Trending is when a topic undergoes a rapid increase in public interest or attention, often as a result of being popular on social media. It’s not new to the Internet but has gained prominence since the rise of social networks.

A trend can be a word, hashtag, video, photo, app or any topic that has become popular on Twitter, Facebook or other social networks. Trending topics often reflect a community’s interests and discussions as well as news, culture or other events that are currently gaining popularity.

It can also be a hot topic that is being talked about a lot around the world. Trends can be quite random but if something is getting a lot of attention it can mean that there are people searching for it for information, gossip or just to join in with the conversation.

Businesses need to keep an eye on what is happening in the world and what people are talking about to identify potential marketing opportunities. Trends can be an excellent source of inspiration for content, such as blogs, videos or images. But it is important that businesses don’t jump on trends just to generate traffic. It is better to have a purpose behind what you are creating, such as raising awareness of your business or a specific campaign you’re running.

Trends are a useful way to see what is being discussed right now but can be misleading as they are influenced by the algorithms of each social network. These algorithms favor spikes over any gradual sustained growth. This is why a topic might trend for one day and then disappear the next, even though it is still gaining popularity.

You can get more comprehensive data about trends by using a service such as Tweet Binder, which analyzes and categorizes every hashtag used on Twitter. It also gives you detailed reports on each trend including a history of its growth, peaking times and more. A free tier of the service provides weekly reports but upgrading to a premium account can provide real-time and historical data for any trend on Twitter.

It is also possible to change your trends settings so that they aren’t tailored to you, allowing you to see what’s trending in other parts of the country or even the world. However, it’s important to remember that it is possible to abuse trends and breaking their rules could lead to an account suspension. It is also discouraged to use unrelated keywords or hashtags in order to boost visibility, as this can cause confusion for viewers and damage credibility.