Payment and Entertainment

Internet users spent the week looking for information on taxes and their favorite celebrities, rappers, movies, and games.

Significant differences were found among The Lycos 50 for the week ending April 19, 2003 and the Yahoo Buzz Index for the week ending April 20, 2003. While searches for “IRS” and “Internal Revenue Service” dominated both lists, the remainder represents two vastly different user groups.

Noticeably absent from the Yahoo Index were the week’s most prominent holidays – “Easter” and “Passover” – and any references to the war in Iraq, with searches for entertainment and sports taking precedence over current events. Two notable exceptions were “SARS” at number 2, and “Laci Peterson” debuting at number 8.

The Yahoo Index exclusively claimed:

  • “PlayStation 2” at number 9
  • “The Masters” at number 11
  • “Linkin Park” at number 13
  • “R. Kelly,” number 14
  • “Nelly,” number 15
  • “Sean Paul” at number 20

Rounding out the top 20 on the Lycos list were also some exclusive searches that were not found on the Yahoo Index:

  • “Easter,” number 2
  • “Tattoos,” number 5
  • “Dragonball,” number 6
  • “Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf” and “Iraq War,” numbers 7 and 8 respectively
  • “Pamela Anderson,” number 12
  • “Las Vegas,” number 15
  • “Atkins Diet” at number 16
  • “The Matrix Reloaded” at number 18
  • “Prom Hairstyles,” number 19
  • “NFL,” number 20

The Lycos list marked some debuts, along with search terms that were making a re-appearance:

  • Murder victim, “Laci Peterson,” was ranked 14th
  • “Coffin birth” – a baby born from a dead woman – ranked 28th
  • “X2: X-Men United,” claimed spot 31
  • “Passover” – number 36
  • “Neopets” at number 39
  • “NFL Draft” took position 43
  • “Evanescence,” number 46
  • “Anna Kournikova,” back at number 48
  • “B2K” – number 50

Lycos 50 for the week ending
April 19, 2003
Current
Position
Search
Term
Last Week’s
Position
1 IRS #1
2 Easter #7
3 KaZaA #4
4 Taxes #10
5 Tattoos #5
6 Dragonball #6
7 Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf #33
8 Iraq War #2
9 SARS #8
10 Britney Spears #13
11 50 Cent #17
12 Pamela Anderson #16
13 American Idol #11
14 Laci Peterson New
15 Las Vegas #12
16 Atkins Diet #32
17 Harry Potter #31
18 The Matrix Reloaded #38
19 Prom Hairstyles #15
20 NFL #24
21 NASCAR #14
22 Jennifer Lopez #23
23 Brooke Burke #29
24 Yu-Gi-Oh! #22
25 Baseball #18
26 Eminem #20
27 WWE #25
28 Coffin Birth New
29 Golf #36
30 The Bible #27
31 X2: X-Men United New
32 Christina Aguilera #37
33 Final Fantasy #35
34 Marijuana #26
35 Prom Dresses #19
36 Passover Re-entry
37 NBA #39
38 Torrie Wilson #34
39 Neopets Re-entry
40 Good Charlotte #42
41 Pokemon #47
42 t.A.T.u. #45
43 NFL Draft Re-entry
44 FAFSA #44
45 Saddam Hussein #21
46 Evanescence New
47 Lord of the Rings #48
48 Anna Kournikova Re-entry
49 Al-Jazeera #3
50 B2K Re-entry
Source: Terra Lycos
The Buzz Index for the week
ending April 20, 2003
Current
Position
Search
Term
Last Week’s
Position
1 Internal Revenue Service 6
2 SARS 1
3 50 Cent 5
4 Kazaa 4
5 American Idol 3
6 Jennifer Lopez 9
7 Eminem 7
8 Laci Peterson
9 PlayStation 2 12
10 Christina Aguilera 14
11 The Masters 40
12 Britney Spears 19
13 Linkin Park 13
14 R. Kelly 16
15 Nelly 17
16 NASCAR 18
17 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 33
18 NBA 28
19 Neopets 27
20 Sean Paul 26
Source: Yahoo



Check out how the search terms have changed over time:
War and Basketball
Touchdowns, Taxes, and Tragedy
Searches Mostly Entertainment-Related
Virus Becomes Most Popular
Debut of a Salesman
Dragonball Rolls Into First Place
World Cup Kicks Star Wars Out of Space

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