It was hard to title this article. Very hard. I wanted to say something crass, cynical, and generally unkind, but didn’t. Why not? Because the data will bear out my point far better than any headline I could conjure might. I got off lucky, if you will.
We are discussing search trends today, and not search engine market share trends (for once), a yearly topic that causes every seasoned technology writer to reach for the bottle. You see, the average Internet user, and therefore the average search engine user, is roughly on par with the average person you meet in the street. That means that they are not like you, or me, but are in fact cut whole from a wholly different cloth.
As the new data tells us, every vacuous bit of pop and celebrity grift that you already don’t like, it turns out, is exactly what everyone else does. I’ve hand-picked a few stats that will illuminate my point on the State of the Internet:
Most Searched For Person: Justin Bieber;
Second: Kim Kardashian (who?);
Most Searched For News Story: Casey Anthony Trial;
Top Searched For Musicians: Justin Bieber, Katy Perry;
Most Searched TV Shows: American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Glee;
Saddest Stat That Bing Is Touting: “The Kardashians can’t be stopped – Kim, Khloe and Kourtney all placed in the top 5 list for the most searched reality stars of the year on Bing!” (Again, who?);
Second Most Searched Movie: Twilight: Breaking Dawn;
And these people are allowed to vote. If you want to read the entire desultory list, head here. Thanks Bing, for that shot in the arm.
Not that I am surprised by this list, but its level of vapidity is, as always, breathtaking. Entrepreneurs take note, this is your market, if you want to go ‘mainstream’ and ‘blow up.’ This is the sort of people that Twitter and Facebook have to cater to, if they wish to continue growing as they have. You almost pity them.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.