the buzz log
Spring Forecasts
Like a fickle lover, winter blew alternately freezing cold and globally warm this past season. Even now it refuses to relinquish its heavy-handed grasp to the vernal equinox, with floods in the midwest and snow in Chicago (which has already suffered its worst winter in decades). At least the weekend's blinding flurries have left Arizona.
Some signs of spring have bloomed earlier than usual, an outburst that scientists attributed to global warming. Premature biological timing aside, the equinox arrived none too soon for most people. Spring fiercely sprang online weeks ago, as searchers—led by denizens of Philly, NYC, Boston, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C.—hunted for ways to dump an exhausting winter. People sought out what was blooming, what lay in stores, and what fairweather projects to undertake.
"Spring break" led the vernal searches, but since that has already been covered, let us leap headfirst into a Buzz forecast for other popular spring flings.
- Spring Flowers. Traditionally they're wildflowers, azaleas and daffodils, but gardeners might not be able to break frozen ground yet. If you can dig in, plot out the yard with a color wheel. If not, bring the floral frenzy into the home with the latest kitchenware.
- Spring 2008 Fashion. Out: Boot-cut jeans and other "sensible" pants. In: floral prints, strong arty colors, shoes in general. As for guys, Forbes looked to a few coaches who lead in button-downed looks.
- Spring Training. The most popular teams in Search are the Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves and BoSox. Meanwhile, Buzz stories are eyeing an end to some Florida traditions, when teams like the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, and the Los Angeles Dodgers head to desert Arizona climes... though maybe not Tucson.
- Spring Crafts. Dedicated crafters have an upcoming convention in San Francisco. Wait for Easter candy to go on sale and go wild with chick-shaped marshmallow inventions. Finally, stormtrooper snowglobes don't sing spring, but who can resist the dark side?
- Spring Dresses. Besides fem florals, celebs have been seen in tent dresses (albeit some for maternal reasons). Seventeen magazine thinks big retro ruffles may be appear at a prom near you... then again, Seventeen got theirs for free.
Filed under: Fashion, Flowers, Crafts, Spring, Spring Training
What That Rose Says About You
You want to give your sweetie a bouquet of flowers on Valentine's Day. That's a classy move. Think twice, though, before plucking any random bunch of blooms. If your special someone is among the thousands of searchers hitting the Web for "meaning of flowers," he or she may have a funny reaction to that clutch of striped carnations. (What you just said: "Sorry I can't be with you.")
To save you the horror of broadcasting the wrong message with yellow chrysanthemums ("slighted love"), yellow hyacinths ("jealousy"), or bright and shiny marigolds ("cruelty, grief, and jealousy," oh my!), we've paired the week's most searched-on flowers with their generally accepted meanings. Select with confidence...
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When it comes to sheer flower power, the rose is the "American Idol," the Michael Jordan, and the Beatles of botany, all rolled into one sweet-smelling, thorny cache. No flower comes close to its popularity. It draws its own "meaning" searches ("rose color meaning"), cooks up its own candy queries ("chocolate roses"),and sprinkles the Search box with its velvety parts ("rose petals").
If you're thinking of a dozen long-stemmed messages de amor for February 14, here are the week's most searched-on types of roses and their secret meanings...
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Filed under: Valentine's Day, Flowers, Roses
Buzz in Full Bloom
Roses are an easy way to express your love this Valentine's Day. The multi-hued and fragrant flower symbolizes a variety of romantic feelings and is the preferred bloom among searchers.
But we wanted to offer up a few search-inspired choices if you're in the mood to roam outside the rose bush. We dug up the top 20 flower searches along with their traditional meanings.
We're curious about what you'll be sending to your sweetheart. And if it's not too much to ask, can you please help us attach meanings to the three mysterious blooms sprouting in our top 20...
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Filed under: Flowers
Stop and Smell the Flowers
Some people hate holidays and observances. Like the mean-spirited people who decry Black History Month, we wonder if flower-haters get their noses in a bunch over Valentine's Day?
When it comes to sending a message for this holiday, nothing seems to be as popular as the gift that keeps on smelling. Chocolate and diamonds both rank in our top 2,000 searches. But "flowers"—lovely, fragrant, and all colors of the rainbow—is currently a top-200 query.
These are not searches stemming from the anti-flower power brigade. Anyone who's helped "flower delivery" (+74%), "florists" (+77%), and "ftd" (+92%) rake in the Buzz in advance of February 14 has to a be lover of the holiday for lovers. And we thank you; for you have helped us not only stop and smell the flowers, but you've helped stem the tide of holiday hate.
Filed under: Valentine's Day, Flowers
A Rosy Outlook
Rose petals are lingering on the streets of Portland after the city's 99th annual Rose Festival. The Oregon city famed for its array of blooming bushes led us to wander through our garden of data and prune off some interesting bits. Searches on "roses" are in full flower, reaching our top 500 over the last month.
When it comes to colors of roses, goths mope to the top of the crop. Their quest for the clichéd black rose to sum up their bleak romantic prospects helped plop the black rose on top of our color chart...
We made our way through the thorny pain of overly dramatic goths and dug on through the roots of rose searches. Past Axl Rose and Rose McGowan, we found these queries blossoming in Buzz...
Mum's the Word
Never heard of the mum? Oh, how you've missed out. Here's how The ArtfulCrafter describes the meaning of mums: "They are a sign that somebody loves you. They're no longer given only by boyfriends. Mums can come from friends, your mom, dad, aunt, or even a booster boy (a boy-friend who is not your date). Anybody who's anybody wears one, or two." Don't you miss high school?
Last week, thousands of mum-seekers sent the decorative attire soaring in Search. Mums currently rank only below dresses and hairstyles in our top homecoming queries. Now as pep rallies bellow, homecoming kings and queens wave benignly, and varsity football teams storm the field, we present the splendor of the mum amid the rest of our top homecoming searches...
Filed under: Flowers, Homecoming
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.