Understanding Search

The search world of January 21st, 2008 showed the a well-deserved salute to one of the most influential figures the United States has ever known.  Martin Luther King, Jr. day was filled with searches for our man Marty King and one of the best articles I noticed in a while was on the front page of ESPN.com.  In town for today’s game against the Hawks, members of the Portland Trailblazers, including the injured number one pick Greg Oden, toured Dr. Kings childhood home, the YMCA he played at as a kid, and the museum honoring him (I did the same tour and would highly recommend it if your ever in Atlanta).  The article was impressive read it here.

January 20, 2008. Not sure where everyone else is seeing this ad today, but I saw it in my local Sunday paper, in the USA Weekend pullout.  “How to get 2 free heaters” is the headline, and national toll free hotines are now open.  48 hours is your deadline to order up to 2 Amish made fireplace mantles.  The online address is AmishFirePlaces.com.  Most impressively, these fireplaces roll anywhere to throw an instant heat wave.  No chimney, no vent, no wood, and no smoke.  No kidding?  At $299 each, these seem like some incredible ways to heat a room.  The ad goes on to say that Amish craftsmen are under a tremendous strain (emphasis added) of the winter rush, which is the reason they are limiting this to only 2 per customer.  I have no idea what these craftsmen get paid, but it sounds like a sweat shop in a wooden barn to me.  I am going to protest by not ordering any…just to give a couple of these Amish folks a little break.

January 19, 2008 saw people searching for information and results for the Adult Video Awards which was held tonight in Las Vegas.  Does it surprise that the famed “sin city” would hold the annual awards show for the pornography industry?  Vivid Entertainment dominated the awards taking home Best Actor (Tom Byron in Layout), Best Actress (Penny Flame in Layout) and the greatest award of all in my mind, Best All-Girl Sex Scene (Faith Leon, Monique Alexander and Stefani Morgan in Sex & Violins).

01-18-08 is showing a monster number of searches for Cloverfield, a new movie in theatres today.  If you haven’t heard about the Cloverfield movie, where in the world have you been?  I can’t recall a recent flick that’s been advertised more than this one.  When I saw I Am Legend (another Will Smith movie that starts with “i”…following Independence Day, I Robot, and others), the previews to Cloverfield reminded me of camera effects used in the Blair Witch Project.  Guessing it will be #1 at the box office this weekend, but likely will disappoint.

Thursday, January 17th was a day for the pirates.  The recent DVD release of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End has been the driving force influencing all the searches for www.piratesonline.com.  The site is really entertaining and contains a computer game where you are Captain Jack Sparrow and must defeat other pirate groups.  A very interesting marketing concept by Disney that has clearly been a success.

It’s humpday, Wednesday the 16th of January and people are out searching in record numbers again.  Here are a few of the most popular searches, in real time, happening right now, as I type!  Maybe it’s a coincidence, but I rented the newest Pirates of the Caribbean movie just last night, and today there are a lot of people searching for PiratesOnline.com.  I took a peek at the site, and it appears you can download a trial version or pay a monthly fee for full access.  Anyway, if you’re a fan of the three movies, I have a feeling you’re really going to enjoy this one.

Today (Tuesday, January 15th) in search made me chuckle as I noticed one of the more comical search phrases we’ve seen so far, “Where Can I Buy HGH”.  This must be on people’s minds due to the rampant coverage ESPN has been giving the recently released Mitchell Report.  As we all know, this report had evidence that many current and former MLB players had used performance enhancing drugs (including HGH).  The question is, who was making all these searches??  I bet Roger Clemens knows!

Today is Monday, January 14th (2008) and it’s nice to see some totally new searches hitting the radar (in other words, it’s not all politics and football…with the exception of people wanting to see Terrell Owens (aka T.O.) cry a little, and a few people crying because they can’t afford tickets to the Super Bowl).  The first searches that caught my eye were for a website at rottonneighbor.com (or rottoneighbor.com for those who struggled with the double n’s in the middle).  This site appears to be in beta, where you can post comments (good or bad) about your neighbors, with or without including your identity.  As is often the case for popular searches that lead to one URL, the site is pretty much down today…but give it a try in a day or two and say something nice about the person who shoveled your drive after the last snowfall (or something not so nice about the kid who rides his bike across your perfect lawn).

January 13, 2008 popular search results include The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fox’s new show that is an extension off of The Terminator movies.  Sarah Connor is the mother of the boy who is targeted in the movie and is protected by Arnold Schwarzenneger’s famous character.  I guess Arnold wasn’t lying when he said that he will be back.

Over 25% of all searches today were in regards to the NFL Playoff games taking place.  The San Diego Chargers surpised the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts with a 28-24 victory in Indianapolis.  The New York Giants also surprised the heavily favored Dallas Cowboys with a 21-17 victory in Dallas.  Next Sunday we will see New York in action against the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay and the Chargers against the New England Patriots in New England.

January 12, 2008 popular search results included inquiries regarding the results of the Maverick Surf Contest held in Half Moon Bay located near San Francisco, California.  Greg Long took the victory over a field containing the some of the best surfers in the world.  It was a beautiful day for surfing and a large number of waves exceeded 40 feet in height.

Deanna Favre, wife of Packers quarterback Brett Favre, was also a popular topic today in search.  Deanna is a breast cancer survivor who has been a vocal spokesperson in the battle to find the cure.  The Green Bay Packers handled the Seattle Seahawks 42-20 in yesterdays NFL Playoff game to advance to the NFC Championship game next week.