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Google offers free online course to turn you into a 'power searcher'
If you're game for learning some new search tricks, they may as well come from the hive mind itself. Mountain View is currently accepting registrations for "Power Searching with Google," a free-of-charge virtual course which will start on July 10th and involve six 50-minute interactive classes spread over two weeks. In addition to plugging Google+ at every opportunity, it promises to explain how to "solve real, everyday problems" using advanced search features -- and there's even a certificate at the end of it. Sign up at the course homepage linked below.
Zite searches show some fascinating regional differences
Zite is my favorite news discovery app on the iPad. I find myself using this free app several times a day as it crawls over thousands of websites looking for things I will be interested in. It works by noting my interests, and finding more based on a complex personalization algorithm. I'm constantly finding compelling articles and sharing them with friends and colleagues. Today, Zite shared some data about the terms users select to seed the app. They've broken it down by state, and the results are interesting. It's clear the US is not homogeneous in interests -- that's obvious to most of us -- but it's really clear in the Zite data. Click here for an interactive map and move your mouse over each state. You'll see a variety of search terms over each state. It's not a list of the top search terms by state, but rather how those states differ from other parts of the country. For example, the term 'code warriors' comes up in California, Washington state, Colorado and Massachusetts. 'Disney' is a popular search term in California, Florida, Hawaii, New Jersey and Alabama. 'Beer' is on a lot of Zite users minds in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. 'Aliens' and 'conspiracy' searches in quantity is unique to Nevada. Area 51 anyone? In Alabama, 'Bible Study' slightly beats out 'Lingerie'. Of course if the survey was taken today I'd expect to find 'hurricane' and 'Steve Jobs' searches, but what Zite has done is more interesting, because the differing regional interests we know exist in the US are easy to see on the map. You can read more about the methodology here. It's an interesting stroll through some data that helps illuminate what is on American minds. Take a look at the map. Any surprises for you?
Google's Zeitgeist report for 2010: America loves the Bieb, already forgot about BP
Google recently released its annual Zeitgeist report of hot search terms for the year, and if you ask us, what people aren't searching for is just as interesting as what they are searching for. The climate is going topsy-turvy, oil sources have peaked (or are currently peaking), Afghanistan is a boondoggle, and the season finale of The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret was one of the least satisfying in the history of sitcoms -- but what tops America's primary concerns? That's right: Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Chatroulette, and Apple's iPad. It almost makes us long for 2009, when Michael Jackson and the swine flu were all the rage. Almost.
BP damage control extends to purchasing search terms like 'oil spill' on Google, Yahoo
If you're looking for the latest updates on the Gulf Oil Disaster, you're probably not wondering "how BP is helping," but that hasn't stopped the company from snatching up keywords on various sites. "We have bought search terms on search engines like Google to make it easier for people to find out more about our efforts in the Gulf," BP spokesman Toby Odone told ABC News. We regret to inform ol' Toby that if it cannot manage the oil spill, managing its PR is not going to placate anybody.
