The ABCs of Search – February 2009

by: George Bounacos Monday, February 2nd, 2009

February’s ABCs of Search is almost identical to January’s.    There were only two changes; one that is certainly topical, and one that may be economy-driven.

abcRegular readers know that we use a generic computer running Windows and using Google.com without signing into an account.   We note what Google recommends based on a single letter, and recently, also note which person is offered as the first choice when only a first name is entered.

The unsurprising change was in “J”, which has been inhabited by John McCain, Jennifer Hudson and, now, JC Penney.  The more surprising switch is Wikipedia being ousted by Walmart.  Could that be because the economy is driving more shoppers to the big box store?  If not, is it a sign of Google’s increasing focus on the Knol product the advertising company rolled out in 2008?

January 2009’s Google Prompts By Letter

amazon
best buy
craigslist
dictionary
ebay
facebook
google
hotmail
imdb
jcpenney
kohls
lowes
myspace
nfl
obama
photobucket
quotes
runescape
sears
target
utube
verizon wirelesss
walmart
xbox 360
youtube
zappos

Your January 2009 Google Names are below.  There are always surprises here.   American Idol runnerup David Archuleta is prompted for David instead of winner David Cook.  Howard Hughes and Helen Keller continue to show first decades after their deaths.  Meanwhile, TV stars on hit shows (House’s Lisa Edelstein) or movies (Twilight’s (Robert Pattinson) command their respective names.  Letters are more fun and perhaps more suggestive of society since 10 of the 26 letters are represented by a store, but the names are fun too.   Stay strong, Diane Lane!

Adam Sandler
Amy    Winehouse
Brad Pitt
Beth Ostrosky
Charles    Manson
Colleen Haskell
David Archuletta
Diane Lane
Edward Norton
Emily Osment
Frank Lucas
Frances    Bean Cobain
George Bush
Grace Kelly
Howard Hughes
Helen Keller
Isaiah Thomas
Isabelli Rosellini
John McCain
Janet Jackson
Keith Olbermann
Kelly Clarkson
Louis Armstrong
Lisa Edelstein
Matt Damon
Maria Sharpova
Nicholas Sparks
Nancy Grace
Oscar de la Hoya
Olivia Wilde
Paul Newman
Patricia Heaton
Quincy Jones
Queen Elizabeth
Robert Pattinson
Roberta    Flack
Steve Fossett
Sue    Grafton
Tom    Cruise
Tina Fey

What Your Online Marketing Agency Should Be Telling You About Today

Yahoo! is undergoing many changes with a new CEO and a Wall Stret mandate to prove that spurning Microsoft’s offer was a savvy move.  Now may be the time to negotiate for display advertising if your site is big enough.  Yahoo and the sites it feeds still get plenty of traffic.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Related Posts:

  • No Related Posts

« | Home | »

  • Hi there, Corey. The lists look pretty similar so that's encouraging. There's no reason why they should or shouldn't... just kind of noteworthy in universal search days. I like the way your blog is broad enough to touch TED and mainstream issues alike. The ABCs have been fun because with months of data (we record the number of pages too), you start to build a fun snapshot of something, just not sure what exactly. In some ways it feels like a fortune cookie or an astrology list in the local paper, but it's an addictive little habit. It's like Soduku, which is only word search for numbers, not actual math, but has millions of fans.

    Cheers,
    George
  • I just came across this blog and was excited to see someone had already had the idea to do a ABCs of Search using Google Suggest. I also liked the names idea which I had not thought of but is a great idea.

    I recently did a similar post on the ABCs of search on my blog
    The New Alphabet Song: A is for Amazon, B is for Best Buy…
  • Hi there, Corey. The lists look pretty similar so that's encouraging. There's no reason why they should or shouldn't... just kind of noteworthy in universal search days. I like the way your blog is broad enough to touch TED and mainstream issues alike. The ABCs have been fun because with months of data (we record the number of pages too), you start to build a fun snapshot of something, just not sure what exactly. In some ways it feels like a fortune cookie or an astrology list in the local paper, but it's an addictive little habit. It's like Soduku, which is only word search for numbers, not actual math, but has millions of fans.


    Cheers,

    George
  • Sara
    Lisa Edelstein is awesome!!!
blog comments powered by Disqus