The Perils of Plastic
Friday December 23, 2005 3:00AM PT
Credit Cards
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The holidays are a time for family, forgiveness, and fruitcakes. It's also a time for spendthrifts to abandon budgets and go hog wild. Thanks to the wonders of "buy now, pay later," people can spoil their loved ones and their credit with a simple swipe of the plastic. Consumers are making their last-minute purchases, and if Search is any indication, more than a few will be saying "charge it."
When it comes to spending around the holidays, many people worry only about the here-and-now. "Bills? We'll worry about those later!" Searches on "bad credit credit cards" are up 70% this month and "cash advance" is up 13%. "Check into cash" stores, aka. legal loan sharks, posted a 64% gain, and "payday advance" soared 40%. Everywhere we look in Search, folks are falling prey to temptation. Although, really -- can you blame them? Not even the devil sends out 20 pre-approved credit cards per week, and he's the friggin' devil, ya know?
Of course, there are alternatives to going massively into debt. If you really want that plasma TV, start selling plasma. If you simply must have some diamond earrings, get a second job or start begging online. It may take you a while, but it beats getting your car repossessed.
The Fortunes of Football
Thursday December 22, 2005 5:00PM PT
Reggie Bush
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The NFL's regular season is winding down, but the intrigue surrounding America's favorite sport ensures that Buzz never punts when it comes to pigskin. Fans whose teams are moving on to the postseason have sent searches on "nfl playoff schedule," "nfl playoff scenario," and "nfl playoff picture" spiraling. And with the weather outside frightful in many cities, queries on "nfl weather" are up 20% over the last week. Something tells us there's serious overlap between fans who are a little too concerned about the weather and folks who like to place a friendly wager -- searches on "nfl point spread" (+10%), "nfl odds" (+18%), and "nfl picks" (+10%) are also on the rise.
Searchers whose teams were cut from the playoff picture have turned their attention to 2006. Over the past week, we've seen an influx of queries related to next April's annual draft. Searches on "2006 nfl draft," "2006 nfl mock draft," and "2006 nfl draft prospects" have all surfaced in sports Buzz over the past week. Next year's grand prize is sure to be slippery USC running back Reggie Bush. Queries on the Heisman winner and probable #1 pick have jumped 286% over the last month. Will Bush look best in Texans blue or 49er red? The race for the NFL's top pick will likely prove as buzz-worthy as the pitched battle for the final playoff spot.
The Spy Who Buzzed Me
Thursday December 22, 2005 11:00AM PT
President Bush
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News of the Bush administration's domestic spying program has been sneaking around in the headlines, and our natural nosiness curiosity led us to investigate further. The National Security Agency (+156%) is tapping wires, U.S. senators are gnashing teeth, secret judges are calling it quits, and the executive branch is saying it's all good under the hood. But what's happening in the Search box?
Searches on "spying" spiked over the past week, up 370%. But in overall searches, "spying" and "domestic spying" don't place any higher than in our top 500,000 searches. Seems most people don't feel the need to worry about the domestic spying game. The Bush administration explains that only people with known ties to al-Qaida are getting the bug, so perhaps concern is unwarranted. In fact, we'll let you in on a little secret: According to Search data, people seem much more interested in cleaning up nasty PC spyware and finding gadgets to help them do a little spying of their own.
All of which leads us to unveil these shocking revelations, information so sensitive that only our top Search operatives could dig it up -- the list of top "spy" searches...
Transit Strike Cripples NYC
Thursday December 22, 2005 3:00AM PT
NYC Transit Strike
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When 33,000 members of TWU Local 100 (+158%) walked off the job on Tuesday, the subways and buses of New York City ground to a standstill unseen in 25 years. The citywide strike stranded millions of commuters and pitted a furious mayor (+74%) against a livid union president (Buzz breakout). As if people weren't jittery enough, a judge slapped the union with a fine of $1 million per day, and officials warned that the city's economy could suffer a devastating blow.
Before the strike hit, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority spiked sharply (+851%) and variations on "mta transit strike" tripled in numbers. Interest in local news coverage boomed, with NY1 News, WNBC, and Fox 5 News all rising into our top 100 movers.
As the strike ground on, searches on "transport workers union" blew off the Buzz chart, and we logged a massive rise in other trains and buses, major hubs, and New York maps. The following topped the list...
The Long and Short of it
Wednesday December 21, 2005 5:00PM PT
Winter Solstice
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For months, the nights have been getting longer, while the days have been getting shorter. Is it time to panic? Should we start sacrificing virgins, chickens, or virgin chickens? Not yet. The "scientific" reason has something to do with the Earth's position on its axis. Or maybe the way the sun rotates around the Earth. We're not sure which. Either way, today marks winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in northern latitudes.
Searches on the event are up 71%, and its popularity comes as no surprise. Solstice appeals to scientists, students, hippies, pagans, and just about anyone who's tired of 5 p.m. sunsets. While we're not big into astronomy, according to our half-assed Internet research, we should start experiencing more daylight hours now that the shortest day of the year has arrived. Beware muggers, your days (or make that hours) are numbered!
