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BP Oil Spill Tops 2010 Searches On Internet Giant, Yahoo!

Posted: 1/21/2011

The Transocean oil rig explosion and the resulting spill that gushed nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico transfixed the public and dominated online activity.

(NAPSI) - Midterm elections, product recalls and high-profile job exits preoccupied online attention, but the Transocean oil rig explosion and the resulting spill that gushed nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico transfixed the public and dominated online activity on Yahoo! in 2010.

“The spill unfolded like a slow-motion horror film,” explains Vera Chan, senior editor and a Web trend analyst at Yahoo! “There was the immediate tragedy of 11 deaths and then the slow realization that, with all our technology, we couldn’t stop a force that was poisoning our waters.” The spill took 86 days to cap. Besides igniting the issue of workplace safety, the disaster became a lightning rod for America’s energy policies, big government, billionaire CEOs, environmental protection and technological safety.

Yahoo!-visited every year by some 631 million people worldwide-has once again analyzed its aggregate search data, and the top stories and topics of the year from the Yahoo! network, to release its annual review. In a year distinguished by global sporting events, a sputtering economy and political standstills, the Yahoo! Year in Review distilled 10 themes that defined 2010.

Top Searches on Yahoo! in 2010

1. BP oil spill

2. World Cup

3. Miley Cyrus

4. Kim Kardashian

5. Lady Gaga

6. iPhone

7. Megan Fox

8. Justin Bieber

9. “American Idol”

10. Britney Spears

“This was a year of starts, stops and stalls,” Chan says. “We’ve had technological innovations, the beginnings of economic reform, the end of our formal involvement in Iraq, political standoffs and economic struggles. Change is definitely here. What kind of change is welcome-well, that depends on where you stand.”

Other takeaways of 2010, identified in the Yahoo! Year in Review:

The nature of news and searches. In the past two years, breaking-news events have dominated searches on Yahoo!, a change from more entertainment-driven searches from years past.

2010 news and social trends

In addition to the Top 10, the Yahoo! Year in Review also looked at the most searched sporting events, incredible survivor stories and cultural obsessions. The following can be found on the Yahoo! Year In Review (yearinreview.yahoo.com):

• Financial Top Searches

• Top Searched Obsessions of 2010

• Natural Disaster Top Searches

• Top Recipe Searches

• Top Searched Music Lyrics

• And more.

Does the consumer shift toward news show a change in Web behavior? “Hard times could mean we’re less frivolous,” Chan observes. “And we’ve seen a shift in how media and better gadgets have given people access to information in new and different ways. Look at the White House’s insistence on the underwater live-cam. News outlets are savvier with online updates. Recall notices now come in an app. Wikileaks shared secrets with the world. All this changes how we seek out information and what information we expect to be available to us.”

The Yahoo! Year in Review, which launched December 1, will continue to post blogs that plumb the company search data for more Top 10 lists (such as politicians and athletes), as well as the stories behind the biggest searches of 2010.

For more about the Yahoo! 2010 Year in Review and other top searches, go to yearinreview.yahoo.com or search for “2010 Year in Review” on Yahoo.com.

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