Adam Pasick
NEW YORK: Who in the World Wide Web is Vicky Botwright? An increasingly
popular star, if the popular Internet search engine Google is any indication.
The British squash player - it's a sport akin to racquetball - occupies the
No. 10 spot on Google's "Zeitgeist" list of the week's fastest growing
search terms, along with the Wimbledon tennis tournament, recently deceased
actor Jack Lemmon and the NBA draft.
Zeitgeist is a German word for the collective spirit or climate of an era,
and Google thinks it has its finger on the pulse of the Internet age. Google,
long beloved by Internet cognoscenti for its speed, uncluttered interface and
relevant answers, or "hits," says its more than 100 million daily
searches can serve as a rough approximation of the Web's waxing and waning
interests.
"Over the past three years, it became obvious we were witness to some
very interesting trends," said spokesman David Krane. Those whose stock
rose the most this week, according to Google, include seasonal favorites like
the Tour de France, as well as Hollywood box-office champ "The Fast and the
Furious."
But some not-so-obvious names also made the list, like 1980’s comedienne
Paula Poundstone, recently in the news after being arrested, and Botwright the
British squash star.
Google's weekly list also shows which search terms are on the wane, including
reggae superstar Bob Marley, the California lottery, Continental Airlines and
bluesman John Lee Hooker, who died on June 21.
Google has been slowly adding features to complement its basic search
function. The privately held company recently introduced a rudimentary image
search that finds online photos of, say, Tom Cruise or a Dalmatian. Also
included on the Zeitgeist list are comparisons of various searches, which a team
of Google engineers, marketers and other employees pick out every few days.
"The Napster music sharing service is under close review by everyone on
the Internet, and everyone's looking at alternatives," Krane said. In May,
Napster was still king, he said, but "more recently we're seeing newcomers
such as Audiogalaxy, eDonkey and iMesh that are gaining in search
popularity."
Illustrating the growing non-English-speaking Web surfing population, the top
celebrity in terms of search queries was Loana, the fetching blond winner of
"Loft Story." the French version of reality TV show "Big
Brother." A Google search of her name turns up another enduring component
of the Web Zeitgeist: more than a few nude pictures.
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.