If you’re Justin Bieber and we’re talking the Twitter world here, then yes. So says San Francisco-based social media analytics company Klout, which, at the tail end of December, published its list of the “Most Influential Topics of 2010.”
For all you Bieber haters out there, we hear ya. Seems like the Canadian-born artist is always winning some award or another. He was 2010’s Most Influential Twitter Celebrity, per a December Klout study, and it wouldn’t surprise us if he snagged a few more accolades at the People’s Choice Awards ceremony this Wednesday. Along with B.o.B., Bruno Mars, Ke$ha and Selena Gomez & the Scene, he is currently one of the nominees for this year’s “Favorite Breakout Artist.”
But okay, okay. Back to Mr. Bieber and how he managed to come in at a “close second” to President Obama, the man who—as far as influencer power goes—can ”change the American health care system or order drone attacks in far off lands,” as Joe Fernandez, CEO and co-founder of Klout, wrote in a blog post yesterday about the list of stuff that Bieber, in his current role, can’t possibly do. (Though Fernandez is also quick to point out that such things are not beyond the realm of possibility.)
Here’s how: Klout’s latest report is a reflection of the names, personalities and events that dominated Twitter last year. It determined its list of influential topics not by looking at the volume of posts or amount of retweeting a given subject got, but by analyzing those topics that were “shared by the top influencers on Twitter.” (Though Matt Creamer, editor-at-large at Advertising Age, has an interesting post on why “Your Followers Are No Measure of Your Influence.”) Regardless, if Twitter and a ranking of its most influential word clouds are any way to recap the year in news—hey, the major news networks have been running such stories of late, right?—then here goes:
*2010 was a heavily political year, as evidenced by the prevalence of high-ranking politicians—including President Obama (No. 1), Sarah Palin (No. 3), George W. Bush (No. 5), Scott Brown (No. 9) and Nancy Pelosi (No. 10) on Klout’s most influential people list.
*In the “Politicians” category, Obama easily came in first, despite having Bieber trailing him closely in Klout’s “most influential people” ranking. The rest, including Arizona Senator John McCain and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, are far behind.
*Some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and Taylor Swift, were among the most influential music celebrities on Twitter this year. Even Michael Jackson, despite his passing, continues to hold star power.
*2010 the year of tech, social and mobile? Indeed. Twitter made headlines with its introduction of Promoted Trends and Tweets, Facebook rolled out a location-based check-in service dubbed “Places,” and Apple satisfied pent-up consumer demand with the long-awaited launch of its iPad. Consumers’ fascination with social media continues to spill into 2011, with Goldman Sach’s and Russian Internet investment firm Digital Sky Technologies’ $500 million investment in Facebook hot in the news this week.
TV isn’t dead. Advertisers may be allocating more money into non-traditional forms of media spending, but TV is still where the eyeballs are. Lost, American Idol, Glee and True Blood, among other shows, still maintained their cult-like following as evidenced by conversations in the Twittersphere.
Celebrities, music, tech and television aside, other events that were in the news this year—such as the World Cup, BP’s oil spill and the earthquake in Haiti—were also on Klout’s list.
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