50 Unforgettable Social Media Moments from 2012
It's hard to imagine a world that didn't require 140-character thoughts and Facebook likes for "significant" social status. But with the advent of such sites as Twitter, FB and Tumblr, the digital life has become a viral disease.
As 2012 nears its final curtain call, reminiscing on the year that was would not be complete without remembering the timeline frenzies and trending topics that were. Behold, here are the 50 greatest social media moments that don't require a log-in. -Compiled by Rachel Francois and Adelle Platon
Click through the gallery above.
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50. Snoop Dogg being reincarnated into Snoop Lion was almost a case of identity theft over the web. After embracing his new reggae'd persona, the artist formerly known as the Doggfather went on an e-crusade to send celebs like the Kardashians and Rihanna "positive vibes" with links to his first reggae jam "La, La, La."
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49. Before Cole was hopping on mixtapes from the likes of Big Sean to Fabolous during fourth quarter, the North Carolina MC let a follower take the credit for leaking his single "I'm a Fool" after the fan simply asked for it on Twitter. Cole sent the file over with the message "you got the juice now. hahaaa."
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48. Though the ratchetivity from VH1's popular series "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" turnt up television screens, the beef often spilled over onto the web. Singer Toya and her husband MempHitz engaged in a full-on Twitter war with his ex/ R&B songstress K. Michelle after allegations that Memph had abused K years ago. The e-feud resulted in the hit producer slapping Viacom and K with a multi-million dollar lawsuit for defamation.
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48. The Young Money young'un gave birth to his first son with voluptuous gal pal Blacc Chyna and wasn't shy about his affection for King Cairo online as he is about his moolah.
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47. When Kendrick Lamar's highly praised debut good kid, m.A.A.d. city made love to our ears, Lady Gaga's contribution was nowhere to be found. As the pop queen toured all over South America, she took 2 seconds of her time to post the original version of "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" that made most of us grateful K-Dot decided to leave out Mother Monster for the final cut.
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45. Pauly D fistpumped his way into beef with Deadmau5 after the house DJ allegedly claimed the Jersey Shore's resident music man didn't have talent. Throwing in some visual support, Pauly D took to Twitter to spin a diss at Deadmau5: "Wait I'm Sorry I Cant Hear You @deadmau5 The Clearance Section Is Too Loud."
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44. In the un-wise words of Rick Ross, "Tatt my name on you so I know it's real." Former NFL star Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson took it several stitches deeper and decided to ink the face of his estranged wife/ reality star Evelyn Lozada on his leg after they had separated due to a headbutting incident.
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43. The 2008 beef between Lil Wayne and Pusha T was re-hashed in a battle of the diss records. With Pusha dropping his "Exodus 32:1" and Weezy hitting him back with the less-than-scary "Ghoulish," it marked a brief return to waxy scuffles. The key line a la Wayne that made headlines, however, was a tweet: "fuk pusha t and anybody that love em."
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42. When Disney starlet Miley Cyrus took a pair of snippers to the head in the name of cancer, several hip-hop stars were vocal about their opinions on the new look. Odd Future's Tyler, the Creator, was the top slayer as he tweeted to the "Hannah Montana" star, "Your Barber Is An A**hole." It was all love though as he, Miley and Pharrell eventually ended up in the booth together several weeks later.
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41. DJ Calvin Harris became a Twitter target of the 31-million-follower Lady Gaga after claiming on BBC Breakfast that the megastar refused to collaborate. According to Gaga's timeline, that was false. "Seems to be trendy lately to talk shit about "Lady Gaga" when your albums/singles drop," she tweeted. "Y'all should live off your own hustle. Never even emailed you @calvinharris I guess it's hard to believe I write + produce my music. Cuz I'm a woman I don't know about EDM right?"
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40. Since she was a Myspace wonder, the topic of Cassie's relationship status seems to fade as fast as her hair. But in an unfiltered Tweegram, the "King of Hearts" singer snapped back at an anonymous blogger and confirmed that she was happily cuffed before sending tweets and 'grams dedicated to Diddy (see bubble bath with caption 'wish you were here').
