Today, Yahoo! is bringing a new travel experience to market — Yahoo! TimeTraveler, the ideal app for people who find themselves in a new city with a few hours or more to explore.  Available now for iPhone and iPod touch, Yahoo! TimeTraveler creates custom geo-targeted itineraries on-the-fly, based on a person’s location and the amount of time they have to spend.

The app pulls tremendous content and interesting data from across Yahoo!. It features curated travel information and gorgeous imagery from Yahoo! Travel, pulls metadata, including location and time stamps, from Flickr, and also integrates nicely with Yahoo! Search, as well.

Yahoo! TimeTraveler creates a trip plan, directions and a map to guide the way through the coolest parts of the city – from museums, cafes, restaurants, and even off-the-beaten path spots. It’s easy to drill down for more information, like ratings and reviews on restaurants and hotels, simply by clicking over to Yahoo! Travel from within the app.

Yahoo! TimeTraveler works for 29 cities around the world, including Amsterdam, Chicago, Dubai, London, Paris and Rome among others. For international destinations, it’s easy to save the travel itineraries prior to traveling (and access later) to avoid international data charges.

Sharing a trip with friends is easy via email, Twitter, Facebook.  People can also publish trip plans on Yahoo! Travel (http://travel.yahoo.com) with a direct link.

One of our top priorities is to innovate for the mobile user, across all types of devices and platforms. And as Yahoo! continues to move toward a mobile-products-first development model, you’ll see more innovation like this from us in the future.

Download the Yahoo! TimeTraveler App for free from the App Store today and start exploring.  And let us know what you think!

Today we’re excited to launch a whole new way to search and browse the Web across any device—Yahoo! Axis. It’s an innovative new mobile browser and desktop plug-in that gives people visual search results (as they type), ultimately providing a more direct path to whatever they’re looking for online. Think of it as a personal companion for your daily explorations of the Web.

You can download Axis as a standalone mobile browser for your Apple iOS devices here, and for major, HTML5 enabled desktop browsers, you can download the desktop plug-in here. Check out our video that walks you through how Axis saves you time whether on the desktop, mobile or tablet device.

Yahoo! Axis comes equipped with handy features that unify searching and browsing.  For example, our one-step search lets you preview and interact with visual search results without ever leaving the page you’re on. It’s the end of the back button! And our instant answers show the information you want as you type common searches like finding movie times, sports scores, stock prices and more.

Axis also includes a personalized home page that contains your most recently visited sites, bookmarks and articles you plan to read later. This personalized home page stays with you across your desktop, iPad and iPhone, keeping what’s important to you in one easy, centralized spot. No matter what device you started on, you can easily pick up where you left off when you switch devices.

Axis even has a few bonus features for iPhone and iPad users, like simple swiping to quickly get from one search result to the next, a bar that combines the search box and address bars into one, and sharing so you can easily post any page you’re viewing to Twitter or Pinterest.

We can’t wait for you to play around with this latest example of Yahoo!’s search innovation and tell us what you think.  To learn more, please visit axis.yahoo.com, our Search blog or Mobile blog.

New Year, renewed resolve. After indulging – and sometimes over-indulging – in holiday festivities, many of us vow to make a fresh start in 2012. We turned to senior editor and Web analyst Vera H-C Chan to clue us in on the resolutions dominating Yahoo! search waves, and the different ways that Yahoos are trying to achieve their best selves in 2012.

So Vera, with the holidays over, what is the No. 1 resolution being searched?
After the gluttony of the holidays, there is really only one thing weighing heavily on our minds: diets. People are trying to drop some serious pounds, once and for all. Searches on Yahoo! for “weight loss plans” pumped up 12,749% in the first days of the new year, and there are all sorts of variations like “losing weight” (+9,417%), “how much should I weigh” (+840%), and “low carb food list” (+924%).

Shockingly, nearly three-quarters of those searches came from females. OK, that’s not so shocking. Don’t forget, though, that bridal fairs also crank up in January, so that’s another incentive for some women who want to fit into their bridal gowns. (And 74% of searches for “weight watchers for men” do come from males, with the remaining number from sweet, well-intentioned women.)

But contrary to expectation, many people wisely plan their diets anticipating the holiday excess: Terms like “weight loss plans,” “weight loss,” and “diets quick weight loss” actually peaked in November. “Weight loss program” searches saw a high as far back as September, while “quick weight loss” and “easy weight loss” searches plumped up in December. The next time people return to their online diet tips will be spring: swimsuit season.

What kind of diets are people most interested in?
There are always gimmicks, for instance “african mango weight loss” (+11%). The “17-day diet” plan spiked 915% this week, because it helps some people to see results fast – and 17 days seems much more reasonable than the three-day diet that was popular not that long ago. There’s a nice balance of people wanting a quickie diet (the Lemonade Diet, up 856%) and a more long-term regimen (vegetarian diet +825%; Body for Life +759%). Some new twists this year include the Blood Type Diet (+694%), the newer Biblical-based Daniel Fast Diet, and the P.I.N.K Method diet (Power, Intensity, Nutrition, and Kardio). But when you talk about total number of searches, Atkins leads.

Top searched diets on Yahoo! in the past 7 days:
1. Atkins diet
2. HCG diet
3. Paleo diet
4.  Low-carb diet
5.  Pink Method diet
6.  17-Day diet
7.  Dukan diet
8.  Cabbage Soup diet
9.  Vegan diet
10. Dr. Oz diet

Who’s looking for weight-loss remedies?
If you keep track of those America’s Fattest Cities lists, then you know that the South holds more than its fair share of the rankings. Time to loosen up the Bible belt: Three out of the top five states checking out “weight loss plans” hail from the South.

1.     Charlottesville (Virginia
2.     Macon (Georgia)
3.     Topeka (Kansas)
4.     Florence- Myrtle Beach (South Carolina)
5.     Birmingham (New York)

What other resolution-related trends are spiking this week?
Interestingly, people query the concept “new year resolutions” itself – maybe to see what others are planning, to get inspired, or just copycat. While females, once again, tend to look online more for resolutions (65%), curiosity is spread over  age range, from kids to people in their early 50s. Usually people start thinking about resolutions around the second week of December, and this lasts through the month of January.

