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December 3, 2007

Yahoo Top Searches 2007: Please, People, Stop Typing Britney Spears Into Search Boxes

Michael Arrington

46 comments »

It’s that time of year again for the major search engines to release their top search queries of the year. Yahoo traditionally goes first, and today’s the day. And once again, people can’t seem to help but type “Britney Spears” into every search box they come across.

The top queries of the year on Yahoo are:

  1. Britney Spears
  2. WWE
  3. Paris Hilton
  4. Naruto
  5. Beyonce
  6. Lindsay Lohan
  7. Rune Scape
  8. Fantasy Football
  9. Fergie
  10. Jessica Alba

And this year Yahoo is expanding the list to include top ten searches by category. They’ve included Delicious searches (not tags) as well in the list. Delicious users are clearly a more tech savvy and interesting group of people than the population at large, based on their searches. This expanded data is good to have, I think, because it is a very accurate reflection of mass culture, particularly U.S. culture, during the year.

The lists are actually called “top trends in search” because the data is massaged fairly extensively by Yahoo prior to publication. Adult terms are removed, as are some specific brands (Yahoo calls these navigation searches, not true web searches). So some queries are removed, but the list order is not manipulated, the company says.

Look for Google to release their top searches later this month. Last year they were forced to clarify how they come up with the lists after people questioned some of the queries. In their final statement, they said they gave more weight to newer stuff as opposed to the same old popular searches, since they didn’t change much from year to year. I’m glad they do - Britney Spears isn’t on their list.

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Comments

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  1. blahblah8888

    December 3rd, 2007 at 5:15 am

    yahoo! me the first!

    search: britney spears

  2. Bob Caswell

    December 3rd, 2007 at 5:16 am

    Wow. Six out of the ten are celebrity women in their twenties. Good to know that search on the Internet is being used to its fullest…

  3. dominique

    December 3rd, 2007 at 5:18 am

    Becoming beta tester

  4. Jacob Cass

    December 3rd, 2007 at 5:24 am

    Hasn’t Britney Spears been the top search in google for years as well?

  5. Allen Stern

    December 3rd, 2007 at 5:27 am

    FYI - I think it’s data not date. These lists as I noted last year (boy this year has gone quickly!) is just a marketing tactic.

  6. Ryuuzaki

    December 3rd, 2007 at 5:41 am

    Beyonce, Lindsay, Fergie etc. ask “who the hell is Naruto?” if they read this post:D Anime 4ever:)

  7. Jason Alba

    December 3rd, 2007 at 5:54 am

    It’s nice to see that an Alba made the top 10 list!

    Jason Alba
    CEO - JibberJobber.com
    Author - I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???

  8. Mr.Chips

    December 3rd, 2007 at 6:36 am

    It is amazing not only to see that Britney is in the top of the list, but how low we are in terms of history and culture. If you take a close look at the list… we only search for junk…

  9. Sebhelyesfarku

    December 3rd, 2007 at 6:44 am

    This just shows that masses are asses.

  10. Jon

    December 3rd, 2007 at 6:53 am

    A very sad commentary on today’s society to say the least. Except for one person on that list, what is it with this fascination with has-beens or people created purely from marketing hype with little substance behind them. I don’t get it.

    Jon

  11. Ronald Lewis

    December 3rd, 2007 at 7:04 am

    I hope no one’s surprised by this list. It’s the reality of our nation.

  12. Gustav

    December 3rd, 2007 at 7:12 am

    crazy how fascinated people are…

  13. cynic

    December 3rd, 2007 at 7:23 am

    looks like “impeach” has been omitted as well.

  14. Lyle

    December 3rd, 2007 at 7:46 am

    It would appear that the top ten Internet users are 13 year-old boys.

  15. Emperor

    December 3rd, 2007 at 8:00 am

    It is amazing to see the craze people have over their stars. Idol worship at its peak.

  16. Julia

    December 3rd, 2007 at 8:06 am

    That fits to the fact that more and more people prefer the internet over tv (mentioned in a recent article here).
    Did anyone expect that people are suddenly interested in IMPORTANT world news …?

