Social networking titan Facebook has released a 2012 Year in Review that shows off notable trends of the year and, in a nice twist, the 20 biggest stories from your Timeline.

Similar to Google’s Zietgiest, Facebook’s Year in Review takes advantage of troves of data on its more than 1 billion users to accurately sum up the big things that happened this year. Some of the results might even surprise those who didn’t pay attention to a certain category. In television, for example, I had no idea that A&E’s Duck Dynasty was so popular on Facebook — more popular than Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and Game of Thrones.

The Year in Review also takes a personal twist by showing you the biggest things that happened to you (on Facebook) in 2012. Posts and pictures in which you’re tagged that have a lot of likes and comments are the most likely candidates for big moments. My year in review features several moments surrounding the presidential election, popular photos taken with friends, memes, and a few news stories shared on my Timeline. To see your personal Year in Review, go to facebook.com/yearinreview.

To see more on Facebook’s top trends, check out facebookstories.com/2012. Here’s the full list of trends from 2012 for the United States:

2012 Trends – U.S.

Events
US Presidential Election
Superbowl XLVI
Death of Whitney Houston
Superstorm Sandy
London 2012 Olympics
Death of Trayvon Martin
Facebook IPO
Aurora Shootings
Death of Dick Clark
Obama’s Endorsement of Gay Marriage

Songs
We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe) – Fun
Somebody That I Used to Know – Gotye
Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
What Makes You Beautiful – One Direction
Payphone – Maroon 5
Mercy – Kanye West
Some Nights – Fun
Home – Phillip Phillips
Boyfriend – Justin Bieber
Take Care (feat. Rihanna) – Drake

Movies
The Hunger Games
The Avengers
Magic Mike
The Vow
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
21 Jump Street
The Dark Knight Rises
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
Skyfall
Prometheus

Check-Ins
Times Square, New York
Disneyland, California
AT&T Park, California
Yankee Stadium, New York
Rangers Ballpark, Texas
Fenway Park, Massachusetts
Dodger Stadium, California
Universal Studios, Florida
Wrigley Field, Illinois
Angel Stadium, California

Public Figures
Barack Obama
Mitt Romney
One Direction
Tim Tebow
Eli Manning and Peyton Manning (tie)
Madonna
Honey Boo Boo
Jeremy Lin
Paul Ryan
Phillip Phillips

Books
The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) – Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) – Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) – Suzanne Collins
Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1) -E.L. James
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter, #1) – J.K. Rowling
The Help – Kathryn Stockett
Twilight (Twilight, #1) – Stephenie Meyer
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen

Technology
Instagram
Timeline
Pinterest
Draw Something
iPhone 5
Kindle Fire
SOPA
News Feed
Siri
SongPop

Politics
Barack Obama
Mitt Romney
Voted
Four More Years
Paul Ryan
Rick Santorum
Gay Marriage
Obamacare
The Polls
DNC

Television
Duck Dynasty
Honey Boo Boo
Big Bang Theory
Game of Thrones
Downton Abbey
Breaking Amish
Ink Master
Long Island Medium
Wife Swap
Two Broke Girls

Sports
NY Giants
New England Patriots
Tim Tebow
London 2012 Olympics
OKC (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Denver Broncos
San Francisco 49ers
Eli and Peyton Manning
Jeremy Lin
Los Angeles Clippers

Memes
TBH (to be honest)
YOLO (you only live once)
KONY
One-word Comment
Gangnam Style
Cinnamon Challenge
Cray
SMH (shake my head)
Big Bird
Linsanity

Photo via Facebook

But question and answer site Ask.com‘s year-end review of what was big and popular in 2012 focused, appropriately, on the questions people asked over the past year.

Sure, Gangnam Style is huge … but what the heck is it, actually? And Lance Armstrong has been semi-officially disgraced … but did he actually take performance-enhancing drugs? Mitt Romney said something about 47 percent of us … but what, exactly?

“With nearly half of the queries on Ask.com in the form of a full question, we get a snapshot of not only what captured consumers’ attention, but also what piqued their curiosity,” Valerie Combs, vice president of communications for Ask.com, said in a statement.

The result is a fascinating insight into not just what people are searching for, but why. And what, specifically, they want to know about a person, event, or concept.

Here are Ask’s top news search terms for 2012:

1. 2012 Olympics. How many medals did the US gymnastics team win?
2. Hurricane Sandy. What is the damage from Hurricane Sandy?
3. Black Knight shooting. What happened at the Colorado shooting?
4. Jerry Sandusky. What is Jerry Sandusky’s sentence?
5. iPhone 5. When will the iPhone 5 be released?
6. Facebook IPO. When is the Facebook IPO?
7. Lance Armstrong. Did Lance Armstrong take drugs?
8. Whitney Houston. How did Whitney Houston die?
9. Costa Concordia. How did the Costa Concordia sink?
10. Trayvon Martin. Why was Trayvon Martin Shot?

