2011 year in review: technology

By: Chenda Ngak
Topics: Tech Talk ,; Wired for Women

(Credit: AP Photo)

(CBS) - Remember how you felt when the iPad 2 was released in March? How about the frustration you felt when Egypt shut down the Internet to deter protesters? Many of us will never forget the emotions that stirred upon learning of Steve Jobs' death.

Full coverage - 2011: Year in Review
PICTURES: 2011 Year in Review: Technology

It was a passionate and emotional year for technology. We kicked off 2011 witnessing social media used as an essential tool in the organizing and documenting of the Arab Spring.

Americans watched as a single tweet took down the political career of one of Washington D.C.'s rising stars. Our hearts broke when iconoclastic visionary Steve Jobs lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. As a result of a hacking scandal, we said good-bye to a newspaper after 168 years in print.

One of the defining themes of 2011 was people. Technological advances wowed us, but it was the citizens of the world who moved us. From hackers to protesters, humanity took hold of these technologies and shook our collective realities this year.

After much deliberation, we selected the stories that we thought best defined the 2011 year in technology.

YouTube's top videos of 2011
Most searched of 2011? Google Zeitgeist reveals who
Best Internet Memes of 2011
PICTURES: The year according to Facebook