This is a guest post by Sarah Rexman. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Are you plugged in? Do you know about all the latest gadgets? Are you wearing the latest fashions before they start showing up in stores? Have you already downloaded the second album for a new artist that everyone else is just discovering? If you answered “no” like most of us, the you likely don’t already know what all the latest trending topics are. Sure, you might be familiar with Hipster Kitty, and maybe you’ve even LOL’d at some of the Texts from Hillary, but you still couldn’t tell a friend what all the latest trends are.

Tapping into these trends can help you to grow your blog readership and rank higher in search results by hosting discussions that people want to be a part of now. So how do you find out what the trends are? Here are a few ways that you can find the latest trending topics for your blog:

Twitter

Twitter plays up trending topics better than a lot of other sites, often playing like a news ticker for the latest stories and other items of interest. Hash tags identify conversations about the latest trends, making it easy to become part of the larger conversation. To check out a handy list of the latest trending topics, just click on the “Discover” tab in the top portion of your profile page. The trends will appear in the column on the left side of the page.

You can use this list of trending topics to better understand the discussion that is happening around those topics so that you can approach them from a fresh angle. Find a way to talk about the latest news in a way that others aren’t. People will find your blog when they look for the latest news about that subject, but they’ll stick around because they’ll know that you have unique, quality content to offer them.

Google Trends (http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends)

When people want information, they turn to Google. Find out what they’re looking for by using this handy tool. Browse the list of the top search terms for the day in your country, or check on the popularity of a topic by entering a term in the search box. You can get related search terms that are trending, or you can check on performance within a certain time frame.

Google Trends also updates frequently — at least every hour or more. You can often get breaking news this way because you’ll see when everyone starts searching for something all of a sudden. Bloggers who do their best to post frequently and to offer a steady stream of quality content can get a lot of ideas from Google Trends, as the top searches are constantly changing.

Google Insights (http://www.google.com/insights/search/)

Google provides multiple tools for marketers, and this is another that helps you identify trending topics. Enter a search term, a time range, and a location to get information about keyword performance and related search terms. Find out if a topic is going up or down in popularity, as well as related terms.

Google Insights is great for finding out not only what is currently trending, but what topics are expected to be trending in the near future, or by season. For example, allergies would be a trending topic in the spring. However, you can find much more detailed and nuanced lists here.

You can also look for patterns in search topics to get insights into related categories and to broaden your coverage of a topic, helping to set you apart from a competitor. There is also information about geographical searches, helping you to optimize your local search results, which Google is now emphasizing.

Forums

What better way to find out what people are talking about than to go to the places where they are talking. Popular forums and information-sharing sites like Reddit, Digg, and Stumble Upon can help you quickly identify the most popular conversations, thereby determining trending topics. You can even get information about whether a topic has gone up or down in popularity.

Take special care to look at forums within your niche, as well. While it’s a good idea to find out what’s popularity with general audiences by looking at sites like Reddit or Digg, you also need to find out what’s hot with your target audience right now.

News Sites

Trends and popular topics are what make the news. Scan the latest headlines to get a sense for what’s on people’s minds. You can get ideas for larger social conversations or even just topics about lifestyle, health, or popular culture. For example, a scan of today’s headlines might show you that people are talking about environmental issues and the upcoming election, as well as a hot new workout that mimics circus training.

The key to following the news for trending topics is to make sure you are ahead of the story. You don’t want to be the person talking about Charlie Sheen’s meltdown a week after everyone else is already tweeting #winning. Follow news sites for trending topics so you can help break news and contextualize it, offering your readers more value and setting your blog apart.

Other Blogs

Watch your competition and other blogs in your niche to make sure you’re always ahead of the news most important to your audience. Look at what other writers in your niche are talking about, and find ways to add to the conversation. Make sure you bring a unique voice to the discussion, tackling the topic from a new angle or offering a distinctive opinion. Your readers will come to know your blog for content that is both current and distinct from other sites.

Staying ahead of trending topics is key to keeping your blog content fresh and relevant to readers. It is also a great way to rank our site better, as you will have content that people are searching for right now, making your site seem more in demand for search engines.

What other sources do you use to find trending topics to write about on your blog? Tell us your ideas in the comments!

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It’s no surprise to see Facebook at the top but it’s interesting to see that a Yelp review has more value than a Facebook share or a tweet on Twitter. Of course these are not real world numbers but just an estimate based on the data that Backupify has gathered. Although the numbers depicted in the infograph doesn’t provide the “real” value of the social data, this infograph gives us an idea on how important and valuable social data is not only to individuals but also to businesses.

This infograph was created and released before Facebook acquired Instagram so its safe to say that the value of Instagram right now would be higher than the one shown in the infograph.

StudioPress recently released the Simple Social Icons WordPress plugin. Coded by Nathan Rice, this plugin/widget enables users to easily display social media/networking icons on any widget area of the blog and link it to different social profiles.

Like its name, the Simple Social Icons plugin is very simple and easy to use that it doesn’t even need a settings page. It is also very customizable – users can customize the color and size of the icons and choose to align the icons left or right.