As for themes, besides personal health, people are resolved to find a new job, read more, finish DIY projects, live healthier ( quitting smoking, for example), volunteer, reduce stress, save money, travel more, and fix up the house. (If you consider redecorating a resolution, there has been a big search buzz for that activity during the holiday break.) “How to” questions are posed to the Search box year-round. The latest:
“How to save money” up 491%
“How to lose 10 pounds” up 339%
“How to start a blog” up 288%
“How to lower blood pressure” up 114%
“How to lower cholesterol” up 109%

Resolutions are easier to achieve than ever, thanks to all the support and advice you can find online. And another thing to remember: If you break a resolution, throw away the Gregorian calendar and just start again for the Lunar New Year (Jan. 23). And if that doesn’t work, there’s always Nowruz (Mar. 20), Vikram Samvat (March 23), and Songkran (April 13)…

This post is part of a new “Ask the Editor” series on Yodel. Every month, we will ask a different Yahoo! editor or Web trends analyst to share advice or insights on that month’s most interesting, (often themed) search trends. Stay tuned for our election edition next month.

New Yahoo! Search Experiences for Recipes, Shopping and More!

Yahoo! Search debuted new, interactive results on top of the search results page for recipe, shopping and entertainment searches. We also introduced a new vertical search experience for recipes. Here is a quick overview on the new offerings:

• New Recipes results – Search on Yahoo! for a food item + recipes (for example: “apple recipes” or “artichoke recipes”) and a window will appear on top of the search results page with popular choices from leading food sites.
• New Recipes Search tab – Narrow down the results of recipes by preparation time, star rating, diet, meal type, occasion, or source via a new ‘Recipes’ tab.
• New Shopping results – Search for a product or category, like watches or cameras, and then easily compare products, find coupons and deals, and check out helpful buying guides.
• Updated Entertainment results – The new entertainment results on Yahoo! Search presents immediate answers about your favorite movies, music artists, celebrities and news stories.  Read the latest news, watch a popular video, or see what people are saying in the Twittersphere in one convenient place within Yahoo Search.

Users asked, we listened: Introducing Yahoo! Messenger 11.5

Here at Yahoo! we get a lot of user feedback – and we like that! It means that people are engaged with our products — and quite often, the user feedback is spot on. Such is the case with the newest version of Yahoo! Messenger for Windows. We prioritized user feedback over all else and have added some cool new features that will make your chatting more organized, efficient and fun. New features include:

• Tabbed IM: Conversations are now neatly organized in one convenient chat bar so you just have to go to another tab to start up a different chat.
• Easy Access to Recent Contacts: Odds are you only IM regularly with a   handful of your friends. Now your most recent contacts appear at the top of your list.
• Smart Archiving: Chat history is now categorized by friends, making it a snap to look up your chat history.
• New Social Games: Messenger now has more than 70 exciting games including titles like Backyard Monsters, Township and ourWorld.

We also improved spam protection, added quick access to all emoticons and added Romanian language support. Check out the new Messenger here.

Yahoo! Search Launched E-Commerce Site Search

Yahoo! launched E-Commerce Site Search launched E-Commerce Site Search on Yahoo! Small Business.  Yahoo! E-Commerce Site Search brings together many of the strengths in Y! Search – science, design and engineering, to provide a more relevant and engaging search experience. Using our new search, pilot stores have seen Search Conversionincrease by as much as 40% and Search influenced orders increase by up to 50%.

Calling all iPhone Users: Updated Yahoo! Search App Released

We have released an update to the Yahoo! Search App for iPhone and iPod touch, available now for download on the App Store. We’ve done a major overhaul to bring the familiar browser experience we all know and love on the iPhone and iPod touch, along with many new features that will enhance searching on the go! These features include:

• Local Tabs: Use the top navigation box to quickly find nearby bars, restaurants, ATMs and more with one simple click.
• Trending Topics: View the most current and popular searches by topic on the home page, with direct access to news, images and tweets.
• Voice Search: Skip the typing. Just talk and we’ll do all the work to help make the search easier and faster.
• Search and download iPhone apps: Search and find more iPhone apps that fit your lifestyle, with direct links to the App Store for quick and easy download right on the device.
• Sophisticated New Look: Rich, high-quality information for many search terms in a variety of categories including sports, news, entertainment and finance.

Moammar Gadhafi

Internet users were following the news this week and were especially interested in the death and burial of Libya’s former dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. From questions and details on his death to information on previous dictators from around the globe, people are turning to Yahoo! for information on the former Libyan head of state.

According to Yahoo!, some of the searched questions related to Gadhafi this past week have included:

• Is Gadhafi Dead?
• Who Is Gadhafi?
• Was Gadhafi A Bad Guy?
• Was Gadhafi Nurse Killed
• When Did Moammar Gadhafi Die?
• Where Is Body Of Gadhafi?
• What Does Gadhafi Look Like?
• Who Looks Like Gadhafi?
• Why Didn’t Gadhafi Escape?
• Who Killed Moammar Gadhafi?
• Where Is Gaddafi Now?
• What Is A Dictatorship?
• Was Gadhafi’s Family Killed?

Celebrity Baby Bumps

Celebrity baby bumps always make a splash on the Web. But, this week has been a big one for speculation – especially for Jessica Simpson who appears to be expecting. Mariah Carey’s twins and their primetime debut sparked a 1,200% spike on Yahoo! in searches for the new babies and their photos.

Most-searched celebrity pregnancies and brand new moms, past 7 days:

1. Mariah Carey Twins (+1,232%)
2. Beyonce Pregnant 2011
3. Jessica Simpson Pregnant (+140%)
4. Hilary Duff Pregnancy
5. Jessica Simpson Fat
6. Brenda Song Pregnancy
7. Aishwarya Rai Pregnancy (+9%)

H-A-DOUBLE L – O – W – DOUBLE E – N

We’re heading into the weekend before Halloween night and the Web is crawling with last minute searches for everything from costumes and movies to party and recipe ideas. From what we can tell so far, looks like retro get-ups will be big for adults this season. Seems like parents born in the seventies and eighties are feeling nostalgic – you’ll probably see a lot of Luke Skywalkers and Princess Leias walking around as Star Wars leads the pack of most searched costumes. Celebrity look-a-likes may be knocking at your door this year, including Lady Gaga, Dog the Bounty Hunter and Snooki. And, don’t be taken aback if you spot Moammar Gadhafi, Osama bin Laden, Occupy Wall Street Protesters or Casey Anthony trick-or-treating. Yes – people have been looking for ways to dress up like these controversial characters, as well.

