Smaaz’s Blog

Yahoo! Announces Top Trends in Search in 2007

Yahoo! today announced the Top Trends in Search, as told through the billions of searches in 2007 conducted by millions of Yahoo! searchers around the globe. Yahoo!’s Top Trends in Search reveals a portrait of a culture on the brink of political breakaways, celebrity breakdowns, technological breakthroughs, environmental action, sporting errors and final farewells to popular icons.

“Searches can give us insight into a culture in motion and Yahoo!’s Top Trends in Search in 2007 reflects the world’s fascination with crossroads and breakthroughs. People weren’t just buzzing about celebrity. More than ever they sought to be environmentally responsible, were using the Web to find out about food and product safety and getting the scoop on the latest gadgets,” said Heather Cabot, Yahoo! Web Life Editor.

Top Trends in Search in 2007

News Stories – top 10 news stories

1. Saddam Hussein

2. Iran

3. Iraq

4. President George W. Bush

5. Oil and Gas prices

6. Barack Obama

7. Hillary Rodham Clinton

8. San Diego Fires

9. Afghanistan

10. Virginia Tech

This year, the availability of footage of Saddam Hussein’s final moments caused searches for him to soar making the late Iraqi leader the most searched figure in the news of 2007. In addition, the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan propelled buzz throughout the year. With the ongoing diplomatic situation with Iran and visit from the Iranian president, Yahoo! users searched for more information on Iran than Iraq this year. Among the Presidential hopefuls, who embraced the Web in larger numbers this year, Democratic contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton once again drummed up a large number of searches.

Grass is Always Greener – top 10 environmental searches

1. Recycling

2. Global Warming

3. Freecycle

4. Earth

5. Pollution

6. Al Gore

7. Environmental Protection Agency

8. Live Earth

9. Hybrid Cars

10. Solar Energy

2007 may go down as the year people stopped talking about the climate crisis and actually did something about it. Yahoo! Searches found that people searched for ways to help the environment, on a global and personal level. Al Gore’s, “An Inconvenient Truth,” won an Academy Award and brought global warming to the fore-front. Also, “Freecycle.org,” a social networking approach to local recycling, emerged as a hit to consumers that sought to exchange used goods in their neighborhoods. 2007 saw searches about global warming and energy-saving cars reach their highest levels ever.

Celebrity Downslides – top 10 troubled stars

1. Britney Spears

2. Paris Hilton

3. Anna Nicole Smith

4. Vanessa Anne Hudgens

5. Nicole Richie

6. Amy Winehouse

7. Rosie O’Donnell

8. Tara Conner

9. Michael Vick

10. Owen Wilson

This year, Yahoo! searches kept up with the twists and turns of troubled Hollywood stars with Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith at the top. Traffic violations drove socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie to jail, and Lindsay Lohan went to rehab numerous times. The story of Anna Nicole Smith and her unexpected death resulted in a great spike in searches and Vanessa Ann Hudgens, the Disney star of “High School Musical”, became even more popular following her photo scandal.

The Year of I, You and Wii – top 10 in tech

1. YouTube

2. Wikipedia

3. Facebook

4. iTunes

5. iPod

6. iPhone

7. Nintendo Wii

8. Xbox

9. Sony PlayStation 3

10. Guitar Hero

In 2007, a cell phone had people camping on the doorsteps of local wireless stores. Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs, introduced the iPhone at MacWorld in January. From that moment on, searches on Yahoo! soared as people clamored for the latest gadget from the company who also brought us the infamous iPod. Nintendo’s Wii had a similarly seductive quality. The game console debuted in late 2006, amidst predictions of a stiff competition from the Sony PlayStation 3 and the new Xbox. However, gadgets and games weren’t the only things pushing tech to its limits – 2007 was also the year that presidential candidates en masse appealed to their citizenry through the Internet. Technology wasn’t so much breaking new ground, as it was entering into a new maturity.

Tag, You’re It – top 10 on del.icio.us

1. Design

2. HDTV

3. Games

4. Music

5. Web 2.0

6. Video

7. Ubuntu

8. Travel

9. Photography

10. Mac

Creativity and creation marked the 2007 searches on social search and bookmarking site, del.icio.us (http://delicious.com), which serves as the “shared Web memory” for millions of technologists, librarians, journalists, and others who enjoy staying on the cutting edge of what’s new and interesting in technology and society. The pursuit of design took the top spot among the millions of del.icio.us users, who shared and tagged Web pages and articles on how to groom a website and tinker with typography for maximum effect.

