the buzz log
September 2009 Buzz
Holidays both holy (Ramadan and Yom Kippur) and secular (Labor Day) dominated September, but the autumnal change of pace didn't always mean peace. Interruptions and protests testified to high anxieties. Those were dwarfed by an unrelenting series of natural disasters. Below, the events that bestirred the Buzz.
The disaster roll
Some took mere seconds, others lasted for days, but all left a wracked landscape. In the state of Georgia, five days of rain dumped as much as 20 inches, left at least nine dead, and flooded more than 1,000 homes. Typhoon Ketsana left a crueler mark through Southeast Asia, wiping away villages and killing more than 300. Quakes shattered Samoa, American Samoa, and the Sumatra island of Indonesia. Help has been at the ready: Federal aid has come to Georgia and the Samoa, the international community—already helping the hard-hit Philippines—are also reaching out to the tiny Pacific islands, and charities worldwide are heading to West Sumatra.
Outbursts, tantrums, and protests
Lots of angst was unleashed in September. Thousands converged to protest big government in a tea-party style gathering fueled by Glenn Beck and organized by FreedomWorks. Talk-show host Beck was awarded a ceremonial key to his hometown, but he may not want to use it. And while President Obama made some UN headway at the general assembly, his follow-up act Moammar Khadafy caused walkouts and his translator to collapse. Would have been a good time for Kanye West to pop up.
In memoriam
"Nobody puts baby in a corner" became the online eulogy for Patrick Swayze, who died of pancreatic cancer this month. Other passings noted: journalist William Safire who famously penned "nattering nabobs of of negativism" for Nixon's vice president Spiro Agnew; neoconservative architect Irving Kristol; and the "father of the green revolution" Norman Borlaug.
Search Terms with the Biggest Percentage Changes
| Biggest Search Terms |
Filed under: Politics, Monthly Wrapup, Disaster, Recaps, Death
August 2009 Buzz
The hot days of August became days of mourning for political leaders (Cory Aquino, Kim Dae-Jung, Ted Kennedy). Health conversations took on an unhealthy tone, and reality TV dominated real-life crime headlines. Below, a look at searches and buzzy stories on Yahoo! this month.
The Last Days of Camelot
While June's celebrity departures seemed a turning point for Generation X, the loss of two political paladins marked an era's passing. The legacy of America's most well-known political family came under review twice with the deaths of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the Special Olympics, and brother Edward Kennedy. Dogged by the Chappaquidick incident, the Massachusetts senator abandoned presidential ambition but still shaped everyday American life by helping to create nearly 1,000 laws on health, civil rights, disability, immigration, education, and more.
Health Check-Up's Negative Results
High decibel levels and superheated rhetoric complicated the already unwieldy mission to reform health care. Rifle-toting protesters and outright falsehoods made town-hall meetings look like a Jerry Springer episode. Still, online outreach—including details from the White House—and research into "obama health plan details" persisted. Meanwhile, more immediate health concerns pushed up queries for flu shots.
Reality Checks
The normally escapist fare of reality TV took an awful turn with a murder-suicide. The VH1 series "Megan Wants a Millionaire" had finished filming and aired only two episodes when news came out that a finalist, Ryan Jenkins, had allegedly killed his wife and swimsuit model, Jasmine Fiore. His suicide three days later led VH1 to cancel that show, as well as celebreality show "I Love Money 3," which Jenkins had competed and won.
Search Terms with the Biggest Percentage Changes
| Biggest Search Terms |
Filed under: Health, Reality TV, Politics, Monthly Wrapup, Crime, Recaps, Death, Wrap Up
A Jackson Playlist, from the Web
The Michael Jackson memorial has been a mix of his own songs as well as serenades from people like Stevie Wonder "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer."
Well before the Staples Center gathering, however, people have been creating their own tribute playlist by seeking their favorites online. Jackson's most popular creation has been "Thriller," which stands for his album, song, video, and the artist at his pinnacle.
Other defining tunes and videos spiking in Yahoo! searches:
- "Bad"
- "Beat It"
- "Billie Jean"
- "Black Or White"
- "Off The Wall"
- "Man in the Mirror"
- "Human Nature"
- "They Don't Care About Us"
- "Remember the Time"
- "Smooth Criminal"
- "Will You Be There"
- "You Are Not Alone"
- "You Rock My World"
For more on the Jackson memorial, follow the Yahoo! News live blog.
Filed under: Music, Death, Michael Jackson
June 2009 Buzz
As if to make up for the relative quiet of May, June brought news of transportation mayhem, historical revolutions, political scandals, and celebrity passings. Below, the stories that reverberated on Yahoo! Search and beyond.
