Top Interactive Stories of 2009 (part 1)

Before we get too far into 2010 we thought this would be a good time to take a look back at the big interactive stories of 2009. The following is our (subjective) list of the most significant developments of the year that just went into the books:

• Social Media Missives: If there was a single buzz phrase that we heard more than any other in 2009, it had to be Social Media. At times it seemed to be presented as a kind of interactive snake oil: "Reach millions! Pay nothing!" The truth is that done right, leveraging social media gives your organization an invaluable way to engage with the individuals at ground zero for brand. Of course, doing it right requires a lot more than tweeting your brand's slogan five times a day with a tiny.url to your latest microsite. Think of social media as a dinner party; don't walk in using a megaphone.
• Twitter Explosion: Sure, Twitter has been around for years, but 2009 was the year that twitter really captured the public imagination. The popular microblogging site got a big lift from a celebrity race to one million followers, but Twitter also got a big boost because it lends itself so well to the increasingly ubiquitous smartphones. Celebrity impersonations were also widespread, leading Twitter to start certifying some celebrity profiles. The latest foray is Twitter lists, which allow you to group the people you follow by topic (or some other thread) and gives a whole new way to weave meaning into the interconnected fabric of Twitter.
• Widespread Mobility: People close to the mobile internet industry have been predicting for years that we were on the verge of mainstream adoption of mobile internet. 2009 may have finally been the year that proved them right. Maybe in your corner of the globe people have be surfing from their handsets for years. Here in Canada, though, we've seen the bottom fall out of the previously exorbitant mobile data rates. Pair that with handsets that are getting better and cheaper all the time, and it's easy to see why surfing on the go is becoming more and more commonplace. The only thing that may be lagging now is the recognition by marketer of just how big this opportunity has become.
• Location, Location, Location: One other outgrowth of the smartphone explosion is that more and more people now have GPS-enabled devices. Apps like Foursquare and Gowalla are trying to find the sweet space where location meets social media, but with browsers increasingly making this information available to web applications, the door is now open to adding a whole new layer of relevance to your interactive experience.
• The Machine That Goes Bing: Although the observant among you will know that this is hardly the first time that Microsoft rebooted its search offering. Bing seems to have gotten a warm reception, however, and given that Microsoft and Yahoo! have at least reached a kind of truce, the day may come when someone can challenge Google on its home turf.

Stay tuned for more in the second part of our look back at the top interactive newsmakers of 2009.