Facebook

Facebook, with its 800 million active members, has become a barometer for what's on their minds. It is out this morning with its "Memology" for 2011 - the "Top Ten Global Topics" on which users clicked "like" this year.

Take a look at their graph. It's a reflection of popular moods. The death of Osama bin Laden, it shows, was by far the biggest story to users this year, followed by the Super Bowl and the Casey Anthony verdict.

Courtesy Facebook

Facebook's data team says it culled through people's posts for key phrases, much as Google or Yahoo use the data people enter to identify the top search trends. Facebook's team found, for instance, that the phrase " Royal Wedding" rose nearly 600-fold in the days before the April 29 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Other nuggets they shared: "Planking" was easily the year's fastest online fad - and a very short-lived one. It shot up out of nowhere in May, then disappeared, briefly rebounded in July when celebrities such as Chris Brown and Katy Perry got involved. By the end of November it was back to where it had been from January to April: virtually nonexistent.

As 2011 went on, people increasingly used the terms "lms" (short for "like my status") and "tbh" ("to be honest") on the site. Their use was still rising as Facebook posted the results of its data-crunching for the year.

What does all this say about us? We'll leave that to you, but conspicuous by their absence are issues people mention first in public opinion polls: nothing about the economy or the presidential race as it picks up steam.

Facebook has more on its own " Memology" page. Other lists from them are below.

----------

Top 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

Movies 1. Harry Potter 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

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

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