The Year that Was in Web Search for Pop Culture

In case you haven’t noticed it yet, all three major search engines have already released their annual search trending report. I don’t know if  it’s just me or is web search becoming a facility for satisfying one’s curiosity especially when it comes to pop culture?

All three search engines have recorded Michael Jackson as the most searched term in 2009. Of course it is understandable since MJ’s death caught everyone by surprise. But MJ’s death was already covered by practically all newspapers both in print and online. Why did people continue to search for Michael Jackson information? Are the news items not enough to satisfy one’s curiosity about his death?

Another trend in all the three search engines’ reports was the predominance of searches about popular culture-related information – such as Twilight, Facebook, Twitter, Britney Spears, and all other pop culture-related trivias.

Is this how we are predominantly using search engines and the dearth of information that the Internet offers?

Or are the scholarly sensible searches happen some place else other than these three major search engines?

I still believe that the Internet represents the society as a whole – and that education, political, social and economical information can still be found buried beneath the intricacies of the Web.

Or maybe I’m just getting old.

Anyway, in case you are interested to know, here are the “2009 state of the web search reports” of Google, Yahoo and Bing.