“You can’t be no thug if . . .” “Things that get you friend-zoned.” “Little white lies.”

You may be wondering what you’re reading. Is this a teen magazine? Lines from a men’s-interest-channel movie? The titles of new hit singles you haven’t heard? I’ll give you a hint: It’s none of the above.

They are three of Philadelphia’s top 10 trending Twitter topics, delivered to the left corner of your screen live and liable to change. Interning for Global Traveler and observing local social media trending topics, I’ve found they mostly read as snippets of passing high school hallway conversation. Wondering if big trends varied more in different regions, I checked out other U.S. cities. I found . . . not much else. I did come across a glimmer of philanthropy in Seattle — charity #GiveBIG was trending.

I realized I could discover more — a whole world, in fact. Through cities across the globe, I found one consistent trend: #myconcertdemands. Sounds innocent enough. Created by concert promoters in the Philippines, its intention — for local users to reach out and list artists they wanted the opportunity to see — was effective. The responses were full of eager lists and excited emoticons. Yet something changed as the topic spread. The further it stretched, the more its original idea distorted. U.S. and U.K. responses “Liquor, good music, awesome friends to kick it wit” and “Tall people should have to stand in the back,” sugggest that somewhere they missed the point. One great intention morphed into an entitled attitude from users who don’t understand what it’s like living in a city that doesn’t always present the opportunity to catch their favorite band on the next tour.

I began understanding Twitter from a global perspective, and I urge everyone to do the same. Check out the trends locally and globally. Ask yourself why and from where they started. You’ll be surprised at what you find.

— Emily Pudzianowski, intern