It seems like there are more and more cool things coming out every day in the world of social media. From the unveiling of Google+ and its rampant growth to politicians taking to Twitter like never before, this month is no exception. So, in case you were busy following debt ceiling negotiations, here are the top ten stories from social media for July 2011, including what to look out for in the upcoming months:
Twitter
Obama hosts virtual town hall on Twitter via The Huffington Post
The president held his first Twitter town hall earlier last month, answering questions Americans tweeted to the commander in chief using the hashtag #askObama. With the help of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey acting as town hall moderator, President Obama answered 18 questions during the event. Even Republican House Speaker John Boehner got involved, tweeting the president, “Where are the jobs?”
Obama asks followers to tweet Republican members of Congress via Mashable
On July 29, President Obama took to his Twitter handle and asked his followers to voice their opinions to GOP lawmakers in each state. The president’s staff provided the Twitter handles of lawmakers in each state, asking Obama’s followers to tweet the Republican representatives and ask for support of a bipartisan resolution to the debt crisis. While many online thought it was a great move, the president lost more than 36,000 followers because of this #compromise Twitter campaign.
Republican Twitter town hall debate via Mashable
Six Republican presidential candidates took part in their own Twitter town hall debate on the website 140TownHall.com. More than 22,000 users visited the website and 14,000 tweets were sent to the @140townhall handle during the event. Presidential hopefuls who participated in the event included Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Thaddeus McCotter, Gary Johnson and Rick Santorum.
Twitter introduces competitive tweeting event to count down one year until 2012 Olympic games via Mashable
Exactly one year before the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics are set to begin, the Olympic website began featuring an interactive contest that ranks the top 20 countries with the biggest fan base. The rankings calculate the number of Tweets, YouTube videos and Flickr photos submitted from each country.
Foursquare
Foursquare checkins now affect Klout scores via Mashable
San Francisco-based company Klout now includes Foursquare checkins to measure the online influence social media users have. Klout scores are now measured using Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn and Twitter activity.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn users can now apply for jobs using their profiles via the LinkedIn Blog
LinkedIn now allows its users to apply for jobs by submitting their LinkedIn profile to companies with open positions. Some companies, including Netflix, Photobucket and more than 1,000 other companies, are featuring “Apply with LinkedIn” buttons on their websites.
Facebook
Netflix to integrate with Facebook later this year via ReadWriteWeb
Netflix will integrate with Facebook in Latin America and Canada, but is unable to come to the United States because of limitations within the Video Privacy Protection Act. However, Nexflix’s second quarter earnings statement said a group of lawmakers is hoping to alter the VPPA so Facebook would be able to integrate Netflix, offering the service to U.S. Facebook users who want the Netflix capabilities.
Facebook integrates with Skype for online calling via PCWorld
The social networking giant announced its partnership with Skype to introduce video chat. For the time being, Facebook users can only use the service for one-on-one communication with Facebook friends, but in the future, Facebook hopes to expand the service to include group video chat and mobile chat features.
Google+
Google+ ends its first month with 20 million users, becoming the fastest growing social network in history via Mashable
While it’s still too early to tell what the future will hold for Google’s social networking service, the unprecedented growth during its first month (before the service has launched publicly) is nothing to scoff at. Even social media king Mark Zuckerberg has joined Google+, becoming one of Google+’s most popular users.
A new development on the horizon?
Microsoft opening a social media platform? Via TechCrunch
Soon after Google launched Google+, Microsoft may have “accidentally” hinted about its own social media network. A leaked photo surfaced, showing what might be the home page for Microsoft’s social network, possibly named Tulalip. Microsoft was quick to cover its tracks, saying the image was from an internal design project and was published online by mistake.
Social media milestones
Aside from Google+'s staggering growth in the first month, other social networks showed major improvements. Facebook hit the 750 million user mark, and Twitter users set a new record during the Women's World Cup, sending 7,200 tweets per second.