-Yahoo! Search Trends Team

Thanks for chatting with us Vera, What makes this Halloween different from last year as far as what people are searching for on Yahoo?

In the case of Halloween, the more things stay the same, the more things change. Revelers always want to riff off what’s in the headlines, and we had plenty of startling ones in 2011. Osama bin Laden, former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and even Casey Anthony are competing with traditional “villains” like Dracula, zombies, and slasher movie villain Micheal Myers of “Halloween.” Compare that to last year, when heroes like the Chilean miners inspired outfits.

Here’s something intriguing: Among the biggest Halloween searches in the past 30 days, there are more “scary”related keyword searches in 2011 than last year — about 27% more, although fewer words account for more searches. For instance, “scary Halloween pictures,” “scary costumes,” “scary Halloween masks,” “scary Halloween decorations,” “scary Halloween stories,” “Halloween scary videos.” The 2010 “scary” searches included those plus “Halloween scary pumpkins,” “scary Halloween music,” “scary Halloween words.” Overall, not enough numbers to make a sweeping generalization, although you’d think with such a scary year, people would want less scary stuff. Hey, maybe we are getting more optimistic or at least sanguine — and that’s when you’re willing to face your fears, right?

Other than the non-traditional villains, what other Halloween costumes are dominating the search trends?

By far, Angry Birds lead the pack. While the Angry Birds game has been around since December 2009, the merchandising for scowling wingless fowl has really exploded online this year, and Angry Bird costumes are far and away a mainstream favorite. (Not sure if people are going to go as wingless critters or if the plotting pigs will get any play…).

For the second year in a row, Lady Gaga lends herself to extreme costuming, but Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry are inspiring celebrity wannabes as well.

Memes are another favorite, but I don’t quite see the same level of enthusiasm this time for, say, the Cigar Guy. Then again, that was a costume unto itself, and how can you dress as a Tiger Mom and have people get it?

I mentioned “scary” earlier. Among the biggest costume searches in the past 30 days, there are less searches for traditional costumes (old standards like Alice in Wonderland, Tinkerbell, and whatnot) and “sexy,” but people want more scary, more funny, and more heroic figures — Captain America, Wonder Woman, Batman and the like.

Top 10 costume searches of the past 30 days, ending October 26:

1. Angry Birds
2. Pirate Costume
3. Alice in Wonderland
4. Nicki Minaj Costumes
5. Monster High Costumes
6. Little Red Riding Hood Costume
7. ’80s Costume
8. Star Wars Costumes (this doesn’t include separate searches for Darth Vader and Princess Leia)
9. Indian Costumes
10. Catwoman Costume

What kind of Halloween treats are people searching for?

Among the food items, cupcakes still lead among Halloween treats, followed by cakes, cookies, and the generic “treats.” Cake pops are also in, and there are a few determined bakers out there seeking “healthy Halloween treats” and “healthy Halloween snacks.” More power to them.

The US is a diverse place. Does geographical location determine what different people from across the country are searching for this Halloween?  Are there certain places where people celebrate Halloween more than others?

Possibly, if you look at the demographic breakdown just for the word “Halloween.” All Souls’ Eve fervor seems strongest in New Mexico, followed by West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Oklahoma. The Land of Enchantment’s Halloween spirit is true on a regional level as well: Albuquerque-Santa Fe leads “Halloween ” searches, followed by San Antonio, Pittsburgh (Penn), Fresno-Visalia (Calif), and Cleveland.

Top “Halloween”- happy regions of the past 30 days on Yahoo!:

1. Albuquerque-Santa Fe
2  San Antonio
3. Pittsburgh (Penn)
4. Fresno-Visalia (Calif)
5. Cleveland
6. Los Angeles
7. Columbus (Ohio)
8. Phoenix
9. Detroit
10. Oklahoma City

Any other cool Halloween factoids for us?

Females, as per their usual patterns, track the holidays more often than males (69% versus 31%). Kids, not surprisingly, also love tracking the holiday online (27% of searches come from ages 17 and under). After all, they get the best deal on October 31.

Vera, we’re dying to know: What are you planning to be for Halloween?

I went thrifting over the weekend for a polka-dotted black skirt, pink blazer, and a foam pie in my aspiration to be an all-powerful media mogul with a mean overhead spike.
Happy hauntings …. Bwhahahahahahahahahahaa.

About the Expert:
Vera Chan, Yahoo! Web trends analyst (in her drag queen costume)

Part cultural anthropologist and part thought leader, Vera Chan dissects news events and Yahoo! search trends to uncover the “why” behind what’s hot on the Web. A former entertainment and features print reporter with 20 years of media experience, Chan has interviewed Pulitzer Prize winners, analyzed pop fascinations with serial killers to vampires and helped craft questions for the first online interview with a sitting president. Before signing on to Yahoo! she wrote entertainment, features and business pieces for outlets such as the San Jose Mercury News, SFGate and other Bay Area media. Prior to that, she worked for five years as an events editor and staff writer at a Knight Ridder newspaper. A UC Berkeley graduate twice-over (bachelor’s in mass communications and master’s in journalism), Chan is based at the Yahoo! Sunnyvale campus. Vera is constantly searching out the answer to “What does it all mean?”

This post is part of a new “Ask the Editor” series on Yodel. At the end of every month, we will ask a different Yahoo! editor or Web trends analyst to share insights on that month’s most interesting, (often themed) search trends. Stay tuned for our holiday edition next month.

As part of the alliance we announced last year, Yahoo! Maps is now powered by Nokia. Nokia will provide the latest maps with up-to-date location data/address, routing information, road networks, and points of interest. Yahoo! controls the user experience, business listings content, and filtering, including the following:

• Simplified layout and visual design with a maximized viewable area
• Improved interaction design featuring new flows that improve the overall efficiency of core tasks (finding a location, looking up a business, and getting directions)
• Enhanced business listings support, leveraging the improvements made to the Yahoo! local listings database
• Consistent interface across the Yahoo! network with the universal location widget, allowing users to search and select locations

This is just the beginning of the new Yahoo! Maps. Stay tuned for more to come.

