A study of top news stories finds that not only do social media (blogs, Twitter and YouTube) differ sustainably from mainstream media, but they also differ greatly from each other. Among 49 weeks studied, in only 13 did blogs share the same lead story with the traditional media; Twitter (four weeks of 29) and YouTube (eight weeks of 49) were even less likely to match up with the mainstream press. The least overlap, however, occurred within social media. In just one week of 29 studied did blogs, Twitter and YouTube share the same top story. That week was June 15-29, 2009, when all three social media platforms were led by the political protests in Iran. The study of top stories found that different social media regularly focus on different topics. Bloggers gravitate toward stories (often political) that elicit emotion. Twitter is squarely focused on technology. YouTube, while its top story was often seemingly random, has social media’s most international mix of stories. Read More