Thursday, August 17, 2006

yeah, we've got that


vasta vs. cmonkey
Originally uploaded by corporatemonkey.
Set adrift on a Vasta*less blogosphere, I found myself wondering what he might be blogging about, were he in fact not so busy taking care of the things tend to keep one occupied in the 'real world'. And for today's experiment, I've choosen Google Trends.

Perhaps this is only new to me, but since that is the case- and Vasta is always up on the new technogadgetry and beta-series rollouts, I determined that surely he would lend it a bit of attention. At the same time I must remain true to my roots, as someone who tends to turn every useful tool into something goofy and under-utilized (yes- I used my calculator to spell 55378008... turn it upside down...). Therefor, Google Trends shall be no different.

The top right image is the trend history of Vasta vs. CorporateMonkey. As you can see, there is a complete lack of red on the graph, demonstrating that I must soon launch a campaign to increase viewership. Or just google myself everyday when I arrive at work- and on every machine in the Apple stores that I frequent. That should get my numbers up a bit.

Below, a search that someone else was doing while I was having my run through the carnival midway that is Google Labs. Alumninium vs. Aluminum. Something I hadn't thought of, but find curiously facinating at the same time. I've always enjoyed the way non-Americans pronounce "Alum*in*ium, and have teased a British friend or two about it, all out of my envy for such a lovely accent.



Now- a bit of fun at the expense of North America. Who's more popular? Canada, Mexico, or The USA? A complicated question, if you think about it. While Canada is the clear winner when it comes to search statistics, there is some competition from the USA when it comes to news references (not necessarily a good thing). But notice how the frequency changes when the search term is adjusted:

vs. USA (orange)


vs. United States (orange)


vs. United States of America (orange)


Clearly, not even the news media uses the country's full title anymore. Something to consider when you're searching for something particular, or something that has multiple reference terms. Useful, but not foolproof- which will keep Google just under the radar of being too much of a tracking 'watchdog' as far as the general population is concerned. I, on the other hand, am going to go toss- 'er, delete my cookies.

2 comments:

E said...

Your UBER geekiness makes the ends of that line at the bottom of my face turn upwards.

Sameer Vasta said...

I'm on my way back. Expect posts by Monday! (And maybe one review today)

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