You can give it a spin now at maps.yahoo.com (U.S., English); espanol.maps.yahoo.com (U.S., Spanish); ca.maps.yahoo.com (Canada, English); and qc.maps.yahoo.com (Canada, French).

Mourning Dan Wheldon
Speeds were as high as 225 miles per hour when 33-year-old driver Dan Wheldon crashed. A popular Indy Car driver, the nature of his death rippled quickly across the Web, pushing his name in the top 100 searches on Yahoo! in the past 7 days.

Giuliana Rancic Battling Breast Cancer
This week, people across the country were shocked to hear that 36 year-old E! News host Giuliana Rancic had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, especially since many fans of the TV personality knew she had been struggling to get pregnant.  As the news broke, women and men across the country turned to Yahoo! for the latest information on not only her story, but for information on breast cancer, in general.

• Yahoo! searches for “Giuliana Rancic” are up 14,896% this week.
• People are also searching this week for “Bill and Giuliana Rancic,” “Giuliana Rancic breast cancer,” and “IVF Rancic” (*Note: Giuliana has done IVF several times in the past; however it had never worked.  Before this next round, her doctor insisted on tests, including a mammogram, which identified that she had early signs of breast cancer.)

Giuliana was very articulate in interviews that she has been lucky since they discovered her diagnosis very early; however she did encourage women and friends to get tested to assure early detection.  Giuliana’s message was very fitting since October is breast cancer awareness month, and people are hitting Yahoo! to learn more about the impactful disease.

• “Type of breast cancer” searches this week on Yahoo! are up 432%.
• Searches for “signs of breast cancer” are up 37% this week on Yahoo!.
• Additional breast cancer searches this week on Yahoo! include: “breast cancer survivors,” “breast cancer symptoms,” and “breast cancer treatments.”

Fashion-challenged or fashion-obsessed
You now have choices, at least, if you have cable. Ever since “Project Runway” won covetous hearts — and convinced producers of the money-making possibilities in beauty coverage — reality shows have come and gone like passing trends. But, looks like ogling the beautiful people (let’s call the 0.05%) is on the upswing. Coming down the catwalk will be the hostess-likes of Bar Rafaeli and Alexa Chung. In the meantime, let’s check out the competition and dish. No surprise, “Project Runway” is the fashion forerunner (based on Yahoo! Search trends), but heartening for aging beauties is Janice Dickinson, who leads the fashion reality namesake shows. And it might be cheating, but we’re recognizing Alexa Chung in the top 10, even though her new Lifetime show, “24-Hour Catwalk,” hasn’t premiered yet. C’mon, it’s Lifetime.

Top Beauty Reality TV Show Searches, past 30 days

-Yahoo! Search Trends Team

Amanda Knox
The verdict in the Amanda Knox trial and the news coverage leading up to it riveted internet users – even more so than the Casey Anthony case.  Searches for Knox were up more than 32,000% in the last seven days.  And when her defense team argued she was more like Jessica Rabbit in the movie “Who framed Roger Rabbit” than a femme fatale, we saw a giant spike in look-ups for Jessica Rabbit – up more than 6000%. The top states on Yahoo! searching for Amanda Knox (this week) are California, Texas, Illinois, New York, Florida and Ohio.

Wall Street
The Wall Street protests since September 17th and the similar demonstrations cropping up around the country are a hot topic online right now.  The stand against economic inequality by the group occupy wall street is being closely watched especially by people in Oregon, New York, Maine, Connecticut and Washington state.   Occupy Wall  Street has landed in the top five hundred most searched terms on Yahoo! and the interest continues to grow.

-Yahoo! Search Trends Team

As the lead of a skunkworks-esque group that focuses on radical new experiences beyond traditional search, I can tell you that Yahoo! is in the most exciting phase of its entire 16-year history. My view is that it’s fight, not flight, for the company and there has never been a time where so many people have wanted to fight like today. Yahoo! Search has some product experiences that are so radically different, you’ll sit back in your seat thinking, “what the &$%# just happened?”

Before we get into it, let’s clear the air about the Microsoft Search Alliance deal. It was simple: instead of three different search engines spending millions of dollars in R&D and hardware crawling and indexing the entire Web – a corpus of data that grows faster than most competitors can keep up with – we decided to outsource the back-end services. The decision was easy. Focusing only on crawling, indexing, ranking and serving at web scale wasn’t, and isn’t, the way for Yahoo! to win the Search game. If we could have a provider that was on par or better than our technology, we could focus more attention and resources on the experience side of search. When fully implemented around the world, we stand to save significant sums in hardware and R&D and instead focus even more on delivering a stellar user experience: seems like a win-win to me.

So that’s what we’ve been doing with great zest, cleaning up the experience, introducing new architectural feats, and setting the stage for some big swings in the pipeline – in line with our Search strategy of “Answers, Not Links.” With this cleanup effort we’ve not only stabilized our place in the market but we are steadily growing. Some of these initiatives, just in the past six months, include Search Direct, an innovative answers-as-you-type experience; our new, super clean look for Image Search results; and our recent enhancements to the Search results page.

Photo Caption: For Search Direct, we put real gusto into the focus of ‘answers, not links’ by surfacing answers and structured content directly into what I call the “Search Box of Awesome.”

What Search looks like to us over the next 18 months:

• From destination to companion: Access and convenience are two key components in the search game. In the next 18 months, Search will be a companion experience that gives you answers immediately and instantly without leaving the page you are on – effortlessly.

• From fragmented to seamless: Consistency and simplicity are two key components in the search game. Users are increasingly searching on multiple devices. In the next 18 months, your devices and platforms will be seamlessly connected, allowing you to start an experience on one device and continue effortlessly onto another, with simple access to any information on any other devices. Search will be evolving into a beautiful and consistent multi-modal experience that simply integrates into your everyday life.

• From more information to better information: Relevancy and depth are two key components in the search game. When you search for something — say, Adirondack chairs — do you really care that we returned 9,150,000 results? Probably not. In the next 18 months, Search will focus on a deep experience that gives you only what you want to know, taking into account your search history, click behavior, demographics, social graph, and browsing history to provide you with a 1:1 experience. It will tell you why it served you the results it did and allow you to pivot on a number of aspects to further tune the page. It will no longer be a search engine designed for the masses, it will be a search engine tailored just for you. Some call it a results page; I call it an intent satisfaction experience.

