ViralWorld

The internet in 2009

2009 was the year of Black Twitter, David After Dentist, Susan Boyle I Dreamed a Dream and Bilibili. Part of early YouTube.

The one from 2009

Black Twitter

You might remember it as Late Night Black People Twitter

The community that set the agenda of a platform it did not own, and wrote most of the language everybody else copied.

Defining moments of 2009What the year is remembered for

2009, month by monthAs it happened

  1. Democracy Manifest The unedited footage is put online and spreads at once. Wikipedia — Democracy Manifest

  2. Netflix and chill The first recorded tweet with the words, meaning exactly what it says. Wikipedia — Netflix and chill

  3. The Duck Song Oden posts the song with its lyrics. Wikipedia — The Duck Song

  4. Caramelldansen The song wins international single of the year at the Japan Gold Disc Awards. Wikipedia — Caramelldansen

  5. The Duck Song Whaley’s animated version is posted. Wikipedia — The Duck Song

  6. Omegle The site is launched. Wikipedia — Omegle

  7. Susan Boyle I Dreamed a Dream Within a week the audition has been viewed more than 66 million times online, a record. After nine days the figure across twenty websites is 103 million. Wikipedia — Susan Boyle

  8. Susan Boyle I Dreamed a Dream The audition is broadcast to more than ten million viewers in the United Kingdom. Wikipedia — Susan Boyle

  9. Homestuck The comic begins. In its early pages readers’ suggestions decide what the characters do. Wikipedia — Homestuck

  10. Keyboard Cat At least two hundred Play Him Off videos now exist, helped by an Associated Press story and a tweet from Ashton Kutcher. Wikipedia — Keyboard Cat

  11. r/IAmA The forum is launched. Wikipedia — r/IAmA

  12. Bilibili Xu Yi starts Mikufans.cn. Wikipedia — Bilibili

  13. The hashtag Twitter begins turning hashtags into links to search results. Wikipedia — Hashtag

  14. United Breaks Guitars The song is posted to YouTube. Wikipedia — United Breaks Guitars

  15. United Breaks Guitars It has been watched more than half a million times. Wikipedia — United Breaks Guitars

  16. Polandball Thousands of Polish internet users co-ordinate to draw their flag across a shared online canvas, and others deface it. Wikipedia — Polandball

  17. I'mma let you finish Kanye West takes the microphone from Taylor Swift as she accepts Best Female Video. Later in the broadcast Beyoncé wins Video of the Year and calls Swift back on stage to finish. West posts an apology before the show ends. Wikipedia — Kanye West–Taylor Swift feud

  18. I'mma let you finish West apologises again on The Jay Leno Show. Wikipedia — Kanye West–Taylor Swift feud

  19. Charlie bit my finger At the end of the month it overtakes Judson Laipply’s Evolution of Dance to become the most-viewed video on YouTube. Wikipedia — Charlie Bit My Finger

  20. Charlie Bit My Finger Charlie Bit My Finger overtook Evolution of Dance as the most-viewed video on YouTube — the last non-music video ever to hold the title. Wikipedia — List of most-viewed YouTube videos

  21. Black Twitter An article by Choire Sicha in The Awl makes what a scholar later cites as the first reference to the term. Wikipedia — Black Twitter

  22. Trololo A user called RealPapaPit posts the clip to YouTube. Wikipedia — Trololo

  23. Wojak The earliest archived copy is posted to the site Sad and Useless. Wikipedia — Wojak

Also in 2009Older things, still moving

  1. Keyboard Cat Brad O’Farrell appends the footage to a blooper and titles it “Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat”. Wikipedia — Keyboard Cat

  2. StumbleUpon Its founders buy it back for 29 million. Wikipedia — StumbleUpon

  3. Tom Anderson He is replaced as president of the company. Wikipedia — Tom Anderson

  4. CPDRC Dancing Inmates About 1,500 inmates perform a tribute to Michael Jackson. Wikipedia — CPDRC Dancing Inmates

  5. Reblogging Twitter adds a retweet button, replacing the typed “RT @username”. Wikipedia — Reblogging

  6. United Breaks Guitars A second song follows. A third is released in March 2010. Wikipedia — United Breaks Guitars

  7. Hatsune Miku She gives her first virtual concert, at Saitama Super Arena. Wikipedia — Hatsune Miku

  8. I'mma let you finish It is reported that West has apologised to Swift by telephone and that she has accepted. Wikipedia — Kanye West–Taylor Swift feud

  9. Simon's Cat The first book is published. Wikipedia — Simon’s Cat

  10. Chuck Norris facts An official book of the facts is published, co-written and endorsed by Norris. Wikipedia — Chuck Norris facts

  11. GeoCities GeoCities closes in the United States. At least 38 million pages go with it. Wikipedia — GeoCities

  12. The Duck Song A sequel is released. A third follows in 2010. Wikipedia — The Duck Song

  13. Hatsune Miku Her first appearance outside Japan, in Singapore. Wikipedia — Hatsune Miku

  14. Susan Boyle I Dreamed a Dream Her album I Dreamed a Dream is released and becomes the fastest-selling debut album in the United Kingdom. Wikipedia — Susan Boyle

The videos of 2009Watched

More from 2009Also remembered

On this page: 22 named things from 2009, 9 videos, 3 memes and 3 trends among them.

The years either sideNearby