June was the month that saw the advent of a brand new form of a social media, a pretty large IPO of an internet streaming company, and the resignation of a United States Congressman.
It may have started late in the previous month, but it can be argued that the downfall of Anthony Weiner really came about in June. It was in this month that more photos were published by biggovernment.com and transcripts of conversations published on other websites.
On June 6th, Anthony Weiner, then Member of the House of Representatives for New Yorks 9th district, made a statement where he admitted the picture that had been shown from May 28th was of him, and he sent it.
“I am so sorry to have disrupted her life in this way.” he said, apologised to the people involved, and said he had “done things I deeply regret.” He was preceded on the stage by biggovernment.com’s Andrew Breitbart who grabbed the empty microphone to explain his side of the story.
Anthony Weiner said he wouldn’t resign on June 6th, then did announce his resignation on June 16th, after further details about his online relationships surfaced. He formally left Congress on June 21.
It was one of the big stories that dominated news in America, and played a big part in the UK, but most of all was followed online, where it all started.
The other big thing of the month – Google+ arrived! The brand new social network from Google – on the back of failed attempts like Google Wave and Google Buzz – actually seems to be taking off. It launched on June 28, to a limited user base as Google took its time to get the new product right. It’s taking it’s time to get settled in and people to use, but with over 62 million users reported by late December, it seems to be getting there.
The final big thing of June – Internet music streaming service Pandora surprised investors by seeing a big take up in its IPO for the New York Stock Exchange. The service is free to users, and pays out millions to record labels each year to allow it to stream the tracks – but offered over 14.7 million shares at around $16 dollars a piece. It is currently trading at 10.01 dollars on NYSE close on December 30th.