Political queries were, understandably, dominated by the 2012 U.S. presidential election. However, social issues such as rape and gay marriage entered the list, as did Europe and the Greece-inspired Euro crisis that wasn’t. Oh, and Clint Eastwood talking to a chair apparently confused a LOT of people.

1. Presidential race. Who will win the Presidential race?
2. Democratic National Convention. When is Clinton speaking at the DNC?
3. Mitt Romney. What did Mitt Romney say about 47 percent?
4. Republican National Convention. Why did Clint Eastwood talk to a chair in his speech?
5. Chick-Fil-A. What did the CEO of Chick-Fil-A say about gay marriage?
6. Todd Akin. What did Todd Akin say about legitimate rape?
7. Gay marriage. Where is gay marriage legal?
8. Obamacare. What is Obamacare?
9. Greece bankruptcy. Is Greece bringing down the Euro?
10. John Edwards. Was John Edwards found guilty?

Celeb questions were inevitably popular, including Prince Harry’s didn’t-stay-in-Vegas indiscretions and the globe-shaking controversy over when Snooki’s baby would be born. People wanted to know what size diamond Brangelina gave to itself, and whether, in fact, young Olympic greek-god-even-if-he-is-American Ryan Lochte had a girlfriend.

1. Kristen Stewart. Will Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart get back together?
2. Katie Holmes. Was Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s marriage fake?
3. Psy – Gangnam Style. What does Gangnam Style mean?
4. Snooki. When is Snooki’s baby due?
5. Prince Harry. What will happen to Prince Harry because of the nude pictures?
6. Brad Pitt. How big is Angelina’s engagement ring?
7. Carly Rae Jepsen. What is the best Call Me Maybe parody?
8. Jessica Biel. When are Justin and Jessica getting married?
9. Miley Cyrus. Why did Miley Cyrus cut her hair?
10. Ryan Lochte. Does Ryan Lochte have a girlfriend?

For the answers, of course, you’ll have to check the site. All except one: Gangnam style is, in fact, just old-fashioned fake pony riding.

Without, of course, the fake pony.

Here’s a video flipbook Ask put together of the top queries of 2012:

While the headlines were filled with the trials and tribulations of the global economy and its effect on the Venture Capital world, there was a lot going on under the radar this year.

2009 has been a tough year to be certain, but intriguing early-stage opportunities still abounded, especially for VCs and entrepreneurs who knew where to look. Recessions have historically been excellent times to start companies – and there’s still a steady stream of attractive possibilities.

Here are some important 2009 trends that many people may have missed:

The expanding start-up world: Many VCs are expanding their geographical horizons. For instance, while California, Massachusetts and New York are still prime locations for venture firms, there are many other fertile areas that are far less saturated.

Colorado and Maryland, for example, were both home to 47 venture investments in the first nine months of 2009, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association.

The cash-rich candidate: It’s a widely known fact that it doesn’t take as much money to start a company today (which coincidentally corresponds to less supply). Many of the best opportunities we see are in companies that don’t need immediate cash.

These are typically profitable or soon-to-be-profitable companies with solid business models. They want additional capital to accelerate growth, but they don’t need it to survive. This new standard is better for VCs, entrepreneurs and the capital markets that stand behind them.

The VC circle of life: The media is picking up on the demise of some venture firms, but this is really all part of a natural evolutionary cycle. The best firms, like the best companies, adapt to the changing market and their place within it.

At Grotech, we have been able to weather numerous market cycles over the last 25 years because we have been able to successfully adapt to ever-changing market opportunities. We expect to see fewer firms going forward and will likely see a changing focus for some of those that remain. These changes are positive and natural. Any imbalance in the number of firms chasing ideas or ideas chasing firms creates market distortion.

Signs of life: Slowly but surely, the exit markets are rebounding. There were three venture-backed IPOs in Q3 2009, according to the NVCA, including A123 Systems, which at $380.4 million marked the largest venture-backed IPO since March 2007. In the first nine months of 2009, there were eight venture-backed IPOs – more than in all of 2008 (which recorded six).

However, many companies today see M&A as their best exit strategy. Keep in mind, however, that there is a relatively small pool of companies in a position to acquire others and these companies are also setting higher standards for the companies they buy. A good acquisition candidate generally has a strong upward revenue trend and brings something of substantive value to the company acquiring it (i.e., a robust sales channel, a global footprint, a strong and unique technology roadmap, etc.).

Photo by Jason Permenter via Flicker