Are there more wheels or tires in the world?-following the trend

[written by ISA staff member Rylie Pedersen]

For those of us on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media platform, we have seen the viral debate to see if there are more doors or wheels in the world. UsaToday.com wrote a story on this debate and attributed the start of the discussion to Ryan Nixon’s tweet. He took a poll to see if twitter thought the world had more wheels or doors and the discussion never ended.

The tweet received more engagement than expected with more than 223,000 votes. In this pole, wheels won, but the world has not stopped talking about it. I have not only heard arguments of both sides on social media outlets but in face-to-face conversations as well. While eating lunch on campus earlier this week I overheard a group of students debating with each other about the doors and wheels in the world. Although this trend may seem silly, it is valuable to communication professionals and social media managers.

UPS took advantage of the trend opportunity. The day after the original tweet, UPS posted a TikTok counting the number of doors and wheels throughout their company buildings, trucks, airplanes, etc. According to UPS, wheels won the debate. Their TikTok received high numbers of engagement encouraging customer and company connection.

UPS is using social media platforms to relate and engage with their current and potential customers. Trends are also a great topic for newspapers to write about. USAToday and other newspapers have written many stories and updates over the past week to keep the public updated on the current trend.

Trends on social media are important to be aware of as communication professionals. The tweet was posted only a few days ago on March 9th, and it quickly got everyone talking about it. Trends come and go, and we never know how long they will stay. This is why it is important to get involved with trends before they stop trending. I am learning that staying up to date is crucial in the PR world.