I can tell you, from the inside I see more focus on unifying our portfolio, fast-tracking big bets, truly innovative thinking, and a deep, aggressive hunger to not only fight, but to really go for the jugular. You can expect a different beast to emerge in the coming months.

Proud Yahoo,
Ethan Batraski
Director of User Intent & Experiences, Yahoo! Search

Ethan is very proud to have worked at Yahoo! for the past two years as head of product for an experience group within Yahoo! Search. He has been in product and design for more than 10 years, and in search for the past six years, where he has done everything from founding startups to leading product & design for billion-dollar portfolios at Fortune 100 companies.

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series entitled, “In My Own Words,” that will give Yahoo employees the opportunity to share their own stories about Yahoo!. Feel like yodeling your own? Post your Yahoo! story on your social networks using the hashtag #myYahoostory.

When it comes to leading men, Hugh Laurie of House is the hands down favorite – at least according to search.  He is the top searched best actor nominee on Yahoo! –  he has more look-ups than all the other drama contenders combined!  As for the ladies, Mariska Hargitay of Law and Order: SVU leads the pack.  Queries for her are nine times those of Juliana Margulies of The Good Wife.

Top Searched Best Series, Drama on Yahoo!
1. “Dexter”
2. “Mad Men”
3. “Friday Night Lights”
4. “Game of Thrones”
5. “Boardwalk Empire”
6. “The Good Wife”

Top Searched Best Series, Comedy on Yahoo!

1. “Glee”
2. “Modern Family”
3. “The Big Bang Theory”
4. “The Office”
5. “30 Rock”
6. “Parks and Recreation”

Top Searched Best Actor, Drama on Yahoo!

1. Michael C. Hall “Dexter”
2. Hugh Laurie “House”
3. Timothy Olyphant “Justified”
4. Jon Hamm “Mad Men”
5. Steve Buscemi “Empire Boardwalk”
6. Kyle Chandler “Friday Night Lights”

Top Searched Best Actor, Comedy on Yahoo!

1. Alec Baldwin “30 Rock”
2. Steve Carell “The Office”
3. Johnny Galecki “The Big Bang Theory”
4. Jim Parsons “The Big Bang Theory”
5. Louis C.K. “Louie”
6. Matt LeBlanc “Episodes”

Want to read about all of the nominees and get other fun information. Check out the Yahoo! TV Emmy site.

Kate Gosselin
Also in celebrity news this week, Kate Plus Eight’s swan song renewed interest in the reality star, her kids and ex-husband. Searches spiked this week for Kate Gosselin after her TLC finale aired and more than two million people tuned in.  Afterwards, they wanted to find her newly launched website and also check out what Anderson Cooper had to say when he named her to his riduclist.

What states search the most on Yahoo! for Kate Gosselin this year?

1. California
2. Texas
3. Illinois
4. Ohio
5. New York

Fashion & Target
Fashion week in New York City created quite the buzz this week.  A couple of celebrities who strutted down the catwalk captured the interest of Yahoo! users — including Kristie Allie showing off her new slimmed down figure and 14 year old Kylie Jenner – the youngest of the Kardashian Klan.
But the biggest style story online was all about Target stores and Missoni.  The rush to buy Missoni for Target’s new line crashed the big box store’s website this week as fashionistas everywhere tried to get their hands on the Italian designer’s colorful knit dresses and accessories. Searches for Missoni are up nearly 2000% on Yahoo!.

“Missoni for Target” received over 25 times the number of searches that “Zac Posen for Target” received in April of 2010 when the line launched.

-Yahoo! Search Trends Team

Join Yahoo! in a digital moment of silence on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 at 8:46 a.m. ET.

Obama Jobs Bill
Obama gave his pitch to create jobs, and the White House is hoping that it’s not too late. All eyes are on the president — in the days leading up to the jobs speech, people were looking at “obama white house,” “obama speech,” “obama congress,” “obama approval rating” and of course the tiny handful checking “obama birth certificate” (up 713%).

Who’s looking into Obama?

• 40% female, 60% male
• 23% kids under 17
• 17% people in their 20s, and searches go to people all the way in their 50s
• Top States: Texas, Florida, California, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts

Chaz Bono and Fall TV
The frenzy over Chaz Bono’s anticipated role on “Dancing With The Stars.” This has been a huge topic online this week. The news sent lots of Yahoo! users to look up photos of Chaz before and after his gender reassignment, details on his mom Cher and even baby pictures of the former Chastity Bono.Fans look forward to the announcement on who will compete for next “Dancing with the Stars” even before the finale of the current season. This time, including Chaz Bono in the mix has triggered talk of a boycott — although notably, not much Search activity surrounding that.

Fall TV continues to be top of mind for Searchers on Yahoo!. Check out this great post from Yahoo! TV to learn more about the new shows.

-Yahoo! Search Trends Team

With the clean up, back to school and of course, the upcoming anniversary of nine-eleven, it seems labor day is a mere footnote for a lot of internet users.  Normally, the last weekend of the summer spurs tons of searches on Yahoo! for holiday getaways and activities. That’s not the case this year. For the first time in several years, Labor Day related searches have dropped. But even if they aren’t taking off for the weekend, many people are planning to hunt down some Labor Day deals.  Look-ups for tax free weekend are spiking more than 700% this month.  We’re seeing lots of interest in sales and coupons. And some folks are already looking ahead to vacations down the road – cheap all inclusive vacation searches are up more than 4,800%.

The top searched coupons right now are:

• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Target
• Grocery Coupons
• JCPenney
• Kohl’s

Monday Night Football

One escape that doesn’t cost anything is turning on the tube and watching football.  Monday Night Football returns on September 12^th and Yahoo! users are ramping up for the season.  The Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders and the Chicago Bears rank highest in search right now.  Fantasy Football is a huge topic buzzing on Yahoo! this week. Sign up for a team at: http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy

Fall TV Season

And with the fall television season almost here, it seems audiences aren’t shedding a tear over Charlie sheen leaving “Two and a Half Men.” They’ll miss Steve Carell on the office and they are very excited to see Simon Cowell and Paula Adbul reunite on the “X-factor”. This according to a new survey of TV viewers by Yahoo! and Entertainment Weekly. Read more of the survey here on Yahoo! TV

Who’s the Boss: Steve Carell

Now that Steve Carell is no longer ‘the boss’ on The Office, only 11 percent of those surveyed said they would “definitely” continue to tune in.

