Highlights the fastest-growing topic areas,FaceBook 2011′s Most-Popular Status Trends

Facebook status updates played a starring role in the evolution of the world’s largest social network in 2011.

As several major changes to status updates (increased character limits, for example) rolled out throughout the year, Facebook data scientists kept their eyes focused on tracking the key trends among those status updates.

Facebook unleashed that research late Tuesday night in their end-of-year Memology list, which each December since 2009 has helped users understand the most-popular topics, cultural trends and acronyms on the site.

Similar to what was popular on Twitter in 2011, high-profile deaths triggered (see image above) plenty of discussions among you and your friends. On Facebook, the death’s Osama bin Laden, Steve Jobs and Amy Winehouse incited heavy activity in status updates.

SEE ALSO: Beyonce’s Baby Bump Inspired More Tweets Per Second Than Steve Jobs’ Passing

“While it takes days of painstaking work to compile the data, it’s a rare chance to get an insight into what the world is talking about,” data scientist Eytan Bakshy told Mashable.

This year’s list also highlights the fastest-growing topic areas in news, entertainment and sports.
 
Most-Listened To Songs

1. “We Found Love” by Rihanna and Calvin Harris

2. “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” by Katy Perry

3. “Sexy And I Know It” by LMFAO

4. “Titanium” by David Guetta and Sia

5. “First of the Year” by Skrillex

6. “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” by Skrillex

“2011 was also the rise of music producer Skrillex,” Facebook notes. “Although Skrillex has been around for years, his 2011 tour, a collaboration with Korn, and record label launch prompted a 76-fold increase in the number of people mentioning him in their status updates on Facebook.”

7. “Without You” by David Guetta and Usher

8. “Stereo Hearts” by Gym Class Heroes and Adam Levine

9. “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People

10. “Someone Like You” by Adele

Movies

1. Harry Potter
“Wands are only as powerful as the wizards who use them. Some wizards just like to boast that theirs are bigger and better than other people’s.”

2. The Twilight Saga

3. Toy Story

4. Avatar

5. Jackass

6. Shrek

7. Saw

8. Pirates of the Caribbean

9. Fast & Furious

10. Titanic
 
Acronyms

Two acronyms gradually seeped into your repertoire as the year progressed: “lms,” which is short for “like my status,” and “tbh,” which expands to “to be honest.” Facebook says “lms” is its fastest-growing acronym. We’re confident that this viral video — “Like Mah Status” — played some part in the acronym’s usage growth on Facebook. To see me mash up the acronyms into one status update, check out my Facebook profile.
TV Shows

1. House

2. Two and a Half Men

3. The Simpsons

4. Family Guy

5. South Park

6. Grey’s Anatomy

7. SpongeBob SquarePants

8. CSI: Miami

9. iCarly

10. The Big Bang Theory
 
Top Meme

“Status updates mentioning planking, where people lie face down in unusual locations, exploded in May,” Facebook notes. “That happened after Max Key, the son of New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, posted a Facebook photo of himself planking in the family lounge with his father in the background.”
 
Musicians

1. Rihanna

2. Bob Marley

3. Avril Lavigne

4. David Guetta

5. Enrique Iglesias

6. Usher

7. Lady Gaga

8. Metallica

9. Green Day

10. Black Eyed Peas
 
Actors and TV Personalities

1. Megan Fox

2. Vin Diesel

3. Adam Sandler

4. Selena Gomez

5. Will Smith

6. Taylor Lautner

7. Jackie Chan

8. Ashley Tisdale

9. DJ Pauly D

10. Kim Kardashian
 
Fictional Characters

1. Dr. House

2. Dory

3. Patrick Star

4. Mr. Bean

5. Upin & Ipin

6. Bob Esponja

7. Mario

8. Doraemon

9. Ari Gold

10. Sue Sylvester (GLEE)
 
Athletes

1. Leo Messi

2. Cristiano Ronaldo

3. John Cena

4. Ricardo Kaka

5. David Beckham

6. Michael Jordan

7. Sachin Tendulkar

8. Andres Iniesta

9. Kobe Bryant

10. Cesc Fàbregas
 
Sports Teams

1. FC Barcelona

2. Real Madrid C.F.

3. Manchester United

4. LA Lakers

5. Chelsea Football Club

6. Liverpool FC

7. A.C. Milan

8. Arsenal

9. Galatasaray

10. Fenerbahce
 
News Outlets

1. CNN

2. Fox News

3. NPR

4. The Onion

5. The New York Times

6. Al Jazeera Channel

7. Yahoo! News

8. The Times of India

9. BBC World News

10. PBS

Note Everything is well worth it/ Android 2.2. A simple, clean interface

We try to shy away from writing about too many note-taking apps, because they are literally less than a dime a dozen. Most are so rudimentary, it would be just as easy to remember it in your head than take the time to write it down.

But Note Everything for Android is different, and so functional that it does warrant a mention here all to itself.

A free download from the Android Market, we tested it out on a smartphone running Android 2.2. A simple, clean interface, Note Everything lets you take type-written notes, voice notes, input data from a barcode (by adding on a free barcode scanning app), and call up notes from Google Docs (also by adding on a free Gdoc access app.) The result: a one-stop button for entering data into your device so that you can keep it, organize it and make it useful.

It also allows for some sharing functionality too, with typewritten or voice notes, for example, that can be emailed by just hitting an “email” button. It was less-than-thrilling to have to add-on the Gdoc and scanning app in the middle of trying to input a note (there was no warning ahead of time that add-ons would be needed), but it’s a free app so we won’t quibble.

The bottom line: as reporters we’ve learned to take notes just about every way possible, and to take them whether we’re seated or on the run. The great thing about Note Everything is that it does what the name says it does, and in a nice, functional way for a smart device. While apps like Evernote will also provide a lot of functionality, not everybody needs that full app or desktop application; sometimes a quick voice or text note – or scanned barcode – will do. For those, Note Everything is well worth it.