From The Tower Poppies To Ellen's Oscar Selfie, This Year In Eight Amazing Online Moments

This Year In Eight Amazing Online Moments

Ellen DeGeneres's Oscar selfie, Greenpeace's Lego protest video and images of the Tower of London poppies installation lead in The C Word list 2014, the Huffington Post UK's ranking of the pieces of digital content that had the most impact this year.

The HuffPost UK worked with Ogilvy PR London to sift through hundreds of pieces of content, nominated by our editors and readers to compile the winners across eight categories, including news, controversy, arts and entertainment, society and sex.

The C Word stands for 'content' - a bland word that doesn't capture the amazing stuff being shared and liked online. The C Word list aims to highlight the digital moments that rose above the rest, and defined the last 12 months.

Tweet your thoughts on the list - and your favourite content of the year - with #CWord2014.

CATEGORY: UK

WINNER: The Tower of London poppies

Stephen Hull, editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post UK, said: "Rarely has one image established itself in the nation's minds so quickly as Blood Swept Land and Seas of Red, the striking ocean of red ceramic flowers in the Tower of London's moat this summer.

"The installation to commemorate the centenary of the First World War inspired countless digital images and videos, so this award is not for one piece of content but thousands, all inspired by one artwork.

"They no doubt inspired many of the five million who visited the poppies in person, and helped Tower Bridge and the Tower of London became the two most geo-tagged UK locations on Instagram this year."

CATEGORY: ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

WINNER: Ellen’s Oscar Selfie

Caroline Frost, Huffington Post UK entertainment editor, says: "Ellen's magnificent Oscar selfie had every ingredient required for a 21st century internet triumph - a megawatt of A-list glamour literally piled together for an apparently spontaneous snap."

"The photo became the most retweeted tweet of all time," Frost said. "It was proof that no one can resist the persuasive power of Ellen DeGeneres, the realisation that even stars like Julia, J-Law and Angelina can look suitably dorky if caught off-guard, and - best of all - their very own A-list photo-bomber in the guise of Lupita Nyong'o's completely unknown beaming brother. By the end of the night, he was more famous than her!"

CATEGORY: NEWS

WINNER: #BringBackOurGirls

James Martin, The Huffington Post UK's news editor, said: "In a year when charities and campaigners finally mastered the hashtag, #BringBackOurGirls stood out by drawing attention to one of the many stories largely neglected by mainstream news media.

"Terrorist group Boko Haram kidnapped almost 300 girls from their school in Nigeria, yet it was a hashtag, rather than traditional media, which brought their plight and efforts to save them to light. While many of the girls are still not free, the emotive buzz of the campaign was an achievement in itself: Michelle Obama posing with a hashtag was a first."

CATEGORY: SOCIETY

WINNER: The Everyday Sexism Project (#EverydaySexism)

Poorna Bell, UK executive editor and global lifestyle head of The Huffington Post said: "Everyday Sexism came of age in 2014, particularly though its creative work with The Guardian. The frank project has catalogued over 10,000 examples of sexism experienced by women, and it keeps on growing - evidence of the need for this kind of activism.

"A highlight was the video above in April, when Guardian writer Leah Green turned the tables and acted out sexist situations reported to the project by women - but this time against men."

CATEGORY: HUMOUR

WINNER: The 29 Stages Of a Twitterstorm (Buzzfeed)

Andrea Mann, comedy editor of The Huffington Post UK, said: "One measure of great online comedy content is, for me, something which makes me say 'I wish I'd thought of that'. And this brilliant BuzzFeed post by Tom Phillips was exactly that sort of piece. It's not just the idea that's great, either, but the execution.

"It was published at the end of 2013 but resonated throughout 2014. Anyone who regularly uses Twitter will instantly recognise what Phillips is describing here - the 29 stages are spot-on - and the mock-ups are just perfect. In short, it's a great idea, expertly done. And I wish I'd thought of it."

CATEGORY: CONTROVERSY

WINNER: Everything is NOT awesome (Greenpeace)

James Martin, news editor of The Huffington Post UK said: "Greenpeace brought out the 6-year-old environmentalist in everyone with this far from childish protest video against Lego's partnership with Shell. All the elements were there for a viral hit: the catchy cover of the Lego Movie theme song which was everywhere at the time, the use of Lego which is always popular in YouTube content, and the simple but devastating message."

Martin added: "The ultimate test of any viral though is 'did it work?' and in this case it did - Lego dropped its Shell partnership over the controversy."

CATEGORY: SEX

WINNER: Do It For Denmark! (Spies Travels)

"Denmark is having a baby-making crisis, with not enough births to support its population, and this funny ad touched on that serious problem" said Poorna Bell, UK executive editor and global lifestyle head of The Huffington Post.

"Travel company Spies Rejser came to the rescue with a tongue-in-cheek film pointing out that 10% of Danish babies are conceived on holiday. It urged couples to "do it for Denmark" and head on a romantic break to help the falling birth rate.

"The use of social data and was smart and creative, and the tone was just right to make you smile without being too outrageous."

CATEGORY: REALITY

WINNER: How The Sun Sees You (Thomas Leveritt)

Caroline Frost, entertainment editor at The Huffington Post UK, says: "It is obvious that this was made by an artist. Thomas Leveritt's use of editing and music are beautiful. Using UV light to reveal invisible skin damage is a devastatingly effective way to show the need to wear suncream, even if your skin looks fabulous, but what's most captivating is how well he captures people's natural reactions to seeing their face in a whole new light."

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