Images continue to be the web’s most underrated content format. And if anything, in 2011 we’ve seen the pace of image sharing continue to increase. I’m a fan of images in particular because of how simple they are both to pass on and manipulate: basically encouraging an ongoing story through a culture of remix.
It’s why Imgur does more than a million visitors per month and startups like Canvas show great promise.
With that said, readers here specifically are interested in seeing their ideas spread. That’s why I encourage visual thinking and one of the reasons I’ve been sharing the most popular images here over the last 3 years. The point is to help show what is resonating with digital communities and also inspire you.
So if you’re new to this site (or this series) start with the following posts:
- 50 Viral Images From 2008 And How They Spread (part 1)
- 50 Viral Images Shared in 2009 (part 2)
- 50 More Viral Images Shared in 2009 (part 3)
- 50 Viral Images The Web Shared In 2010 (part 4)
- 50 Clever And Creative Images The Web Shared In 2010 (part 5)
- The Social Web In Pictures: 50 Viral Images Shared In 2011 (part 6)
Keep these in mind when you scroll through the below, you’ll notice some clear archetypes. I’ll try and do a post with some analysis of the larger trends later on.
My methodology for gathering these is simple: it has to break the “hot” threshold on StumbleUpon, Reddit, Digg or some other community that includes diversity, aggregation and incentives. I collect as I go to share with you here.
So, on with what’s hot. Following are the most recent 50 viral images the web’s been sharing in 2011: