Search engine giant Yahoo.com released their 2009 list of Top 10 Searches.
With all the news about the economy, collapse of the world’s reserve currency, a massive stock market decline, the subsequent largest bear market rally in history, geo-political tension, terror threats, health care, cap & trade, and tea parties, this year’s list may come as a surprise to some.
1. Michael Jackson
2. The Twilight Saga
3. WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment)
4. Megan Fox
5. Britney Spears
6. Naruto
7. American Idol
8. Kim Kardashian
9. NASCAR
10. RuneScape
We see some returning notables this year, like Britney Spears, who seems to be holding a near decades long position in the Top 10. And American Idol, which has been going through some viewership problems of late, remains one of the most popular search requests in the world.
Fully expecting the Top 10 to include searches for keywords like Inflation, Bank Stress Tests, Goldman Sachs, housing meltdown, how to buy gold, micro farming, wealth preservation, and SHTF, we were disheartened to learn that while SHTF Planning may be on the minds of millions of Americans, there are still tens of millions more for whom it isn’t even on the radar.
Instead we find that roughly 80% of Top 10 queries on the internet are related to the entertainment industry, with sports fans (Nascar and WWE) driving the remaining 20%.
It’s official. No one really cares about reality. Perhaps there is hope, however, as millions of cybersurfers out there do seem to want to know more about what may or may not be happening in the real world.
Popularity of SHTF Related Search Terms
Google’s proprietary keyword research tool gives us a glimpse of how many people out there are looking for certain types of information or products.
The ‘searches’ amount is based on Google search queries initiated in October 2009.
Unemployment Searches:11,100,000
Health Care Searches: 11,100,000
Inflation Searches: 2,240,000
Survival Searches: 3,300,000
Economic Depression Searches:40,100
Economic Recession Searches: 27,100
Goldman Sachs Searches: 673,000
Health Plan Searches: 2,100,000
Bank Stress Tests Searches: 2,900
Housing Meltdown Searches: 1,300
How to Buy Gold Searches: 22,200
Micro Farming Searches: 2,400
Wealth Preservation Searches: 2,900
SHTF searches: 14,800
Survival Food Searches: 49,500
Freeze Dried Food Searches: 215
Tea Parties Searches: 135,000
Doom and gloomers may see some of the queries on this SHTF list increase in popularity in 2010 if the economy or stock market deteriorate. Some likely candidates that may benefit from rising economic uncertainty and fear would include those related to survival, unemployment, depression and inflation.
Ha ha. I just saw this list earlier today. I just had to laugh when I saw you wrote a story on it.
I agree with the infantile mentality of this nation (these are country-wide and not world-wide searches right?) when it comes to any real newsworthy news. However, that being said, I do recognize that there is a technology gap between anyone under 60 with those over with respect to computers and the internet (my apologies to any tech-savy grandmas out there – I know you’re out there). In other words, the teenagers and pre-teens who number in the tens and tens of millions who really don’t know anything about the world yet (and rightfully shouldn’t) are the ones doing many of these searches, particularly the media related ones. My own 2 kids know everything there is to know about Britney and company and couldn’t care less about a recession. Then again they’re just 7 and 9.
As for the Nascar folks, I really don’t have a clue. Never have. And ditto for Runescape. I think back in the day it was called Dungeons and Dragons or something like that.
Who cares about reality when Kim Kardashian’s booty is gracing the magazine pages! We are so backwards in this country…
Not bad.
I think tomorrow I will start quizing people around the office to see how many of them “have a clue” about the $%!^ going on right now.
I think Iwill start by asking them how much gold is going for these days…kind of like that dude who was trying to sell that gold coin for $50…
Other than the obvious, like who is the VP of the US, what else could I/we ask?
Maybe I’ll also ask if they know who Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner are…though I doubt very many will know.
The Romans called it “bread and circuses”.
many countries use those, alot of people! they cannot tell me they only had 250 searches in a month on freeze dried food! they are full of whats laying on the floor by the fan,dont believe their #’s , swith your search site to bing!
Rick, I was just out in down-town Dallas, recording the snowfall for the kids, and thought about your comment. I have a little mino-HD camera.. it was like $200… i wonder if i should do random street interviews asking those questions you mentioned while recording with the Mino.
Things like…
could be a fun experiment!
We are slipping back to the old, pre-depression ways. People are starting to buy and drive like idiots again. People want to get back to the old ways that got us where we are. Earth to Sheeple, “You can imagine it, but you can’t stay here very long.” Things have to change. There is only enough money to discharge less than 20% of the private debt in this country. The printing presses will have to keep running to compensate. As they do, that $1 candy bar will soon be $5. And a $2.00 gallon of gas will be $10. And the house that you used to want to buy for $100,000, yeah, it will be $500,000. Oh! And wages will go up too! Instead of getting paid $50,000 a year, you’ll be getting $55,000. Wow! Won’t that be fun. …and that $100,000 you had in the bank? Yeah, its still there. Now you can be a cheap motorcycle with it instead of a house. Now, if you talk Bernake into shutting down the printing pressses, we can avoid all that inflation. But, if we do, 50% of America will be unemployed. Of course once inflation sets in, we’ll have that anyway. There really isn’t a good way out of this. Stock up people! Thin times are coming.