They talk about Twitter like it's some reliable information source when, in reality it's nothing more than common schmucks posting *hit that they think others actually care about. I don't even know my Twitter password or username and can't remember the last time I logged into it. Honestly, I don't even know how Twitter works or any of the "protocols", like using the @ sign and all that crap.

Furthermore, by saying something is "trending", they draw people to it thereby MAKING it "trend"! Talk about manipulation. LOL. How can they be serious? They can pick any tweet they want, say it's "trending" and then all of the good little robots click on it, read the forced propaganda and make it "trend". Honestly, how can people not see the irony in that? It's like putting a collar on you, leading you around and you deny you're being led around on a collar. Where's the "idiots" smilie?

I know the feeling man, I made a twitter yesterday just so I can follow my favorite DJ's, and people are trying to follow me and i'm just like "dude seriously I JUST made this account" -blocked- I don't even have a picture and people are following me. I just want to know where my fave djs are playing, i don't give a f@#* about who follows me, in fact just don't even click follow on my account xD. Saves us both the trouble of clicking.

How did I know when I opened this thread, wrestling was going to be brought up? I can hear Michael Cole now - "TRENDING WORLDWIDE!" They've been pushing that heavily for a long time - usually to great success, as 'trending' means lots of people are talking about it. Hate it or love it, it's going absolutely no where. All these networks would be idiots for dropping it - it's literally free advertising. It's something you'll either have to tune out or roll with.

This reminds me, the other day on yahoo canada, I saw the number one trend was Monica Lewinsky.
I didn't bother to find out why, but I thought it was strange.

Even ATS has a trending tracker!

Seriously though, Information is hard to sort through when you're bombarded by it -- the media, the internet, news sites, even search engines! How can you find exactly what you're looking for? (Answer: Use specific phrases, such as "modern objections to prudential hedonism" as opposed to "what is the meaning of life?" )

I agree that the modern "trending" trend is ill-disguised advertising... but from an IT / security point of view, or TPTB using trending analytics to determine "threats to national security".... there's value in being able to sort data that way.

Just ask Google Ads

Yes, this is one of those things that has just never resonated with me. Social media. Trending. The internet can already be impersonal and formulaic enough without it having to be shortened into an incredibly short letter limit, and people's e-status being directly related to their number of "friends" and "likes."

Speaking of likes... that's another thing I can't get into. The post popularity mechanic of everything online today. Everything gets up and down votes. People downvote everything they don't like, without offering a reason or even an opinion as to why. They just want to suppress it because they don't personally like it. It's an instantaneous, knee-jerk reaction. And it's evolved into a form of internet shunning or shaming, the way people shun or shame people who don't dress the way they would like or look the way they would like, etc. etc. etc.

In my opinion all of the above eliminates the capacity for internet postings to be substantive or creative, while also rendering it far easier to be dismissive or outright hostile. Because heated arguments on the internet attached to articles generate more hits. The internet has long since transformed into a bastion of incivility and trolling in most places, and these things simply contribute to it in my view.

With that said, I can acknowledge that Twitter and other social media sites do provide those who use them with a rapid means of spreading news and communicating when the need arises, and I have seen some positive changes or at least some inertia toward positive changes generated by them.

I can also acknowledge that this is probably one of those things that, as I get older, I will be increasingly surrounded by. You know, the things I can't relate to or resonate with whatsoever, and feel increasingly alienated and disenfranchised by as everyone else who's younger and less set in their ways eagerly adopts them. Like reality TV, and the death of the music album with actual album art that colors the mood and tone of the album as you listen to it, beginning to end, as a complete project.

Such is life, sadly. Peace.

Didn't realise what trending was until I read Heff's post....
Don't really feel like I've missed out on something.