Screenshot:
Widget Admin Screen

Installation:

1. Upload the entire simple-social-icons folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
3. In your Widgets menu, simply drag the widget labeled “Simple Social Icons” into a widgetized Area.
4. Configure the widget by choosing a title, icon size and color, and the URLs to your various social profiles.

Social icons included in the plugin:

• Dribbble
• Email
• Facebook
• Google +
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• RSS
• StumbleUpon
• Twitter

I think it would be great if more social icons could be added to it like Reddit, Flickr, YouTube, FriendFeed, Instagram, Path, etc. One more thing, at this time the plugin doesn’t allow users to re-order the icons so it would be nice to have the option/functionality in the next update. But other than those two things, there’s nothing really much to say or complain about this WordPress plugin because it is easy to use and does what its supposed to do.

Thanks to Nathan Rice and the good folks over at StudioPress for creating and releasing this cool and very useful plugin to the WordPress community.

NOTE: The Simple Social Icons plugin requires WordPress 3.3 or higher.

Download the Simple Social Icons plugin from the official WordPress plugin repository

How do you like the Simple Social Icons plugin/widget? Anyone tried or already use this plugin on their blog? Please share your thoughts.

The other day, I came across an animated and interactive infographic called State of the Internet 2011. Like the State of the Internet video, this infographic details the different Internet statistics but the only difference is that the data/numbers in the infographic are more up-to-date.

Here’s a short introduction for the State of the Internet 2011 infographic.

The Internet is a strange, huge beast. It is getting bigger, faster and more mobile each day. Ferocious social networks fight each other to be on top and gain more of our attention and personal information. An entire economy is generated from our browsing habits. This is the face of the Internet now. .

Some interesting data from the infographic:

• 1.2 Million Editors editing 11 million articles per month on Wikipedia.
• 1 person out of 13 is on Facebook.
• 2 billion YouTube videos watched daily.
• 89% of emails are spam.
• Only 20% of individuals in the developing world are online.
• There are 152 million blogs on the Internet.

The screenshot above is only a sample. The real infographic is interactive so some of the data are interactive and dynamic so it depends on how long the user has viewed the infographic. The data are reset when the user refreshes the infographic page.

The infographic must’ve been made earlier this year because it doesn’t include or contain any information regarding Google+. It would be interesting to see an updated version of this infographic that includes Google+.

Click here to access the State of the Internet 2011 animated infographic.

Believe it or not, more and more employers are using social media to find talent. According to a survey by Jobvite, 80% of employers are using to support their recruitment efforts and the top 3 channels being used are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Getting a job via social media is without doubt common as much as job seeking in online ads.

With its easy access, there will be more and more applicant flow in those channels. It will be more competitive. Now, the challenge is how to maximize your job search on social media to make sure you find all the possible jobs you are qualified in.

1. Search within social media

The magic word is “search”. But where to start? LinkedIn is an undisputed social media job search platform but other popular channels like Facebook and Twitter should never be left out of your search lists. LinkedIn’s Job section provides a list of jobs closely related to your LinkedIn profile which is based on your work history and connections.

In Facebook’s case, what you do is to search for company pages (you want to work with) and follow them. Some pages post vacancies on their wall or some have a dedicated jobs tab like one of TeleTech Pilipinas. If you are not aiming for a certain company and simply a job title, use the Facebook search function. Try searching for the keyword “jobs” on search and you’ll get useful links and pages.

For Twitter, simply follow a company or do the tweet search function. Some brands have a dedicated channel for recruitment but others integrate it to their main social media accounts.

2. Network with the recruiter

LinkedIn makes it easy for anyone to network with a hiring manager. If you already set up your profile with a profile picture, upload your email contacts. This is to start with a few set of networks in LinkedIn. See your immediate network if you can get introduced to a hiring manager. You can also search for a company and a position readily accessible in LinkedIn.

Also, join groups relevant to your industry and follow companies. They post career opportunities there as well.

3. Grow your online influence

Not all can be considered influencers – or the thought movers and conversational leaders – but everyone has influence. Most businesses operate online. Having a bigger network than your fellow applicants gives you a better chance. Why? It’s a skill. It’s not only the numbers. It’s what you do in the internet that manifests a soft skill of online influence. If you got more network and influence, especially when a job benefits from it (e.g. PR, marketing), it’s a given advantage. Klout.com can be a way of measuring your influence online.

Some employers even check out on your online profiles in Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, blogs, etc. Just a name search on Google and they’ll found out who you are and what you say online (as long as your profile is public).

4. Leverage Smartphone Job Apps

LinkUp found that 20% of jobseekers use their smartphones to look for a job. Apps like CareerBuilder, JobCompass, Monster, BusyBee and many more will help you find one customized and filtered to your needs. Also, utilize RSS or job alerts from your favorite job boards. You can’t miss an opportunity on the go.

5. Start a social resume

Get attention by showing off your creativity skills using video, infographics, or slideshow presentations as an alternative/additional resume and upload them to video/presentation-sharing websites like Youtube and Slideshare.

You can start a website or a blog. Design its format and design. Put content relevant to your job like blog posts, multimedia, about yourself, and integrate your social networks. Don’t forget to include a portfolio of your works and how they can contact you. Land a job by having your online profile easily shareable.