Social media round-up
Monday, 21 Dec, 2012
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2012 has been a phenomenal year for the travel industry. What with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and the Olympic Games, 2012 has proved hugely exciting, but challenging for all of us. So, on the last Friday before the Christmas break (phew!), make like Santa and take five with a mince pie, a glass of sherry (hey, it’s Friday after all) or a steaming cup of tea, and catch up on all the social media happenings with the last Siren Communications round up of 2012.
Merry Christmas and here’s to 2013!
- As the ultimate farewell to 2012, Youtube has revealed its top ten trending clips of the year in the Youtube annual rewind. Topping the list is South Korean pop star Psy’s now legendary Gangnam Style video which has racked up a whopping one billion views. One of our favourite videos of 2012 has to be Felix Baumgartner’s incredible record-breaking sky fall above New Mexico – without a doubt one of the most memorable moments of the year.
- Instagram has become headline news for all the wrong reasons after changing its T&Cs to give it the rights to use any images posted for advertising, without paying the owners. Angry fans hit out on social media this week, most threatening to leave the social networking platform. Instagram sent a message to users via its blog on Wednesday simply saying: "Thank you, we’re listening". And it seems the power of the social media backlash has once again proved its might as Instagram has performed a U-turn and updated its blog post. Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram explained: "We will be doing more to answer your questions, fix any mistakes, and eliminate the confusion. As we review your feedback and stories in the press, we’re going to modify specific parts of the terms to make it more clear what will happen with your photos". As the pressure on social networks to increase revenue streams continues to grow, we don’t think it will be too long before a similar ‘social media content ownership’ row surfaces.
- People across the country were outraged this week when it emerged that presents intended for sick children at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital had been stolen. Businessman and TV mogul Lord Alan Sugar offered to come to the rescue and tweeted offering to replace all of the presents at his own expense.
- And finally, Christmas has well and truly been brought into the 21st century – Santa now has his own app. Specifically designed for Windows 8, users can download ‘Norad Tracks Santa’ to check the progress of the big fella’s route on Christmas Eve.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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