Osama trumps Royal Wedding: This week in Twitter
(CBS/What's Trending) Last weekend, it was all too obvious that the dominating Twitter trending topic for our week (4/29 through 5/5) would be the Royal Wedding occurring at Westminster Abbey between Prince William and Kate Middleton. The wedding dominated Twitter from Thursday through Saturday as viewers watched televised and online coverage and discussed every aspect of the event from the guests to the flower girls to the gown to the music. It was billed as the "Wedding of the Century"!
So, Royal Wedding seemed to be a lock for number one Twitter trending topic. That is, until President Barack Obama came on to television Sunday night to announce that during a raid by a select group of Navy SEALS, U.S. military had entered the compound of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan and that bin Laden had been killed when he resisted.
At first, the news was met with disbelief and then jubilation on the part of some Americans who viewed Osama as an icon of evil and who held him responsible for several terrorist assaults including the attacks of 9/11. Users on Twitter poured over every detail of the raid, including some false reports, as the truth of the assault slowly emerged during the early part of the week.
One reason that the death of Osama bin Laden dominated even a flawlessly choreographed Royal Wedding is because of the enormous financial, psychological and cultural impact, especially in the West following the 9/11 attacks. Bin Laden resided at dead center of this "War on Terrorism," and the hunt for him lasted ten years. People not only reacted emotionally upon hearing of his death, but also reflected upon what effect his death might have upon U.S. society and a war that has been going on since 2001 in Afghanistan.
While the wedding in British monarchy created some priceless and memorable moments, 9/11 affected our understanding of ourselves as Americans and also influenced our expectations of our future lives. With a key figure in global terrorism gone has everything changed? Or was it primarily a symbolic victory? Heads of state, servicewomen and men and ordinary citizens will continue to discuss and question our continued military effort in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world during coming months.
The Will & Kate wedding and the death of Osama bin Laden were clearly the biggest stories of the week, but they didn't constitute all conversation on Twitter the past week. Users continue to be preoccupied with football, especially in Europe and South America, and with the NBA Playoffs, particularly the match-up between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. The ongoing end-of-the-season competition in both sports kept fans riveted as they watched basketball conference semi-finals and football tournaments.
Entertainment, particularly music, is another enduring theme in Twitter's Top Trending Topics as Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Chris Brown and Owl City all had a prominent place in the Top ten. Also, the vast & mighty readership of Harry Potter caused several characters from the books to trend for days as Potter fans reminisced about their favorite scenes in the books. Rounding out the Top 10 at #6 was Star Wars Day, May 4, the day when sci-fi fans and geeks-for-the-day proudly said, "May the Fourth be with you!"
Next week, expect to see soccer and football to continue to place in the Top 10. We might also see TV programs as series come to their season finales and movies now that we've entered the blockbuster summer movie season.