  17. I Am Not Posting To Spam My Blog

    December 3rd, 2007 at 8:08 am

    So judging by the occupants of the 2nd, 7th and 8th slots, pretending to be a wizard is more popular than pretending to be a football manager, but pretending to be heterosexual is more popular than both of them. Good on Yahoo for this valuable insight into our minds.

  18. Steve Ballmer

    December 3rd, 2007 at 8:37 am

    I could’nt believe it but Britney even outranked me!

    http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com

  19. Chris R.

    December 3rd, 2007 at 8:43 am

    Britney is the top search query. That’s riveting, absolutely riveting.

  20. jc

    December 3rd, 2007 at 8:47 am

    @Ronald Lewis:
    that’s a reality, how americans are full of themselves!! keep in mind those are worldwide searches!… and then others say (and i quote) “how low we are in terms of history and culture”
    thanks yourselves!!!

  21. Diggy Zazz

    December 3rd, 2007 at 9:22 am

    I will stop searching on her name when she stops flashing her hoocher in those limos!

  22. Top 10 Adult Search Terms

    December 3rd, 2007 at 10:13 am

    Here are the top ten US adult search terms, according to http://www.fukeo.com:

    1. Blowjob

    2. Handjob

    3. Anal

    4. Teens

    5. Lesbian

    6. Milf

    7. College

    8. Asian

    9. Squirting

    10. Big tits

  23. Addicted Society

    December 3rd, 2007 at 10:46 am

    This is what is wrong with society.

    This top 10 list looks more like the outline for an entertainment tonight episode. Garbage information that the world would be better off without.

    These are all icons created and pushed by the media like crack in a crack house. Sub-standard entertainers made out by the media to be societies “role models”.

    Well its working, little girls around the world want to be just like Britney, hot, sexy, dirty, addticted to drugs and a dead beat moms. The only difference is that the majority of the little girls out there don’t have the same money that Britney does to solve their problems.

    The adults that control the media world seem to think this is good for society in the long run. What a Joke!

    Change what the media focuses on and you will see a change in what everyday people focus on.

  24. Hornswaggled

    December 3rd, 2007 at 10:47 am

    Anyone seen the 2006 movie Idiocracy? This list is just another example of where we are all headed.

  25. Mick Russom

    December 3rd, 2007 at 11:08 am

    This is a lie. The fact Ron Paul isnt anywhere in those lists proves its selective data.

    Yellow Journalism from the Military Industrial Complex owned Main Stream Media.

  26. Dawson Jones

    December 3rd, 2007 at 11:53 am

    Why would you use Yahoo to search for things? That is the last place I would go for search results. They suck!

  27. sodapop

    December 3rd, 2007 at 12:47 pm

    I just did two BS searches…. keeping the dream alive

  28. Anand Nalya

    December 3rd, 2007 at 9:04 pm

    Does someone know of a country specific Top Searches? I’m specifically interested in India and UK.

  29. Dan

    December 3rd, 2007 at 10:34 pm

    Oops Britney did it again!

  30. Steve Ballmer

    December 4th, 2007 at 6:25 am

    Put your panties on Britney!

  31. shifter

    December 4th, 2007 at 12:07 pm

    Regarding the Top 10 Adult search post, where does Britney come in the overall list?

    Also can we have other countries top10 searches.

    I would like to see Canada, France and Russia.

    Thx

  32. fukeo

    December 4th, 2007 at 12:10 pm

    @ Shifter.

    Hi, I’ve had a look and suprisingly Britney appears 933rd - not as high as Paris Hilton (838) - but I guess she hasn’t done her own ‘video’…

  33. object

    December 12th, 2007 at 9:52 am

    lol oh noes Britney Spears haha, oh well

  34. Jeff Liu

    December 14th, 2007 at 2:42 am

    To Addicted Society

    *This is what is wrong with society.
    *This top 10 list looks more like the outline for an entertainment tonight *episode. Garbage information that the world would be better off without.

    Because it is Yahoo!

  35. Mike R.

    December 16th, 2007 at 12:32 am

    Naruto is crazy popular with kids/teens. It’s a cartoon about ninjas just incase anyone is wondering. It’s on Cartoon Network.

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