The beginning of this month saw a change in the way that we’re able to see which are the most popular discussion subjects on Twitter. With the roll-out of location-based trending topics, Twitter have given users a much wider view, allowing us to see the most popular phrases used in Tweets from various cities and countries around the world, as well as still being able to see a chart of most-used worldwide phrases.

For my part, this new service inspired an almost obsessive interest in what us Londoners are talking about. The triviality of the word ‘lunch’ trending every lunchtime amused me, the confusion at the popularity of ‘Balham’ provoked my curiosity (there were lots of people stuck on trains in the area, it transpired. One unfortunate soul though Tweeted that he was ‘just about to reach Balham: gateway to THE WORLD’) but is there anything that we can learn from this new level of insight?

By comparing worldwide trending topics with city trending topics at any one time, what becomes clear is the bias that comes from the large number of Twitter users in the US (reportedly 50%) nb: this exercise led me to much confusion about what some of the trending topics actually meant,
www.whatthetrend.com helped clear things up for me. So, whereas before it may have looked as though most of the world was discussing something particularly American, now we realise that this is not the case. What this does, in effect, is make trending topics useful for more people. By focussing on your own country or city, you’re able to identify with more conversation topics and engage with Twitter all the more. The other advantages are that it’s now easier to learn things you didn’t know from what other countries are talking about and to find out whether the storm happening in your own area registers interest elsewhere.

All in all, location-based trending topics have been a simple but effective development for Twitter. By widening our ability to see what people are talking about where, Twitter are further playing to our natural curiosity and desire to share information.

About the Author

Paul Barnett

Paul Barnett is a Social Media Analyst for Social Media Library, responsible for developing the content within Social Media Library. Paul lives in a world of blogs, blogs and more blogs, scouring the web and plucking out the juiciest information he finds. Previous to this, he worked as a Music Press Officer. He is also a freelance writer, writing for TV and editing a music title, SWN Magazine.

Paul blogs extremely infrequently about stuff that he does and once blogged about cheese, maybe he will do again some day. Follow him on Twitter @paulbarnett1.