Charlie Out, Ashton In

When asked if replacing Charlie Sheen with Ashton Kutcher on Two and a Half Men is considered a “bad move” fewer than one-third (26%) of viewers choose that option. Most thought it was either “a great move” or “an even swap”’ Women are more likely than men to think the change is “a great move.”

Back on the Small Screen

This season brings Tim Allen (Last Man Standing) back to the small screen with 35 percent of voters excited to see him in a new role. He’s just slightly more popular with men (38%) than he is with women (33%).  Sarah Michelle Gellar (Ringer) is also returning but only 18 percent of voters said they were excited about it.

Multi-tasking TV Viewers

Many adults multitask while they watch TV. More than half (56%) snack during shows and 47 percent check their email. Other activities include posting on social media sites (34%), cooking (33%) and cleaning (31%).

Focus, Focus, Focus

Viewers, particularly those between the ages of 18 and 34, are most likely to ‘Tweet or Post to Facebook’ while watching True Blood, Dexter, and Vampire Diaries. While many viewers say they update their social networks while watching True Blood, 58% of voters said the show requires them to pay attention, followed by Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead (with 57% each).

-Yahoo! Search Trends Team

Earthquakes Shake The Web
Natural disasters rank high in the minds of web users this week with multiple earthquakes rattling parts of the US plus Hurricane Irene on the horizon. After that rare quake hit the east coast on Tuesday, searches for earthquakes shot up nearly 10,000% on Yahoo! this week.  And when Colorado and the Bay Area felt tremors of their own, we saw even more look ups for what causes earthquakes.

The temblors spurred people to look up tsunamis and the latest info on the deadly earthquake that struck Japan back in March. Those queries jumped more than 1100%this week.

Not surprisingly, some of the anxiety about the quakes here this week set off a frenzy of end of the world twenty-twelve searches.

Hurricane Irene
With hurricane Irene moving closer to shore, the top states tracking the storm online remain North Carolina, Florida and South Carolina, although we’re seeing lots of interest from the northeast, as well.  As weather forecasters try to predict Irene’s path, lots of people are turning to the web to find out how best to hunker down.  Searches for hurricane preparedness, disaster kits and checklists are all trending up right now. Searches for the “latest on hurricane Irene” are up 433% today on Yahoo! and searches for “hurricane preparedness checklist” are up 128% with women aged 45-54 leading the searches for “hurricane preparedness.”

Top Searched Natural Disaster Questions:

1. Where is hurricane Irene?
2. How to prepare for a hurricane?
3. What causes earthquakes?

Celebrity Breakups
Celebrity break-ups were big this week, as Will and Jada fended off rumors of divorce and the talk host Sara Gilbert split from her longtime partner. Also, JLo and Marc Anthony are still getting buzz online. Will and Jada are going strong but searches were rampant on the web: searches were up nearly 300% for Will Smith and searches for Jada are up 137%. Some of the questions being searched: Did Will & Jada divorce?, Did Will & Jada split? Does Will Smith have an open marriage?

-Yahoo! Search Trends Team

Top searched GOP Candidates on Yahoo! during the debate timeframe (June 13th, 5-9pm PT)

1. Herman Cain : 25%
2. Michelle Bachman: 21%
3. Mitt Romney: 17%
4. Ron Paul: 17%
5. Rick Santorum: 10%
6. Tim Pawlenty: 5%
7. Newt Gingrich: 5%

Read more about Political News on Yahoo! News:
Casey Anthony Trail
The tragedy of missing and murdered children resonate strongly in searches, especially among women. When the story of Caylee Anthony first surfaced, it quickly reached national attention and people followed every detail in Yahoo! Search.

Interest hasn’t flagged —  people are trying to watch live broadcasts of the trial, now in its fourth week (“casey anthony trial live stream,” “live coverage of casey anthony trial”).

• Women in particular are following the grim story online of the florida mom accused of killing her two year old daughter.  We are seeing lots of queries for photos of the crime scene, autopsy reports and forensic evidence.
• 76% of searches for “casey anthony trial” are women, and primarily ages 25-64.
• Florida, the scene of the crime, is where most of the interest hails, followed by Mississippi, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Alabama, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri and Arkansas.

Father’s Day
People are getting ready for Father’s Day this weekend and checking to make sure that Sunday is the actual day.   According to a recent Yahoo! survey, dads are doing more around the house these days. 41% they do the laundry and 51% of fathers say they do the grocery shopping. And a lot of that shopping is online. These so-called digital dads say they like shopping and are more likely than moms to use online research to make purchasing decisions.  46% of dads use their mobile phones to shop – mostly for electronics, entertainment and home goods.

And it looks like a lot of dads will be waking up to breakfast in bed on Sunday. The top choices on the menu – according to searches – are banana bread, pancakes, french toast, biscuits and waffles.

-The Search Trends Team, for questions please contact the team at searchtrendsteam@yahoo-inc.com

NBA Finals
The NBA finals triumphed on the web this week as basketball fans sought out all the news on the match-up between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks.  The heat’s Lebron James is the most searched player this week followed by the Mavs’ Dirk Nowitzki and Miami’s Dwayne Wade. And if the championship was based on Yahoo! search queries alone, Miami would have a definite edge over Dallas.

The Heat’s head coach Mike Spoelstra is getting five times the searches of Dallas’ Rick Carlisle.  Overall, there are 24% more look-ups for Miami than Dallas – especially among men under age thirty-four.  But Dallas fans can take heart that there is a lot of buzz about the Mavericks logo – searches up 860% this week and also Mavs tickets for next season – those searches jumped nearly 500%.

National Doughnut Day
Finally, Americans are gearing up to indulge on National Doughnut Day.  It’s today, by the way, in case you forgot.  Dunkin donuts, Krispey Kreme and Winchell’s earn the top spots this week in searches as people seek out where to get freebies today.  They’re also looking for gluten free options, donut recipes and calorie counts.  Some people are seeking out the website Holey Donuts which offers low cal versions of your favorites, too.

