Do Not Call Harry Potter?

Searchers using Lycos were determined to halt telemarketing calls, while those using Yahoo were looking for details on a new book release. The top search term was only one of the many differences found between The Lycos 50 for the week ending June 28, 2003 and the Yahoo Buzz Index for the week June 29, 2003.

The “Federal Do Not Call List” claimed the top spot on Lycos, while “Harry Potter” – #2 on Lycos – dominated the Yahoo list. The ever-popular “KaZaA” landed at #2 on the Yahoo Index and #4 on Lycos. The only other common denominator among the top ten spots of the two lists was “Britney Spears” – #7 on Lycos and #8 on Yahoo

According to Lycos, Donotcall.gov was twice as popular as Harry Potter, even though the service wasn’t introduced until Friday. For just those two days, Friday and Saturday, Donotcall.gov was a remarkable 15 times more popular than Harry Potter.

Measurements from Nielsen//NetRatings indicate that Donotcall.gov drew more than 3.4 million unique visitors at work on its launch date, and continued its strong performance during the weekend garnering 2.1 million and 2.9 million at home surfers on Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th, respectively.

“The one day growth in site traffic for Donotcall.gov was unprecedented,” said Patrick Thomas, senior Internet analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings. “The Internet makes this streamlined process a possibility, allowing the government to easily collect the information of those opting in, and relay that to telemarketing companies. This registry gives the power back to the consumer.”

Exclusively in the top ten of the Lycos 50 were the terms: “Clay Aiken” at #3; “Pamela Anderson” at #5; “Dragonball” at #6; “Las Vegas” at #8; “Atkins Diet” at #9; and “Brooke Burke” at #10.

The Yahoo Buzz Index claimed a few terms for its own too, most notably, music artists: “PlayStation2” #11; “Sean Paul” #14; “Bow Wow” #15; “Ashanti” #17; “KaZaA Lite” #18; and “R. Kelly” #20.

Some new arrivals to the Lycos list include: “Wimbledon,” “Titone-Sandler Wedding,” “NBA Draft,” “Demi Moore,” “air conditioners,” “fireworks,” and “Orange County Choppers.”

Lycos 50 for the week ending June 28, 2003 Current Position Search Term Last Week’s Position 1 Federal Do Not Call List New 2 Harry Potter 1 3 Clay Aiken 2 4 KaZaA 3 5 Pamela Anderson 4 6 Dragonball 5 7 Britney Spears 7 8 Las Vegas 8 9 Atkins Diet 9 10 Brooke Burke 12 11 NBA 23 12 Baseball 14 13 WWE 11 14 Yu-Gi-Oh! 20 15 Mortgage Rates 25 16 The Matrix: Reloaded 10 17 Powerball 40 18 Wimbledon Re-entry 19 IRS 15 20 NASCAR 16 21 Jackie Titone New 22 The Hulk 6 23 Beyonce 28 24 Golf 18 25 Christina Aguilera 19 26 F4/Meteor Garden 24 27 The Bible 17 28 2 Fast 2 Furious 13 29 Oprah Winfrey 42 30 Final Fantasy 30 31 50 Cent 22 32 Eminem 26 33 Neopets 38 34 Jennifer Lopez 23 35 NBA Draft New 36 Demi Moore New 37 Air Conditioners New 38 NFL 41 39 Weight Watchers 46 40 Carmen Electra 37 41 Pokemon 39 42 Anna Kournikova 32 43 Good Charlotte 43 44 Marijuana 33 45 t.A.T.u. 31 46 Barbie 44 47 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 45 48 Fireworks Re-entry 49 Metallica 36 50 Orange County Choppers New Source: Terra Lycos

The Buzz Index for the week ending June 29, 2003 Current Position Search Term Last Week’s Position 1 Harry Potter 23 2 Kazaa 3 3 50 Cent 1 4 Beyonce Knowles 8 5 Christina Aguilera 14 6 Hulk 30 7 Eminem 5 8 Britney Spears 10 9 Jennifer Lopez 7 10 WWE 13 11 PlayStation 2 9 12 Neopets 15 13 Metallica 2 14 Sean Paul 12 15 Bow Wow 32 16 NASCAR 19 17 Ashanti 20 18 Kazaa Lite 22 19 Wimbledon – 20 R. Kelly 18 Source: Yahoo

Check out how the search terms have changed over time:
Payment and Entertainment
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