As the year 2007 sets in the distance, we can take some time to consider the year that was. I’m not a huge fan of year-end lists, but sometimes they help us get a grip on what transpired — and ponder what’s to come.

What’s perhaps most amazing about 2007 is that two distinct phenomena — the iPhone and popularity of Facebook — were so difficult to predict ahead of time, yet they dominated the headlines and the consciousness of people in new media. Love them or hate them, they just would not go away.

So without further ado, here’s the list of big MediaShifting moments from the past year, ranked from most influential downward.

1. iPhone mania.
Apple announced its new phone/iPod/web browser killer combo in January and delivered it to a voracious public by the summer. The phone wowed the public with its touch interace, easy browsing, and huge color screen — not to mention the thin form-factor. However, people complained about the slow Edge network on AT&T, the lock-in with AT&T, difficulty typing on the touch keyboard, and the quick drop in price. Expect next summer’s low cost second-generation iPhone to become a mass-market hit. Not only was the iPhone an object of techno-lust everywhere; it pushed other phone makers to create even better smartphones.

2. Facebook soars on open platform; hurt by privacy woes.
The social networking upstart was better known as a series of private networks for colleges and high schools. But then the company decided that anyone could join — and that anyone could create mini-applications or widgets for the site. That led to an explosion of new members and new applications, letting more people create more custom sites for themselves. The huge popularity of Facebook was tempered by year end, when it botched the release of Beacon, an ad service that broadcast users’ purchases on outside sites.

3. Burma turmoil captured by citizen journalists.
With each new event on the world stage, eyewitnesses are becoming more important players, capturing the events as they happen with cameraphones and mobile digital equipment. In Burma, onlookers and tourists became instant citizen journalists,

8. New York Times tears down TimesSelect pay wall.
It might have happened a year later than I had hoped, but the Times finally gave up on its TimesSelect pay wall around Op-Ed columnists online, opening up most of its archives as well. The Financial Times and Economist also lifted pay walls online, and the Wall Street Journal’s new owner Rupert Murdoch spoke about abolishing paid subscriptions for WSJ.com. The open web is becoming a reality for media companies that want to be a part of the online conversation — and make money with advertising — rather than taking a “walled garden” approach.

9. USAToday.com revamps with a social networking focus.
The national newspaper has long been an innovator with color, graphics and satellite delivery of content around the country. Now it can also add online innovation to its list of accomplishments, as the newspaper’s site unveiled a radical redesign this year that included reader-recommended stories, comments from users, and social networking functions that let reporters mingle with readers online. While many readers complained about the changes, the management stuck by them and saw readership go up.

10. Terry Semel leaves Yahoo as the site regroups.
While Google was grabbing all the headlines — and advertising growth online — rival Yahoo was suffering from its “Peanut Butter Syndrome,” being spread too thin with too many initiatives. One direction that was cut short was original content, something led by CEO Terry Semel, a former studio exec. After Semel left the company, co-founder Jerry Yang took over at CEO, promising to make big changes to the site. Now there is very little talk about original programming on Yahoo as it tries to focus on social media and aggregation.

Honorable Mentions:

> Saddam Hussein execution video proliferates online.

> Alive in Baghdad correspondent, Ali Shafeya Al-Moussawi, killed by Iraqi National Guard.

> Banned Venezuelan TV station comes back to life on YouTube.

> CBS buys social music site Last.FM.

> Jupiter buys media site mediabistro, and NY Times hires TVNewser’s Brian Stelter.

What do you think? What’s missing from our list, and what would you add or subtract? Share your thoughts in the comments below and we’ll update the list or Honorable Mentions with credit to you.

Note: The MediaShift blog will be on holiday until Jan. 2, so don’t expect any new posts until then. We appreciate your readership, participation and link-lo