something and the iPhone.
These lists for other territories are available on Facebook Stories at FacebookStories.com/2012.
Additionally, users can access their own Year in Review on timeline. By going toFacebook.com/yearinreview, you can see the 20 biggest moments from your own year, including life events, highlighted posts and your most popular stories.
UK: Trends
Most Talked About
1. London 2012 Olympics
2. Fifty Shades of Grey
3. Rylan Clark
4. Death of Whitney Houston
5.The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
6. One Direction
7. The Avengers
8. Goodbye Blue
9. YOLO (You Only Live Once)
10. Usain Bolt
Songs
1. Somebody That I Used To Know – Gotye
2. We Are Young – feat. Janelle Monáe – Fun
3. We Found Love – Rihanna
4. Titanium – feat. Sia – David Guetta
5. Too Close – Alex Clare
6. The A Team – Ed Sheeran
7. Wild Ones – feat. Sia – Flo Rida
8. Whistle – Flo Rida
9. Domino – Jessie J
10. Drive By – Train
Check-ins
1. Alton Towers
2. Thorpe Park Official
3. The Trafford Centre
4. Hyde Park
5. Leicester Square
6. Covent garden
7. The O2
8. Buckingham Palace
9. Westfield Stratford City
10. Olympic Village
2012 Trends – US
Events
• US Presidential Election
• Superbowl XLVI
• Death of Whitney Houston
• Superstorm Sandy
• London 2012 Olympics
• Death of Trayvon Martin
• Facebook IPO
• Aurora Shootings
• Death of Dick Clark
• Obama’s Endorsement of Gay Marriage
Songs
• We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe) – Fun
• Somebody That I Used to Know – Gotye
• Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
• What Makes You Beautiful – One Direction
• Payphone – Maroon 5
• Mercy – Kanye West
• Some Nights – Fun
• Home – Phillip Phillips
• Boyfriend – Justin Bieber
• Take Care (feat. Rihanna) – Drake
Movies
• The Hunger Games
• The Avengers
• Magic Mike
• The Vow
• Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
• 21 Jump Street
• The Dark Knight Rises
• Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
• Skyfall
• Prometheus
Check-Ins
• Times Square, New York
• Disneyland, California
• AT&T Park, California
• Yankee Stadium, New York
• Rangers Ballpark, Texas
• Fenway Park, Massachusetts
• Dodger Stadium, California
• Universal Studios, Florida
• Wrigley Field, Illinois
• Angel Stadium, California
Public Figures
• Barack Obama
• Mitt Romney
• One Direction
• Tim Tebow
• Eli Manning and Peyton Manning (tie)
• Madonna
• Honey Boo Boo
• Jeremy Lin
• Paul Ryan
• Phillip Phillips
Books
• The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) – Suzanne Collins
• Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) – Suzanne Collins
• Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) – Suzanne Collins
• Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1) -E.L. James
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter, #1) – J.K. Rowling
• The Help – Kathryn Stockett
• Twilight (Twilight, #1) – Stephenie Meyer
• To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
• The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen
Technology
• Instagram
• Timeline
• Pinterest
• Draw Something
• iPhone 5
• Kindle Fire
• SOPA
• News Feed
• Siri
• SongPop
Politics
• Barack Obama
• Mitt Romney
• Voted
• Four More Years
• Paul Ryan
• Rick Santorum
• Gay Marriage
• Obamacare
• The Polls
• DNC
Television
• Duck Dynasty
• Honey Boo Boo
• Big Bang Theory
• Game of Thrones
• Downton Abbey
• Breaking Amish
• Ink Master
• Long Island Medium
• Wife Swap
• Two Broke Girls
Sports
• NY Giants
• New England Patriots
• Tim Tebow
• London 2012 Olympics
• OKC (Oklahoma City Thunder)
• Denver Broncos
• San Francisco 49ers
• Eli and Peyton Manning
• Jeremy Lin
• Los Angeles Clippers
Memes
• TBH (to be honest)
• YOLO (you only live once)
• KONY
• One-word Comment
• Gangnam Style
• Cinnamon Challenge
• Cray
• SMH (shake my head)
• Big Bird
• Linsanity