In Memoriam
The word icon was invoked repeatedly with shocking deaths, sad passings, and unexpected departures. In the TV arena, David Carradine's apparently accidental hanging exposed a startling private life, while Ed McMahon's end reminded us the importance of sidekicks. Farrah Fawcett's strength to the end underscored the sex symbol's dignity. The unexpected death of pitchman Billy Mays brought in many tributes. But, it was the King of Pop's passing that stunned the world. News and questions persist over his death, but the loss restored the luster of his legacy.
International Relationships
President Barack Obama reached out to the Muslim world at Cairo University, managed to find destinations for Guantanamo's Uighurs, and pulled out troops from Iraq. That might've been enough drama on the world stage, but Iranians took to the streets and online in a historic protest over presidential election results, putting the country's theocracy in doubt. Leadership issues also explain North Korea's bristling stance (with two American journalists embroiled in the morass), and a coup in Honduras.
Domestic Affairs
A superstitious mind might start considering the label 'possible 2012 presidential candidate' a curse, at least among the GOP. The first extramarital confession came from Nevada senator John Ensign, but his startling admission was soon overshadowed by the mysterious case of the missing South Carolina governor. Mark Sanford's reapperance and rambling confession of an Argentinian liasion gave new meaning to hiking the Appalachian trail—and finally pushed "Jon & Kate Plus 8" from headlines. All these scandals made Alaska governor Sarah Palin look good, especially after her victory in a (TV) late-night spat.
Search Terms with the Biggest Percentage Changes
| Biggest Search Terms |
Filed under: Politics, Celebrities, Monthly Wrapup, Recaps, Death, Scandals, Wrap Up
The Late Billy Mays and His Perfect Pitch
Garrulous and ever congenial, Billy Mays believed in what he preached. Or pitched. In a month of unexpected celebrity passings, the man who sincerely believed in his hype died reportedly of hypertensive heart disease on June 28.
In a month of too many celebrity passings, people took a moment to honor the bearded infomercial hawker. Searches on Yahoo! were so massive on Sunday that his name "billy mays" bypassed even "michael jackson." (Cumulative queries for Jackson's music, biography, and so on, however, continue to overwhelm the Web). Mays' searchers wasn't just old couch potatoes. Everyone from teenagers to 50-somethings joined in.
Media outlets also paid their respects. CNN called him "handsome in a Brawny Towel Guy sort of way" with a "sunshiny attitude." The Los Angeles Times reminisced about how he joined in video parodies of his infomercials with his own joke spots. AP repeated Mays' favorite story of giving away OxiClean as wedding favors.
Unlike spammers or telemarketers, the former football player did more then get people to sit up and watch (and sometimes order). Mays specialized in solving the nagging aggravations and pet peeves modern society, and he managed to do that with the sheer force of his normal-guy charisma, volume turned up to maximum.
Discovery Channel plans to honor him July 1 with a marathon of "Pitchmen," a reality series that started April 15. Mays would probably be pleased with another posthumous tribute: Along with searches into his biography, family, and beard, people also checked out his products.
Below, the top 10—and please note, even though Shamwow lookups also saw an online surge, that's that other guy.
Top 10 Billy May Product Plug Searches on Yahoo!, June 28
- OxiClean (stain remover)
- Kaboom (all-purpose cleaner)
- Orange Glo (wood cleaner)
- Impact Gel (shoe inserts)
- Mighty Putty (epoxy)
- Awesome Auger (garden digging tool)
- Big City Slider Station (hamburger press)
- What Odor? (deodorizer spray)
- Zorbeez (all-purpose cleaning cloth)
- Hercules Hooks (wall hanger)
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford 400 | Breakout! |
| 2 | Indonesia Ferry | Breakout! |
| 3 | Jordan Chandler | 3481% |
| 4 | Evan Chandler | 2322% |
| 5 | American Music Awards | 1841% |
| 6 | John F. Kennedy | 1529% |
| 7 | Turkey Stuffing Recipes | 1361% |
| 8 | Liam Hemsworth | 1172% |
| 9 | Lou Dobbs | 1142% |
| 10 | Hendrick Motorsports | 888% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Friday | +340 | 1290 |
| 2 | NFL | +489 | 670 |
| 3 | Jennifer Lopez | +451 | 515 |
| 4 | New Moon | -67 | 250 |
| 5 | American Music Awards | +236 | 249 |
| 6 | UFC | -36 | 239 |
| 7 | Miley Cyrus | +66 | 169 |
| 8 | Hulu | -11 | 154 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.