Shark warnings and Beyonce
To round off 2013, Facebook revealed its annual trends report. Across the globe, travel was one of the most popular things we posted about over the year, coming behind only wedding and engagement related posts. The social media site also revealed the places we checked-into most around the world last year, with Disney theme parks coming top of the list of four of the 25 countries included in the report – USA, China, Japan and France. Other popular check-in sites on Facebook were The O2 in London, Blue Lagoon in Reykjavik, The Golden Temple in India and Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in South Africa.
We’re always on the lookout for the more creative uses of social media and this week we’ve come across a rather nifty use of Twitter. Surf Life Saving WA is using the social platform to send shark sightings and warnings to beach-goers who might be heading for a dip in the sea. Forward-thinking scientists in Perth have electronically tagged a number of the deadly creatures with transmitters – when one swims to within 1km of the shore, a signal is sent to a receiver which triggers an automatic tweet. With a number of attacks over recent months, this system hopes to help in bringing down the number of casualties on the Western Australian coast.
The New Year brings some great reviews of the year gone by and one of our favourites has to be the State of Social Media 2013. From the Harlem Shake and seven-second images with Snapchat to Instagram introducing video and Beyonce’s surprise album which took over Twitter in December. 2013 was the year that social media became no longer just a trend, but a way of life and the way we do business.
If you’re still recovering from that New Year’s Eve blow-out or simply want to take you mind off the fact that you’re back at work already, the Guardian’s travel team has the perfect solution. Get inspiration for your 2014 adventure with the ‘best travel videos of 2013′. Passport at the ready…
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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