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2010 was a landmark year for Twitter, as it moved away from being a novelty and became a mainstream tool for businesses and consumers alike. We analyzed the content produced over the past year to determine the most influential topics. At Klout, we believe that trends aren’t simply a factor of volume. These topics are not only shared widely, but shared by the top influencers on Twitter. These word clouds reflect the influence of these topics in shaping the year 2010 on Twitter.

These lists reflect the influential topics, but not sentiment. For some brands, such as BP and Toyota, becoming an influential topic reflects the controversy they encountered this year.

For a chance to dig in further, here are the topics ordered into top 10 lists:

<strong>Overall Topics:</strong> These topics reflect the pulse of 2010. While social media was a popular topic throughout 2010, others in the top 10 made it there from activity concentrated in one or two months. Discussion about Iran reached a peak in February, when it announced it would begin enriching uranium. Talk about Healthcare Reform peaked in March when the Health Care Reform Bill passed in the house and, of course, the World Cup peaked in June and July.

Social Media
Iran Politics
Tea Party
Healthcare Reform
Haiti
Sports
Movies
Travel and Tourism
World Cup

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<strong>People:</strong> So who are the most influential people of 2010? Unsurprisingly, Barack Obama tops the list, but Justin Bieber is a close second. Steve Jobs also makes the list, reflecting his popularity as Apple’s figurehead.

Barack Obama
Justin Bieber
Sarah Palin
Glen Beck
George W Bush
Steve Jobs
Lebron James
Lady Gaga
Scott Brown
Nancy Pelosi

<strong>Companies:</strong> Coca Cola tops the list, peaking in July as they had a big campaign around the end of the World Cup. BP had a steep increase in May and June, beating out other companies for the top slot during those months as a result of the oil spill. Toyota’s discussion predominantly came from the recall in February.

Coca Cola
New York Times
Starbucks
Ford
McDonald’s
Verizon Wireless
AT&amp;T
Disney
BP
Toyota

<strong>Tech Companies:</strong> Twitter and Facebook beat out giants like Google, Apple, and Microsoft for most influential tech companies of the year.

Twitter
Facebook
Google
Apple
Microsoft
Amazon
Wordpress
Yahoo
Foursquare
MySpace

<strong>TV Shows:</strong> The fact that Lost and American Idol top this list is no surprise as they have a fervent following. Red Eye, a show on Fox News, was the dark horse of this list.

Lost
American Idol
Red Eye
Glee
True Blood
Jersey Shore
Big Brother
Saturday Night Live
Project Runway
Mad Men

<strong>Politicans: 2010</strong> was a big year for politics and this list reflects the most influential politicians of the year. Unsurprisingly, Barack Obama tops the list with the rest far behind him.

Barack Obama
Sarah Palin
George W Bush
Scott Brown
Nancy Pelosi
John McCain
Harry Reid
Ronald Reagan
Joe Biden
Bill Clinton

Music: Justin Bieber is a genuine Twitter phenomenon and dominates this list.

Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
Michael Jackson
Miley Cyrus
Britney Spears
Lil Wayne
Kanye West
Taylor Swift
Rihanna
Jay-Z

<strong>Products: </strong>The iPhone tops this list as the most influential product of 2010. The iPad comes in second, reflecting Apple’s dominance of this list.

iPhone
iPad
Android
iPod
Blackberry
Tweetdeck
Skype
Windows 7
Amazon
Kindle
Xbox 360

<strong>Sports:</strong> The fervor around the World Cup made soccer the most influential sport of 2010. Golf is high on the list, due to Tiger Woods’s affairs highlighting the sport.

Soccer
Football
Golf
Basketball
Baseball
Hockey
Nascar
Surfing
Cycling
Poker

<strong>Sports Teams:</strong> The Lakers won the championship this year so it’s no surprise they top this list. The Yankees fervent fan base makes them a consistently influential topic and, of course, the San Francisco Giants made it on the list when they won the World Series.

Los Angeles Lakers
New York Yankees
Boston Celtics
Indianapolis Colts
New York Mets
New Orleans Saints
Dallas Cowboys
Boston Red Sox
New York Jets
San Francisco Giants

<strong>Cities:</strong> The most influential cities of 2010 reflect the top cities in the world – with London, New York City, and Los Angeles topping the list. Austin, Texas made it on the list due to a high volume of influential tweets surrounding SXSW in March.

London
New York City
Los Angeles
Chicago
San Francisco
Las Vegas
Washington DC
Boston
Austin
Jakarta

<strong>Countries:</strong> The United States tops the list due to a consistent level of conversation. Iran dominated in February due to the uranium enrichment controversy and Haiti was a trending topic in January when the earthquake hit.

United States
Iran
Haiti
China
Indonesia
Israel
Japan
Spain
France
Brazil

courtesy of Klout