Misspelled Searches
Among the billions of searches that course through Yahoo!, there are bound to be oodles of misspellings. After all, one reason that people search is to figure out an unfamiliar concept, like who the heck this Justine Bieber (aka Justin Bieber) is, or where can you get these Zoo Zoo Pets (aka Zhu Zhu Pets) that the kids are yammering about. In honor of the Scripps National Spelling Bee Yahoo! took a look at some of the top misspelled or misheard searches. *Misheard refers to a term that a person thinks they know but may have misheard it and are therefore searching for it – the wrong way!

Some of the top misspelled/misheard searches on Yahoo! in 2011 have been:

• 72 virginians: for 72 virgins, following the death of Osama bin Laden
• Which american idol has turrets – for which American Idol has Tourette’s
• Defensive marriage act - for Defense of Marriage Act
• Turnoble russia meltdown - for Chernobyl Russia meltdown
• Alice and chains - for Alice in Chains
• Super bowel commercials – for Super Bowl commercials
• How old is McJagger? – for How old is Mick Jagger

We consistently see misspelled searches for famous people and brands, some of the top misspelled are:

• Justin Beaver, Justine Bieber - for Justin Bieber
• louie vaton purses - for Louis Vuitton purses
• Wallmart – for Walmart
• Katie Perry – for Katy Perry
• Brittany Spears – for Britney Spears
• Paperview boxing – for “pay per view boxing”
• Swain flu, swan flu, wine flu – for swine flu
• Dancing with the Starts – Dancing with the Stars
• Obama Bin Laden – for Osama Bin Laden

-The Search Trends Team, for questions please contact the team at searchtrendsteam@yahoo-inc.com

Tornadoes
The heartbreaking stories of tornadoes ravaging parts of the country are sparking searches online.  Searches for tornadoes are up 440% this week on Yahoo!.  All of us have been riveted by those haunting photos of the mayhem – especially in Joplin, Missouri.  Look-ups for tornado photos jumped 278% this week. Hundreds of locals are uploading their own images of the destruction to our photo sharing site, Flickr. So far there are more than 5,000 images, see some of the images here.  As you can imagine, people are anxious about what’s next as the violent storms continue. We’ve seen lots of queries about “what causes tornadoes” and “how to build tornado shelters.”

Kim Kardashian Engagement
Yahoo! users just can’t get enough of Kim Kardashian’s engagement ring and her fiancée, Kris Humphries.  Fans want to see Kim’s 20.5 carat stunner  and they also want to know more about groom to be. The NBA player is fast becoming a star online thanks to his mega celebrity partner and her family.

Read more celebrity buzz on omg!: http://omg.yahoo.com

-The Search Trends Team, for questions please contact the team at searchtrendsteam@yahoo-inc.com

It’s not just coughing, sneezing and watery eyes motivating people to look online for relief – they are also seeking answers  to other warm weather related health questions like “how to treat sun poisoning” and also asking if pedicures are supposed to be painful.  Speaking of toes, it’s time to break out the summer shoes. Flip flops are making a big splash on the web this week.  The top brands include: Yellow Box, Havianas, Reef, Rainbow and Crocs.  Personalization seems to be big as people type into the Yahoo! search engine questions like – “how to decorate flip flops” and “how to make ribbon flip flops.”

Celebrity News
Bristol Palin: One woman whose new physique is generating lots of buzz is Bristol Palin.  For the first time, she is generating more searches than her mother.  Word of her new reality show and reported plastic surgery sent lots of curious fans to the internet to see photos of Bristol’s new look.
Unique Baby Names: News of Alicia Silverstone’s new baby “Bear Blu” set searches on fire for unique baby names this week — up 360%. Queries for the most popular baby names jumped 620% this week.  It’s not just the names, they also want to know what the names mean.

-The Search Trends Team, for questions please contact the team at searchtrendsteam@yahoo-inc.com

Osama Bin Laden Death
It’s no surprise the death of Osama Bin Laden and the details emerging about the raid of his Pakistan hideout dominates Yahoo! searches this week. But you can tell by the sheer volume of queries for the photos of the terrorist’s corpse, that people still want to see it with their own eyes. Searches for “bin laden death photo” spiked nearly 3,000% and look-ups for the video of “bin laden’s burial at sea” are off the charts. As you know the Web can often be a hotbed of conspiracy theories. The Bin Laden story is no exception and we’ve seen a wave of young people, mostly men looking up the terms “bin laden conspiracy” and “nine-eleven conspiracy.” In addition to stirring up emotions about the tragedy and loss the nation felt on September 11th, the news is also sparking a wave of patriotism. We’ve seen a jump in searches for “how to become a navy seal” and “how to become a CIA agent.”

Gas Prices
Searches are showing that drivers are worrying about rising gas prices this week. Searches for “cheap gas” are up a 151% percent this week. Looks like Costco is the place most people are checking out to save money on gas. The last time we saw this much interest in fuel costs was in the fall of 2008, when gas prices hit the then all-time high of nearly four-dollars a gallon.

Mother’s Day
If you’re still trying to pick out the perfect mother’s day gift, Yahoo! took a look at the top searches by women ages 21-64 to help people clue into what mom might want. The top jeans – True Religion, the top handbag – Louis Vuitton. And if those items are out of your budget, orchids, peonies and lavender are among the most popular flowers this month.

If you could choose a celebrity to be your mom, whom would you choose? In a new Yahoo!/omg! survey, we asked that question and 43% of adults answered Sandra Bullock. Michelle Obama and Angelina Jolie rounded out the top three.

BY THE NUMBERS: Celebrity Mom You’d Most Want To Be Your Mom:

1. 1. Sandra Bullock (43%)
2. 2. Michelle Obama (18%)
3. 3. Angelina Jolie (16%)
4. 4. Gwyneth Paltrow (12%)
5. 5. Madonna (8%)
6. 6. Kris Jenner (3%)

To read more about the survey visit: http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/goddess/hot-mamas/651

-The Search Trends Team, for questions please contact the team at searchtrendsteam@yahoo-inc.com

This Earth Day, online searches suggest the three R’s are taking a back seat to more revolutionary technology as searches this month on Yahoo! Green for “recycling” are down 56% and 93% compared to the same period in 2010 and 2009, respectively. And it seems the recent nuclear crisis in Japan has caused consumers to look into safer alternative energy sources, as searches on Yahoo! Green this month are up 208% for “solar energy” and up 1,307% for “wind power.” Interestingly, more men are showing more interest, as 3-out-of-5 searches this month for both “wind power” and “solar energy are by males, especially in Illinois, Ohio, Texas and New Jersey.

