Media and Communication

For up-to-the-minute social commentary on a topic, try these free social media analytic tools:

• BuzzSumo: Discover the most widely shared content across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more. 
• SocialBlade: Tracks user statistics for YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, and Twitter. 
• Google trends: Analyzes and rates web searches by the amount of web traffic generated.
• WikiShark: Wikipedia article traffic and trends since 2008.
• Reddit: A social networking and news service in its own right, but it's search feature allows you to view detailed forum discussions on just about any topic imaginable.

DON'T FORGET! You need to reference social media sources just as you would scholarly sources. Consult the APA style blog article How to Cite Social Media in APA Style for instructions.