Recalling the Recall – top 10 consumer call-backs

1. Pet Food Recall

2. Fisher Price

3. Thomas the Tank Engine

4. Dog Food Recall

5. Menu Foods

6. E. coli

7. Food Poisoning

8. Toy Recall

9. Peanut Butter recall

10. Topps

In early spring of 2007, reports of poisoned dog food spurred frantic searches about the pet food recall. For weeks, pet owners examined every brand of food to gauge its safety, and some resorted back to homemade recipes just as a precaution. Toy recalls, bearing the likeness of Thomas the Tank Engine and Fisher Price, suddenly spiked in searches due to the discovery of lead based paint in their products. Ultimately, the commanding search of food safety-related searches such as Menu Foods, E. coli, and Topps, surged to the top in an effort to stay informed. As companies’ spot-testing measures and governmental agreements worked to restore consumer confidence, searches of these issues and additional recall announcements continued.

Elementary Deductions – top 10 searches on Yahoo! Kids

1. Games

2. Animals

3. Dinosaurs

4. Math

5. Hannah Montana

6. Solar System

7. George Washington

8. Halloween

9. Sally Ride

10. Global Warming

This year, kids ages 7-12 showed their environmental consciousness as they searched on topics of global proportions and endangered animals. Global warming was among 2007’s top 10 searches on Yahoo! Kids. Although math topped the list of the most-searched school subject, science was also popular, with related searches on dinosaurs and the solar system remained high on the list among both boys and girls.

Hits, Runs and Errors – top 10 sports news

1. NASCAR

2. Maria Sharapova

3. Boston Red Sox

4. David Beckham

5. Serena Williams

6. Chicago Bears

7. Christiano Ronaldo

8. Super Bowl

9. Ronaldinho

10. Ashley Force

2007 featured several buzz-worthy sports searches, with Nascar at number one, continuing to be an American favorite. Searches showed that Maria Sharapova was very hot this year, and Serena Williams’ triumph in the Australian open after a series of injuries made her a favorite of Yahoo! searchers. In a final ode to joy, the Boston Red Sox capped the year with a fantastic finish to the baseball season.

Final Farewells – top 10 send-offs

1. Harry Potter

2. Anna Nicole Smith

3. The Sopranos

4. Rosie O’Donnell

5. Gilmore Girls

6. The OC

7. Barbaro

8. Richard Jeni

9. Iwao Takamoto

10. Captain America

December 4th, 2007

Yahoo! Europe Names Kristof Fahy as Vice President of Marketing

Yahoo! today announced the appointment of Kristof Fahy as Vice President of Marketing for Europe, who joined the company on 26 November 2007. Fahy will be responsible for overseeing all of Yahoo!’s brand development, customer insights and communications in Europe.

With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Fahy brings to Yahoo! extensive knowledge in the creation and implementation of marketing, brand and communication strategies. He joins from Research in Motion (RIM), where he was Brand Marketing Director for BlackBerry in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

“Kristof has world-class marketing and communications credentials and has demonstrated he can execute marketing strategies with both a strategic focus and a creative flair,” said Toby Coppel, Managing Director for Yahoo! Europe. “We are excited to have someone of his calibre and experience joining the Yahoo! team as we transform the company to being customer centric in everything we do.”

While at RIM, Fahy developed and delivered brand marketing programmes to drive customer awareness and sales. He led the marketing strategy development to take BlackBerry into the consumer market. This resulted in the company exceeding all sales targets and contributed to the establishment of EMEA as the fastest growing region for BlackBerry globally.

From 1999 to 2005, Fahy worked in various marketing positions at Orange, including Director of Global Brand Communications. Most recently, he was Head of Brand, Planning and Advertising for Orange UK where he was responsible for the creative direction of Orange UK. In this role, he created successful programmes for the launch of Orange 3G, PrePay Repay and “The Future’s Bright” ON/OFF campaign among others.

December 3rd, 2007

Google Will Apply to Participate in FCC Spectrum Auction

Google announced today that it will apply to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming auction of wireless spectrum in the 700 megahertz (MHz) band.

As part of the nationally mandated transition to digital television, the 700 MHz spectrum auction — which begins January 24, 2008 — will free up spectrum airwaves for more efficient wireless Internet service for consumers. Advocacy by public interest groups and Google earlier this year helped ensure that regardless of which bidders win a key portion of the spectrum up for auction (the so-called “C Block”), they will be required to allow their users to download any software application they want on their mobile device, and to use any mobile devices they would like on that wireless network. The winner must ensure these rights for consumers if the reserve price of $4.6 billion for the C Block is met at auction.

“We believe it’s important to put our money where our principles are,” said Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO, Google. “Consumers deserve more competition and innovation than they have in today’s wireless world. No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction are American consumers who likely will see more choices than ever before in how they access the Internet.”

Schmidt also praised the leadership of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and his fellow commissioners for adopting the new rights for consumers earlier this year.

Google’s formal application to participate in the 700 MHz auction will be filed with the FCC on Monday, December 3, 2007 — the required first step in the auction process. Google’s application does not include any partners.

December 1st, 2007