the buzz log
Guilty Pleasures for Free or Cheap...Hold the Guilt
Today, a couple national chains offer more deals, with some altruistic twists. April 21 noon to 8 p.m. is the annual free cone day at Ben & Jerry's, purveyor of cheeky concoctions like Chubby Hubby, Jamaican Me Crazy and Karamel Sutra. (Naturally, we're intrigued by the Coffee, Coffee, BuzzBuzzBuzz.) Some locations will be doubling up with a good purpose, such as a blood drive, selling $1 waffle cones for a kids' club, or partnering with an advocacy center to bring attention to Child Awareness Month.
If dairy's not your treat, two quarters will score you an iced coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. That extra buzz will also help Homes For Our Troops, which gets a nickel for every cup sold.
Given the Search surge for both joints, expect long lines from people primed for their treats. Now if only fitness centers joined in and offered treadmill runs free up to 300 calories burned, it could really be a feel-good day.
Not Working? Then Work for Nothing
A citizen brigade, released from presidential campaigning, seeks to funnel its energy elsewhere.
Workers, who used to occupy their days with a (paid) occupation, want something to do between jobs... and maybe get some cross-training in while they're at it.
These two different (but not mutually exclusive) forces could be at work—or not at work, as the case may be—for the renewed Search uptick in "volunteer work." January lookups for volunteer organizations mark an all-time high over the past three years.
The absolute numbers don't indicate a giant upswell by any means—the term "volunteer," for instance, ranks within the top 120,000 searches on Yahoo!. But the lookups show a slow, steady increase with few signs of letting up.
Volunteering actually has been rising over the past 30 years, although the numbers dropped off a bit between years 2005 and 2006. Some already have credited President Barack Obama's call to civic duty for the latest increase in service. The Sun Sentinel wondered about an "Obama effect" in the local Peace Corps' 35% enrollment jump among Floridians. Down in Houston, the nonprofit Big Brothers, Big Sisters directly credited its 300 percent increase in possible mentors to Obama's call-to-service theme.
Perhaps just as important is who's interested in volunteer possibilities: In looking at the age spread, people 17 and under conducted 19% of online research into volunteerism, while 20-somethings accounted for 25% of lookups. Ages 20-24 have the lowest volunteer rate.
Whatever the impetus, there's no lack of opportunities to help others. And for those unfamiliar to that "working for nothing" experience (except for maybe pulling weeds from your parents' lawn), a Huffington Post article gives kinesthetic encouragement on why to jump right in. Take a look at the ways Searchers have been considering to help out.
Top Five Volunteer Searches on Yahoo!, past 7 days
- Volunteer Match (+670%)
- Volunteer Work (+58%)
- Volunteering (+48%)
- Volunteers of America (+25%)
- Volunteer Opportunities (+12%)
Top Five Donate Searches on Yahoo!, past 7 days
- Donating Plasma (off the charts)
- Plasma Donation Centers (off the charts)
- Organ Donation (off the charts)
- Salvation Army Donation Pick Up (+17%)
- Locks of Love Donation (+15%)
Filed under: Jobs, Barack Obama, Charity
Idol Talk: Giving and Receiving
Charity interrupted the regularly scheduled, mildly ruthless Fox competition on Wednesday night. "Idol Gives Back" earned the lion's share of the audience, but without the tantalizing cruelty of cutting a contestant, the series had its lowest viewership in two years.
Perhaps fans decided to skip the telethon and just donate directly. So far the tally is more than $20 million. Pledges are still being counted, but the $100 million goal is still a ways away. The upside: Among the causes promoted, malaria and Save the Children (+168%) inspired folks to search.
Brad Pitt was the most anticipated celebrity, and sure enough the audience reached a hysterical pitch when he came onstage. Yet it was '80s diva Annie Lennox who emerged as the Search highlight of the night. Her soulful, grand-piano rendition of "Many Rivers to Cross" drove her numbers up more than 1,000%.
The contestants, otherwise known as "the help," sang a few songs when they weren't on phone duty. The producers didn't integrate the wannabes with the real celebs. Too bad—we suspect Carly Smithson probably would've clawed at Fergie's blue eye shadow for the chance to sing with her beloved Heart.
Still, they were hardly far from people's minds. Folks were dreamy over Jason Castro's Hawaiian riff on "Over the Rainbow." Heck, some even looked up ukeleles.
An E-Poll/Reuters survey predicting the winner was among the Buzz's most popular "Idol" stories. The 1,100 respondents didn't say anything shocking: David Archuleta is still the frontrunner, and David Cook is deemed most talented. Do fans' online habits mesh with polling responses? Take a look...
In the past 7 days, Cook has edged past Archuleta, and Castro is closing in. If "Idol" patterns hold up from previous years, whoever wins favor with the ladies usually claims the title. As of now, female fanatics hold a soft spot for all three contestants. Contrast that with Kristy Lee Cook and Smithson, who have the menfolk ogling but not necessarily backing them up on the phone lines. Whether polls or searches, odds are that this season's Idol will be a boy. But, you never know. We suggest you hold back on any calls to have the ladies drop out, and just enjoy the next eight weeks. |
Filed under: Reality TV, American Idol, Charity
Jerry's Words
The Buzz has been remiss in not paying homage to Jerry Lewis (+188%). The 81-year-old legend deserves props for creating the Nutty Professor empire and for being the veritable King of Comedy.
Most notably, Lewis has raised millions of dollars through his Labor Day telethons for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (+375%)—a holiday and television tradition for 42 years. However, Mr. Lewis now finds himself in the not-so-esteemed company of Don Imus, Michael Richards, and Isaiah Washington after this year's extravaganza.
In a clip first posted on TMZ, Lewis utters the anti-gay F-bomb while clowning with a cameraman during the bleary and dreary 18th hour of the telethon. Lewis apologized for his remark and the hubbub is an unfortunate diversion from the $63 million raised at this year's MDA telethon (+521%). Now it's easy to see why Lewis's "comedy" has taken a back seat to his philanthropy.
Filed under: Charity
The Giving Quest
Dear Friend,
Asking for a donation is hard, especially at the beginning of the year. Bills come due, and while searches for tax deductions are up 20%, the last-minute deadline rush for 2006 has passed.
Winter usually plays havoc with giving of a corporeal nature, but storms have made blood shortages worse than usual during National Blood Donor Month, despite centers' enticements.
But we know you're out there, those who give and even give parts of yourself. The Buzz is here to help you every step of the way, whether you're looking for a "sample donation request letter" or to find a way to pass on your legacy even when you've passed on. You might not always get a parade or your face on a subway platform, but we always appreciate the ways you continually seek to give.
With gratitude,
The Buzz
A Helping Hand
Yesterday, online Samaritans led Goodwill (+170%) and the Salvation Army (+124%) into Buzz's top 500 movers. Queries for "goodwill stores," "shopgoodwill.com," and "salvation army donation" multiplied, while searches by folks looking to "volunteer" grew by 7%.
Judging by last year's Buzz, we're also expecting a surge in "car donations" as we inch toward 2006. As for the rest of the most popular endowments researched online, let's just say that all searchers looking to bequeath something to someone are not necessarily philanthropic. Nonetheless, we reached into the deep pockets of Buzz and came up with the most popular ones...
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.