Welcome to CNET Top 5, where each time we meet, we count down another hot
CNET list. I'm Tom Merritt.
Google Trends is a fascinating service, giving you insight into what folks are
searching for. It's sort of like a mind-reading excercise.
And I want to know the mind of
the U.S.
So, we went to Google.com/insights to see what searches were on the rise over the
past 90 days.
Let's count 'em down.
At No. 5: IRS. Well, that makes sense. April 15 is tax day in the U.S. People want to
find where they can file forms, how they can get extensions, and also sit and openly
weep at the tax calculator. Or was that just me?
Coming in at No. 4: Rihanna. Wow, how to handle this one. Well, it's not a happy
story. And we're not done talking about it because...
At No. 3: is Chris Brown. Who knows. Maybe some good will come out of this in
raising awareness about domestic violence. Even so, we thought two things were
more important over the past 90 days in the U.S.
At No. 2 that thing is... "American Idol". Oh man. Is there any hope for my country?
Any hope for its culture? Any hope for the roughneck when Lil Rounds is there with
her three kids and a killer voice? I've said too much.
OK, before we get to No. 1, I have to take a break, for I fear what will be the top-
rising Google search. So let me do my part to spread Geek culture. This small
Jonathan Coulton Skullcrusher mountain T-shirt is yours. If you're the first person
to go to blog.cnettv.com and post what Number 6 on this list would have been. Hint,
it was web 2.0-y.
All right. Let's get to our No. 1. The fastest-rising search term in the U.S. over the
past 90 days.
At No. 1: it's...inauguration. Well, there you have it. Republican or Democrat, the
inauguration was top of the mind over the past three months. And it certainly set
some records for Web traffic. But this term will fade away. We'll check back in
another 90 days to see what has taken its place. Economy anyone?
Well, that's it for this edition of CNET Top 5.
Don't forget. First person to guess the number 6 term right on our blog
blog.cnettv.com gets the Coulton T-shirt.
I'm Tom Merritt. See you next time.