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39. The Biebs is used to causing pandemonium but I don’t think he was quite prepared for the blacklash he received from his choice of attire to meet Canada’s prime minister. This time it wasn’t his drop-crotch leather pants but a denim overall number that threw the fashion police in a tailspin. Bieber decided to give us New Kids On The Block Meets OshKosh to accept his Diamond Jubilee Medal from prime minister Stephen Harper. Wearing a striped blue and white unfastened overall jumpsuit with white tee, neon hi-top sneakers and backwards baseball cap, some thought it was outright disrespectful to meet the prime minister in such casual attire but Justin found it quite tongue-and-cheek by tweeting “I met the Prime Minister in overalls, lol. I hope you hate my style.”
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38. When the heiress of the Carter family was welcomed to the world, Pa Jay and Ma Bey christened the world with Blue Ivy’s new-born picture via Beyonce’s tumblr. Besides that, the only glimpses of the princess have been Blanket (a la Michael Jackson) style - swaddled in a plush quilt. Then the unthinkable happened. An anonymous tweeter was able to sneak a pic of the growing baby girl with her braided-up mommy shopping at Bergdorf Goodman in NYC, nearly six months after her birth. In the leaked Twitter pic, you can see the resemblance of her Dad in her adorable chubby cheeks. As of late, Bey has been slap-happy with Instagram posts. Maybe she’ll bless us with an official pic soon. The Beyhive awaits.
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37. After fellow Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco made a comment about the current frightful culture of hip-hop represented by artists like Chief Keef, Mr. 3 Hunna fired e-shots, tweeting “Lupe Fiasco a hoe ass n---a And when I see him I’ma smack him like da lil bitch he is #300.”
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36. Pause-worthy moment, much? Meek Mill and Bow Wow were snapped in a compromising seating arrangement earlier this year while MMG's bike-riding maverick was riding around and getting it. That awkward position though? Not a bawse move.
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35. We knew things were cool with the Jigga Man and Nastradamus when Jay-Z surprised concert goers with Nas at his 2005 “I Declare War” show. We witnessed the positive vibes when we saw the compadres toking on cigars in Jay’s "Roc Boys" video but what’s more real than candid moments posted on Instagram for the world to see? In celebration of Nas’s Life Is Good album release, pics surfaced of the two veteran MCs enjoying each other’s presence and the good life. "Ether" what?
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34. Don’t think Roscoe Dash is going to let you slide on not crediting his songwriting skills. You may not get a call from his lawyers or business personnel but the ATL rapper will straight call you out on Twitter if you’re suspect in not citing your lyrical sources. After calling out Kanye West for not listing his name for “To The World,” Mr. Dash went at MMG’s Wale and Miguel for “Lotus Flower Bomb.” Roscoe showed no mercy when he called Miguel a “fan” and in so many words told him to get his Twitter followers up (at that time he had 206k). Miguel eventually responded with a statement suggesting that he handle business through a more appropriate forum.
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33. Who’s more "vamp" - Yung Rapunxel or Capo? The two Harlemites Azealia Banks and Jim Jones went at each other on Twitter to declare war on the word vamp. While Jones has coined the term "vamp life" to describe his nocturnal work ethic, Banks references it as an ode to her seductive feminine mystique. But on Twitter where word is your bond, Jones wasn’t having it. The two exchanged words as to who can lay rightful claim. The Mermaid even released a diss track “Succubi.”
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32. Did Jacob the Jeweler slip up on an order? If not, this is a serious violation of swagger-jacking on a whole new level. Despite the difference in filter, Bad Boy artist French Montana and Soulja Boy took to their Instagram and posted identical pictures of jewels that left much room for confusion.
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31. Though he didn’t win the election, former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won in landslide numbers with quotable nonsense from the 2012 presidential debates. When asked to discuss the inequality of qualified women in the workforce, Romney said he had a “binder full of women” that he could call on to fulfill positions in his cabinet. The phrase instantly took on a life of its own and became a meme with a dedicated Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter pages. Maybe one those women can hook him up with a side gig.
