Man self isolating at home
The things we care about the most often become trending topics.
Before the pandemic, it was the Kardashian family. I’m not saying this as a ding, but we used to go bananas about them. Every Instagram post by Kylie Jenner went viral.
Not anymore.
According to several apps I’ve been using to track trending topics on social media and online, what we care about is bamboo toilet paper, Instacart, and (very curiously) Drizly. Also — UHT milk. I had to look that one up. (It lasts much longer. Go buy some.)
Toilet paper has become a meme inside a meme. Apparently, we’re worried about running out even though in my area they’re restocking it just fine. It was a meme that we were hoarding it, then it became a meme that people made fun of those hoarding it. Then it became a meme again that hoarding it is dumb.
At least I understand Instacart. The idea is that you can arrange to have someone else do your grocery shopping for you and run the risk of infection. While those workers are unsung heroes and certainly on the front lines of this mess, they are also happily employed and I’m grateful for that. For the rest of us, it’s a wonderful convenience. Your groceries magically appear.
What about Drizly? No judgment here: It’s an app for buying locally from a liquor store and currently on a meteoric rise. According to data I’m seeing on ExplodingTopics.com, it is one of the most popular searches of the last month. Bamboo toilet paper also ranks high, although maybe that’s because it’s so specific.
A few other trends are not that surprising.
Another app called Glimpse provides a handy snapshot of what is skyrocketing in terms of the current conversation — culled from shopping sites, Google data, social media, and more — and it reveals quite a bit about our society right now. For example, bidet searches are up, as are do-it-yourself haircuts.
This is all fascinating to me, so here’s a quick rundown of a few more.
How about ukulele shopping? So strange, yet it makes so much sense. Name the cheapest instrument most people can learn to play without a ton of effort. That’s it. Buying a mouse for your laptop — makes sense because the typical desktop arrangement at home is not common. Working at home is easier with one.
My guess is people forgot to grab a mouse before they left the office.
UHT milk — for the survivalists eating cereal, for sure. Exercise gear — for the homebound. I’m a little worried about purchases related to “bulk ammo” — hopefully one of them doesn’t live anywhere near me. And then there’s the trending topic for a home Wi-Fi router. That one surprises me, since it’s mixed in with the toilet paper. Seems like an impulse buy. Maybe the Internet is not quite working in every corner of the house but perhaps that should have been addressed a while ago? Not sure.
As far as I can tell, the Glimpse site will be updated frequently.
I’m still learning about other apps and sites that analyze trending topics. There’s one called Quid that seems to require a subscription. AlsoAsked.com looks interesting.
If you’ve found any tools for searching trends, other than the obvious ones like Google Trends or BuzzSumo, drop the link onto my Twitter feed.
I’m going to keep tracking this one.
