by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
December 10, 2008
It seems that online poker is as much a hot topic with internet browsers as it has been in U.S. legislation this year. For the third consecutive year, the word ‘poker’ is search engine Lyco’s most commonly searched word. What’s more, it is the only gambling-related word on Lyco’s “Most Seached Word for 2008” top ten list.
Poker is not the only subject on internet browsers’ minds, with “Paris Hilton” coming in second, followed by “Youtube,” “Golf,” “Sarah Palin,” “Britney Spears,” “Clay Aiken the pop singer,” “Pamela Anderson,” “Facebook” and “Holly Madison.”
Many speculate that online poker’s being the subject of much controversy in the media, as well as widely televised poker tournaments, may be the reason for the word having generated the most search activity this year. Paris Hilton surpassed Britney Spears this year; however it was Sarah Palin’s overnight fame that surprised Lycos in its report. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Alaskan Governor was not only on the list for the first time, but she surpassed both infamous pop icons, having only become a search topic in August.
YouTube rose 300 percent in popularity, trailed closely behind by Facebook, whose popularity rose 500 percent in searches since this time last year. Craigslist saw a 900 percent rise, tripling the amount of searches celebrated by eBay. Myspace, surprisingly, took the farthest dive, searches down 800 percent, and exiting the top 50 search terms.
Top Fads of 2008:
1. Poker
2. YouTube
3. Facebook
4. DIY Home Improvement
5. Digital TV
6. Weight Watchers
7. Craigslist
8. RuneScape
9. Webkinz
10. The Sims
In the blogging community, pop culture commentator Perez Hilton generated more searches than any other blogger, exceeding both the U.S. Presidential election, the Drudge Report and the Huffington Post, in that order.
“Star Trek Enterprise” saw the most searches in television programs, pushing “Dancing with the Stars” down to second. “Star Trek” generated three times more popularity than “Family Guy,” which game in third, followed by “Geek,” and then “American Idol.” Despite the popularity of the Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton sketches, “Saturday Night Live” just missed the top ten in television searches. “The Simpsons,” instead, were bumped back into the top ten for the first time in well over a year.
The “Most Searched” report also covered popular news stories. The U.S. economic crisis was the subject of most searches, in the form of key words like bankruptcy, credit cards, Lehman Brothers, Bank of America, Washington Mutual, Bailout, 401k’s and retirement planning. Corresponding with the economy, internet users showed great interest in DIY home improvement – a 600 percent increase. Some feel that the economy may be responsible for the increasing searches for health care, depression treatments and sleeping aids, which increased 500 percent from the previous year.
Other notable searches include the Eliot Spitzer Scandal, the death of Jennifer Hudson’s family members, hurricanes, earthquakes and the Iraq conflict which appeared on the top ten list in news stories for the first time since 2004.
Top News Stories of 2008:
1. Economic Collapse/Bailout
2. Presidential Election '08
3. Death of Heath Ledger
4. Clay Aiken Comes Out/Becomes Dad
5. Death of Paul Newman
6. Jennifer Hudson Family Murder
7. Eliot Spitzer Scandal
8. Travis Barker Plane Crash
9. Sichuan Earthquake
10. War in Iraq
In the sports community, Michael Phelps celebrated his first appearance on the top ten radar, as well as Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics NBA team. Manny Ramirez made the list following his shift from the Boston Red Sox to the LA Dodgers.
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