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30. Often the butt of hip hop jokes caused by his flamboyant fashion taste or feminine songwriting, Drake tends to fall into the trap way too easily. Scenario 129: Drake dons full-length fur trench and posts it to Instagram with caption “Original ATF,” inspiring Halloween-goers with his festive get-up. The ridicule ensues.
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29. In only a way Jay-Z can, he immortalized the line that deemed Loaded Lux the battle rap winner of Smack/URL’s Summer Madness 2. In front of thousands including Diddy, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, and Llyod Banks, Loaded Lux toed up with Calicoe and ultimately sonned homie on the final bars of the battle with the reverberating lines “you gon' get this work.” Mr. Carter later tweeted those lines making it known in which corner he stood for.
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28. No use crying over spilled milk or in Nicki Minaj's case, leaked songs. So next best option? Delete your Twitter. After music from her sophomore effort Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded slipped out onto the Internets, Nicki had an e-motional breakdown: "And that's exactly why I'm paying the barbz dust right now! And deleting my Twitter. Smdh – don't cry for me Argentina...Like seriously, it's but so much a person can take. Good f-cking bye." She has since returned and at 15 million followers strong.
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27. We may never know who Joe Budden and his wifey Kaylin Garcia's personal photographer is but when they post up couple shots, the whole world looks... maybe even stares.
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26. You could hand Beyonce a late pass for finally attempting a social status online but if she wasn't so particular about the personal family photos she posts up on Tumblr or political co-signs she launched her Instagram with, you almost forget that she's no badgalbeybey.
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25. Kanye West has been known for his Twitter rants at ungodly hours of the night but since his G.O.O.D. Music efforts and highly-publicized relationship with Kim Kardashian, he's curbed his tweeting to solely positive characters, whether about Steve Jobs or Kimmy. He even attempted a Twitter hiatus and cleaned slate.
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24. 50 Cent's timeline is known for two things: SMSaudio and beef. His most recent e-opponent French Montana came after the Coke Boy told Complex that the G-Unit leader "could have been a lot bigger" The phrase that launched a thousand hostile tweets.
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23. Los Angeles Laker Andrew Bynum may be sighing from the bench but when a photo of his upside-down Don King hairstyle hit the web, all eyes were on the basketball star.
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22. Meek Mill may have been gunning to play broker for a rap battle between Cassidy and Murda Mook turned into a full-on bid for the MMG spitter to step in the lyrical squared circle with Cassidy. Both Philly natives continue to trade shots on Twitter but like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, this may need some time (and money).
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21. Decked out in Brooklyn Net gear and Timbs, Hov held down the floor at the Barclays Center in a photo snapped up by stylist June Ambrose. As for the caption, Jay channeled his inner Robert Kelly by tweeting "Usually I don't do this but uh go on and break em off with a preview of the remix."
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20. Whatever the boss says, goes. When Hot 97.1's Peter Rosenberg made a comment regarding Nicki Minaj's "Starships" that rubbed the Young Money team the wrong way, Weezy called in the troops for a headlining no-show. The absence caused a riff with the Barbz who paid their pink dollars to see the rapstress, who hooked up with Pepsi for a free show several months after.
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19. All it takes is a character to throw Shyne off. Expressing his grievances with Diddy, Rick Ross and Kendrick Lamar on his timelines publicly has added to the lackluster accomplishments his recent career has produced.
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18. The battle of the rap vixens Azealia Banks and Iggy Azalea was a sure thing since their names were put into the same sentence. Though backed by heavyweights like Kanye West and T.I., respectively, the female lyricists found little in common, making for rounds of fueled Twitter tirades on both ends.
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17. Torn between two lovers, Chris Brown took to Twitter to pour his heart out into a video diary. Though it confirmed what we all knew, Breezy admitting that he couldn't choose between Rihanna or Karrueche alost made the superstar...human.
