To define a word, phrase or acronym, just type define: and then your term into Google’s search box. The results include a variety of Web glossaries, dictionaries and encyclopedias.
Google tricks such as using quotes to search for a specific phrase or the tilde to search for synonyms of a word can be lifesavers. But not if you can’t remember them. The Google Cheat Sheet, a list of commonly used operators, deserves a spot next to your monitor. (www.google.com/help/cheatsheet.html)
• What does Google ‘‘think" of you? Find out at Googlism, where the search results for a word or phrase are analyzed and your "who," "what," "when" or "where" query is answered. (www.googlism.com)
The Google Zeitgeist keeps track of what’s being searched for at that moment. Check out the search terms gaining in popularity or head to the archives to see what was hot a few years ago. (www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html)
• Want to know when people are talking about you? Create a Google Alert for your name and Google will e-mail you whenever a news or search item pops up with you in it. (www.google.com/alerts)
Google Zeitgeist is interesting, but the results are seriously scewed by people who use Google as a 'please take me to my favourite site' request, not a search request.
ReplyDeleteThis helps explain why bebo and facebook are very common searches.
Also very few non-expert computer users understand favourites or bookmarks. Therefore they constantly use Google several times a day to access their favourite site.
Here are the most popular search terms in the UK in Google last year.
1. facebook
2. bbc
3. youtube
4. ebay
5. games
6. news
7. hotmail
8. bebo
9. yahoo
10. jobs
Strip out the ones that look like requests to access a named site and you are left with Games, News, Jobs.
I think this means that to find out what people are SEARCHING for, one needs a different method.
Thanks for your very informative comment and I totally agree, sometimes I also use google for the same purpose. I think one way to do it is to subtract common websites names when showing the stats(as u manually did).
ReplyDelete