In honor of the earthly phenomenon, we've scanned the skies for the "longest" and "shortest" searches...
Puzzling Popularity
Wednesday December 21, 2005 11:00AM PT
Sudoku
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Are you quizzical when someone asks you about the latest trend in brain-teasing logic puzzles? Well, wonder no more. We have the answer, and its name is Sudoku. The confounding little grids continue to move up our chart and have figured their way into our top 200 searches. Not bad for a game that had no buzz at all in the first four months of the year. Since then, the puzzle's peculiar rise has placed it among the Buzz elite. Check out the trend line on this red-hot craze...
Who's playing the puzzles? About 60% of Sudoku searches are females, and queries skew older, with the 35-and-above crowd accounting for the bulk of the buzz.
Related Sudoku queries adding up in Search include "free sudoku," "daily sudoku," "printable sudoku puzzles," "sudoku solver," and "handheld sudoku." If you're looking for a test of logic, you might want to join the increasing crowds and try your hand, and your head, at Sudoku.
Holiday Hubbub
Wednesday December 21, 2005 3:00AM PT
Merry Christmas?
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We've been hearing about a war on Christmas out there in the real world. Some say that well-wishers with "Happy Holidays" on their lips spell the end of "Merry Christmas" altogether.
While we can't vouch for what's happening in the malls, schools, and public arenas ourselves, we can tell you a few things about what's going on in the world of Search.
As the above chart shows, "merry christmas" searches far outnumber "happy holidays" and have been outpacing it for weeks. Similarly, searches for "xmas" rank in our top 2200 searches this past week, while "christmas" ranks within our top 50.
Does our holiday search data prove or disprove a conspiracy against Christmas? Likely neither. But it does show that Christmas is on a lot of people's minds. And with that, we wish you all Happy Christmas, Merry Hanukkah, Joyeux Kwanzaa, Snappy Solstice, and a great New Year.
Track the Shipping Buzz
Tuesday December 20, 2005 5:00PM PT
UPS Driver
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Right about now, holiday procrastinators get an unhealthy gleam in their eye. They glance furtively at the calendar and hunch over their keyboards, typing "tracking" and "shipping" and "priority mail." And, as the hours until Christmas tick by, they shove delivery searches ever upwards in a trajectory trailed by jacked-up freight costs and mailing frenzy.
"Peak Day," the last Monday before Christmas and the climax of the holiday shipping season, has come and gone, and anyone who hasn't yet dispatched parcels to the other side of the country is well past jumpy. Searches on UPS stores leapt nearly 700% over the past week, and the usual suspects -- UPS, FedEx, USPS, and DHL -- have all surged. Weekly spikes in "ups tracking," "fedex track," and "usps tracking" have also shot skyward.
Now, as the early birds relax with their hot cocoa and Perry Como albums, waiting for the thank-you notes to roll in, the rest of us seek salvation in two simple, but costly, words: "Saturday delivery."
Over the Hills...
Tuesday December 20, 2005 11:00AM PT
Holiday Traffic
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Grandparents are famous for their guilt trips. "Boo hoo, nobody comes to see us. The only reason you're nice is because you want to inherit our Hummel figurines." Well, good news, Granny. The holidays are coming, and if the rise in searches on "directions" is any indication, your ungrateful offspring will be visiting soon enough. So thaw the fruitcake and break out your emergency supply of lap blankets -- this is not a drill!
Searches on "driving directions" are up 5% this week and fall comfortably in our top 150 searches. While we try not to perpetuate stereotypes, we can't ignore the fact that 65% of directional searches come from women. It appears this generation of men is just as stubborn about asking for directions as the last. Other terms making a move include "map directions," "travel directions," and "door-to-door directions." As Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa (or: ChrisHanKwan) draws closer, we expect searches on "traffic reports" and "road conditions" to rise. As we all remember from last year, being tardy for Grandma's annual holiday party is not wise. Not wise at all.
Bring on the Bling
Tuesday December 20, 2005 3:00AM PT
Luxurious Jewels
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It looks like much will be twinkling and glittering under the tree this season. As the countdown to Christmas continues, "jewelry" searches sparkle across the Buzz, and gift givers have grabbed for an array of shimmering embellishments, from "rings" and "bracelets" to "costume jewelry" and "gemstones." To find out more, we took a little tour through the Buzz's brightest bling.
Jewelry searches begin with breakfast at Kay's. Audrey Hepburn notwithstanding, the collection of jewels at Kay's has once again outshone the little blue boxes at Tiffany's. The salesclerks at Zales, Gordon's, and James Avery jewelers must also be beaming as their Search numbers rocket upward.
Diamonds are the top jewels at the Search box, but pink diamonds are looking like a girl's latest best friend. Online shoppers are gazing at silver trinkets, with interest in gold plummeting faster than you can say "so-last-season."
