A great photo attracts readers to read your blog post, but how do you get them to come visit you and engage in conversation in the first place?

One of the best ways to find readers is to write on the subjects that everyone is talking about currently.

What’s trending?

As I write this post, popular topics are related to Hurricane Irene, the U. S. Open, and Gadhafi.   (As you know, an earthquake and a hurricane hit the East Coast this past week.  Did you turn this topic into a spiritual conversation on your blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter?)

If you don’t know what topics are popular, go to:

• Google Trends to discover what the current top Google searches are.
• Bing Trends has a nice visual presentation of what people are searching on Bing (learn more about Bing)
• TrendsMap  for trending topics regionally and globally.
• What the Trend shows what’s trending on Twitter and why.  You can  narrow the trends down to specific countries and cities.  They’ll also send trend alerts to you through Twitter and / or to your Facebook news feed if you request this.
• YouTube Trends for vloggers (video bloggers) and for those of you who just love YouTube.
• You might also be interested in YouTube Trends’ blog.  Click on one of the “Trending Topics” and you’ll go to a popular YouTube video where you can join in the conversation with maybe thousands who are commenting.

Posting

Start a discussion.  If you’re having writer’s block, your search for trends may be just the spark you need for a post idea for your blog, Facebook status, or Tweet.   (Bloggers, see this post for important tips.)

Commenting

Join in!  After you know what words are “trending,” then search for those words and you’ll find blogs and YouTube or Twitter accounts with those same words.  You might want to join in on a topic in chat rooms.  EveryStudent.com has great articles you can use for most hot topics you’ll find.

What are you doing to join in conversations and shed some Truth and Light in cyberspace?

Related Posts:

• Using HOT Topics – more practical ideas for blogs and social networks
• When People are Searching for Answers – what bloggers need to know about creating their titles and URLs for good internet searches

Image:  This billboard was photographed after the three hurricanes that went through Orlando in 2004.