One skill that I think is vitally important for Professional Bloggers is the ability to keep up to date with the latest trends. So much of blogging is being able observe and even anticipate what people are interested in or looking for and providing appropriate content to meet there needs in a timely manner. Trend watching is therefore something we should either be actively doing ourselves or at the very least outsourcing to someone else to do for us.
In many regards almost every blog being tracked on my RSS feed list is a vital part of my trend watching but I also read quite a number of other specific trend sites to help me keep my finger on the pulse. Some of the more recent sites that I watch daily that specifically are looking at the latest trends in a number of industries are as follows (I’ve included RSS feeds of those that have them but unfortunately most dont seem to have caught onto that trend yet!:
– Small Business Trends – which as the name suggests keeps an eye on the latest trends and influences of the global small business market (RSS).
– PSFK – a collaborative trend spotting site run by a number of bloggers from around the globe (RSS).
– Trend Central – Tracking trends across topics of Lifestyle, Style, Entertainment and Technology (no RSS).
– Herman Group – Trend Alert – looking at trends across a number of fields in this weekly column (no RSS).
– Trend Watching – A blog-like site with trends from around the globe across a number of fields (no RSS).
– Google Zeitgeist – Tracking what people search for on Google (RSS)
– Yahoo Buzz Index – Tracking what people are searching for on Yahoo (RSS)
– Trends in Japan – Tracking the latest fads in Japan across different areas (no RSS)
– Trend Report – Mainly Consumer trends (no RSS)
– Trend Mag – Tracking a variety of trends (no RSS)
I’m interested to know what trends you watch for your blogging and what online (and offline) sources you use?
“So much of blogging is being able (to) observe and even anticipate what people are interested in or looking for and providing appropriate content to meet there (their) needs in a timely manner.”
Good editing .. priceless. :O)