Our window-shopping also led to queries for "chanel earrings" and "diamond stud earrings." Shoppers have slipped on a fair number of rings, with "belly button rings" and the newly hot "promise rings" attracting high Search numbers. As a final indicator of activities in front of the fire, searches for "engagement rings" and "diamond engagement rings" are both on the rise. Santa just might get lucky under the mistletoe this year.
Time to Sing Along
Monday December 19, 2005 5:00PM PT
Eminem
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How does the second verse of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" go again? We all know it's troublesome to sing along without a lyric sheet propped in front of you. During this time of caroling and traditional holiday songs, we'd rather know the words instead of simply mouthing a few "fa la la la's." Apparently, searchers agree with us, as lyrics are rock solid among our top 20 queries. In keeping with the season, many of you looked for "christmas carol lyrics" (+17%), "feliz navidad lyrics" (+19%), "twelve days of christmas lyrics" (+39%), "last christmas lyrics" (+55%), and "christmas music lyrics" (+29%), to name but a few.
As the holidays come to a consumer crescendo, we also wanted to check the top 10 lyrics searches overall. What's hot on the pop charts? Sing along with us...
- When I'm Gone Lyrics (Eminem)
- Laffy Taffy Lyrics (D4L)
- My Humps Lyrics (Black Eyed Peas)
- Grillz Lyrics (Nelly)
- Don't Forget About Us Lyrics (Mariah Carey)
- Run It Lyrics (Chris Brown)
- One Wish Lyrics (Ray J)
- Because of You Lyrics (Kelly Clarkson)
- Stickwitu Lyrics (Pussycat Dolls)
- So Sick Lyrics (Ne-Yo)
Second Best in Search?
Monday December 19, 2005 11:00AM PT
Dan Quayle
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They're not called "vice" for nothing. They've mismanaged their taxes and misspelled "potato" (in our book, that's a vice). One of them lurks in undisclosed bunkers, one claims to have invented the Internet, and another sports the moniker "Fritz." And though a few of them have ascended to the big chair in the Oval Office, once they got there, most of them did ... not so much (or were forced to resign).
But don't let it be said that the people don't care. When Gerald Ford, who served as No. 2 from 1973 to 1974 before being sworn in as president, was admitted to the hospital on December 12, concern for his welfare pushed him to the top of the Buzz chart. Searches on his name rose sharply, and news queries such as "gerald ford health" and "gerald ford hospitalized" leapt.
With all this on our minds, we did a little investigation into the "vices" of modern times. Unsurprisingly, the men who used the Veep position as a springboard to commander in chief came out on top. But regardless, here's how web users cast their ballots last week for the elected officials who, at one point or another, stood one heartbeat away from the presidency.
Secretly Hating Secret Santa
Monday December 19, 2005 3:00AM PT
Secret Santa Fun
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The plastic tree, the spiked eggnog, your weird uncle's obsession with mistletoe -- the holidays have many strange and awkward traditions. The most cringeworthy of all might just be the "Secret Santa" ritual. Searches on the love-it-or-hate-it pastime have risen dramatically, an indication many aspiring elves are sneaking some Christmas cheer into the lives of friends and coworkers.
Among related searches, "secret santa gift ideas" and "secret santa poems" are at the top of the list. Yikes. There's nothing like finding an anonymous haiku about being away in a manger taped to your monitor to make you rethink your choice to participate. "Secret santa riddles" are also making a seasonal surge. Apparently, for some, Christmas isn't so much a time for family as it is a time for taunting work-related acquaintances.
If you've had any unsettling experiences in the past ("A Betty Boop clock! You shouldn't have!"), a round of white elephant may be the way to go. Searches on the slightly mean-spirited style of gift exchange (also known as "yankee swap") are picking up as Christmas approaches. Before agreeing to be party to the madness, however, we recommend you catch Tuesday's episode of The Office. It does a wonderful job of explaining what can (and likely will) go wrong when you put your holiday faith in those you share a bathroom with.
Stern Says Goodbye
Saturday December 17, 2005 9:00PM PT
Howard Stern
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By now, you've probably heard a little something about Howard Stern moving from terrestrial radio to the wide-open vista of satellite radio. His publicity tour wrapped yesterday with a blowout party of a final broadcast. Queries on the "king of all media" jumped 204%, placing him in our top five searches overall.
During the five years that we've been tracking Search, no one person has influenced Buzz quite like Howard Stern. A mere mention on his radio show or an appearance on his E! television show was enough to create Search spikes on obscure babes, random wack packers, and risqu� web sites. For established celebs, an appearance on his couch also served to boost buzz -- especially if Stern was able to wrangle a juicy confession or two. So it only seems fitting to pay homage to this unprecedented one-man buzz machine.
With Stern's Sirius debut looming, searches on the satellite radio provider are on the rise, jumping 23% in the past week. The publicity surrounding Stern's move looks like it's already paying off for the network, so it'll be interesting to see a tally of subscribers in the new year. And now that Howard's free from the censor's grip, we're anticipating another huge spike in Stern searches when his new show starts. Whether or not he'll match his previous Buzz levels is the real question. Stay tuned...
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