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16. It may have taken President Obama a couple of rounds to get feisty in the debates but Barack decided to take a seat after Clint Eastwood's "Invisible Obama" speech at the Republican National Convention, supporting Romney. Can't fill a position that's already occupied.
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15. The presidential election may have seemed like a popularity contest for Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, but voting seemed to be the clear winner among photo maps as Instagram users snapped shots of themselves at the booth. Even celebs like Beyonce (above) to Mariah Carey to Ne-Yo showed off their ballots.
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14. Rihanna's 777 tour idea was the first of its caliber: 7 concerts, 7 countries, 7 days. But numbers, especially 150 reporters on-board for the worldly rendezvous, do not lie...especially about delays, lack of food, an Australian streaker or an M.I.A. pop star.
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13. Rapper Bun B nearly had us busting out the Crayola 64 (built-in sharpener included) for this coloring book Tumblr gem of all our favorite MCs. No shade here!
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12. Team Breezy couldn't save Chris from caving in on his Twitter account (a second time) after a salicious exchange with comedian Jenny Johnson. While digging into a celeb's past is daily routine for select members of the media, aggravating the 23-year-old with his 2009 assault on Rihanna seemed to be the last straw that broke the singer/rapper/model's digital back.
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11. Retinas were scarred on Wyclef Jean's 43rd birthday when the Fugee frontman decided to strip down and show off his err..hard work.
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10. Macklemore's debut album The Heist may have been taken nearly a decade to craft but time is of the essence. The indy artist sold 78k units off the strength of his music, including the Ellen DeGeneres-cosigned "Same Love" and the funky shoppers' anthem "The Thrift Shop." Thanks to Twitter, his online presence is a gift that keeps giving back.
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9. Who needs a family photo album when an Instagram photo map can suffice? Rapper Wiz Khalifa and fiancee Amber Rose have been documenting her expanding tummy size on the photo app much to the adoration of Rosestuds, Rosebuds and the Taylor Gang.
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8. Stacey Dash's Mitt Romney co-sign left many of us clueless. While America was founded on the freedom of speech, the actress became a trending topic because of the contradiction in her Republican support. Her response to the haters? “My humble opinion… EVERYONE is entitled to one.”
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7. The viral video of Lil Reese beating on his baby mama started a rumble on the Innanets. With an arsenal of moves that Chuck Norris could envy, the controversy behind the domestic abuse trumped any shine his potential career could get.
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6. The disbanding of the Money Team seemed to be an orchestrated publicity stunt but with Fif taking snapshots with Floyd's extremely delayed opponent Manny Pacquiao and an e-quarrel that could be considered verbal abuse, the relationship status between these two besties is still rocky.
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5. What do you get when two divas are placed on the same judging panel? Ratings! As the appeal for Fox's singing competition "American Idol" dwindled, executive producers decided to rely on a rambunctious round-up of judges to reel in viewers.
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4. What started out as a bottle-bopping fiasco turned into an apparent love square between Drake, Chris Brown and Meek Mill over Rihanna. After allegedly dropping Meek from his Fortune album 's tracklist, Breezy also got scraped in a reported brawl with the Young Money rapper and showed off a clean cut on Instagram. All the while, the trio exchanged cryptic characters over the Bajan beauty.
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3. It's not everyday a PPV-worthy brawl unfolds on your daily commute. A Cleveland teenager learned the hard way after taunting an RTA bus driver, who didn't hesitate to sock it to her. TKO.
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2. Frank Ocean's dashboard confessional of being in love with a man flipped the urban world on its head and eventually avalanched into the mainstream, creating heavy buzz around his Channel Orange debut. Bey may be about the hand-written letters, but Lonny Breaux perfected digital epistles.
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1. When you can beat out Justin Bieber for the most viewed video on YouTube, you're kind of a big deal. The Korean pop sensation known as Psy rode his high horse into homes around the world, even getting Ellen DeGeneres and Britney Spears to attempt the "Gangnam Style" routine. Madonna personally flew Psy out the night after his MTV European Music Award win just to get him hopping on stage beside her at Madison Square Garden. #winning
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