News about two major tech companies generated plenty of attention on both blogs and Twitter last week. One involved an abrupt changing of the guard at Yahoo and the other was an interesting addition to the Google portfolio. On YouTube, some strange animals were the top stories.

Did the media overplay Hurricane Irene? What should the media’s role be? Bloggers weighed in strongly last week. And thanks to news about pop star Beyonce, the MTV Video Music Awards set a record on Twitter and were the subject of the most popular video on YouTube.

The resignation of the admired businessman and inventor dominated Twitter for the week, far outpacing a pair of natural disasters on the East Coast. On YouTube an international basketball brawl drew significant attention while bloggers were stunned at the size of our national debt.

Last week, Google’s purchase of Motorola was big news on both Twitter and in the blogosphere. But Warren Buffet’s financial philosophy also scored high. On blogs, rumors about an upcoming iPhone model and discussion of various 2012 GOP candidates were prominent.

The riots in the United Kingdom dominated the world of social media last week. On Twitter, there was little empathy for the grievances of those participating as far more people expressed anger and fear at what was occurring. On YouTube, the most watched videos were focused on the mayhem during the looting and chaos.

The deal to raise the debt ceiling in Washington drew harsh criticism from both the left and the right last week as the subject received significant attention on blogs, Twitter and YouTube. The other subject to generate substantial interest on both blogs and Twitter was news about a teen pop star.

A comparison between the Tea Party and characters in the Lord of the Rings trilogy generated a lively debate on the blogosphere last week. Twitter users complained about Formula 1auto racing. And the most viewed videos on YouTube depicted the carnage from the July 22 attacks in Norway.

Twitter users continued to voice their displeasure at Rupert Murdoch last week, and a discussion of the scandal affecting his company was among the top videos on YouTube. On blogs, the No. 1 story was about the federal government’s ruling that marijuana has no accepted medical use.

Rupert Murdoch’s troubles produced an outpouring of anger and emotion on Twitter last week. On blogs, the possibility that the White House will leave troops in Iraq beyond 2011 triggered a debate. And on YouTube, footage of an enormous sandstorm that engulfed Phoenix received over a million views.

Criticism of a 2012 GOP presidential candidate dominated the conversation on blogs last week, while Twitter users got excited over a new social networking tool from Google. On YouTube, strange objects in the air over London generated the most views.