Searches on Yahoo! this year for “organic food” have decreased 44% when compared to the same time period in 2010, but there is an upswing this month as searches spike 8%. Organic foods seem to have become more mainstream as 44% of searches for them this month are by consumers with an average income of $25K and below. Additionally, it’s not just women who are interested, as 1-out-of-3 “organic foods” searches are by males.

Alternative energy and green living aren’t the only hot topics as retailers give away products and coupons this April 22nd. Yahoo! Green has a list of the top Green related freebies to help you celebrate Earth Day, some of which include:

• A free brewed coffee or tea when you bring in a reusable mug on April 22 at participating Starbucks stores
• A free full-size face cleanser from Origins when you bring one of your empty skin-care bottles to their trade-in program on Earth Day
• A free organic milkshake from Evos on Earth Day. The healthy-fast food chain has locations in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina
• A free reusable shopping bag from the Disney Store when you trade in five disposable plastic bags for recycling
• Free admission into all 394 U.S. national parks now through Sunday, April 24.
• A 60% discount on green and natural products at drugstore.com through April 22.
• Discounts on eco-friendly kids’ books from Barnes & Noble.
• A discount of up to 40% on Green Hotels on Travelocity.

Of course, your green deeds shouldn’t just be limited to Earth Day. To help find ways to make your world and the world a safer and more sustainable to live in, check out Yahoo! Green, and don’t forget to become a part of our community on Facebook and Twitter!

War In Libya
Lots of folks are turning to Yahoo1 for perspective on what’s going on in Libya. Searches for maps of the African nation are up more than 400%t and we’re seeing lots of questions about the players in the conflict. People want to understand who the allies are and who the rebels are and why the US is involved in the conflict. Men seem to be doing a lot of the lookups this week according to Yahoo! Clues, 67% of searches for “Libya” come from men.

Elizabeth Taylor
Word of Elizabeth Taylor’s death sent people running to their laptops and smartphones. As soon as the news broke, searches for the beloved movie star’s films and details about her family and friendship with the late Michael Jackson soared off the charts. Yet most unique were those eyes, and people wanted another look into them as they sought out “Elizabeth Taylor eyes,” “elisabeth Taylor violet eyes pictures,” and “elisabeth Taylor’s eye close up.”

The Jersey Shore & Hairstyle Trends
The MTV reality hit Jersey Shore is spurring lots of buzz, too. Snooki has become quite the internet darling – searches for her ramped up773% this week. And she may have lots of potential dates after the show ends – two-thirds of those queries are coming from men – mostly in California, New Jersey and Illinois. It’s no secret Snooki has been a trendsetter when it comes to her hair. The Snooki bump is the top searched hairstyle on Yahoo! right now. Other spring styles gaining popularity include the wedge (kind of like an updated Dorothy Hamill cut), emo hair (essentially spiky jet black hair) and Katie Holmes’ haircut — all are making “waves” as women “comb” the web for new ways to freshen up their looks for spring.

Check out the video for more trends spiking this week.

iPad2 Buzz

The web is buzzing this week about Apple and iPad 2. Yahoo! users can’t get enough of the details. They’re searching feverishly for everything — from the price to the specs to, of course, where to get it and how soon. People are doing their homework before they buy — they’re looking up CNET and Endgadget reviews that compare number two to the original iPad and other tablets like the Motorola Zoom and Blackberry Playbook. And since Steve Jobs appeared on-camera to unveil the new iPad, questions about his health also ramped up. Yahoo! News technology reporter Ben Patterson wrote a review of the product here .

Charlie Sheen Mania
Even Apple’s iPad 2 news didn’t tamp down the continued interest in the war of words between actor Charlie Sheen and CBS. Searches for the actor are up nearly 1,200%. And what do people want to know most? More than anything, they’re simply looking up the question — “what is wrong with Charlie Sheen?” We’re also seeing a jump in queries for home rehab and alcoholics anonymous. 53% of searches for Charlie Sheen this week come from men.

According to Yahoo! the top searched questions related to Charlie Sheen:

• Is Charlie Sheen Crazy
• What Is Wrong With Charlie Sheen
• Who are Charlie Sheen’s goddesses
• How old is Charlie Sheen
• What is wrong with Charlie Sheen
• What does Martin Sheen think of Charlie Sheen
• How much is Charlie Sheen worth
• Is Charlie Sheen mentally ill
• Who Is Charlie Sheen’s mother

Break Out The Gardening Gloves
On a much lighter note, spring can’t come soon enough for people online. This week we’ve noticed a spike in queries for gardening – -everything from “how to grow blueberries” to “how to build raised garden beds.” Searches on Yahoo! for vegetable gardens are up 183% this week. And more than half of the garden related queries are coming from women mostly in Texas, California, North Carolina and Virginia.

Some of the top gardening searches on Yahoo! include:

• How to grow blueberries
• How to grow tomatoes
• When to plant grass seed
• How to make roman shades
• How to prune roses
• When to plant grass seed
• When to plant vegetables
• When to fertilize lawn

Check out the video for more trends spiking this week.

President Hu Jintao’s Visit
China is getting a ton of buzz this week on Yahoo!.  People are curious about President Hu Jintao’s bio and of course, what’s on his itinerary while he’s in town.  But what is everyone most interested in? They really wanted to find out what Michelle Obama would wear to the formal state dinner  – the first in 13 years for China — and what would be served.  We saw searches for “state dinner menu spike” 250% this week on Yahoo!

Celebrity Wrap Up
It was a big week in Hollywood for celebrity babies – especially those born to stars who hired surrogates to expand their families, including Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban.  People searched for images of the babies and information on the parents. We also saw people searching on Yahoo! for “how does one become a surrogate” and how much it pays to be one. Searches spiked more than 350%. Also Regis Philbin’s announcement that he’ll step down from “Live with Regis and Kelly” after this season sent people searching.  They want to know who will replace the 79-year-old broadcaster.  And word of Anne Hathaway’s upcoming cameo on Glee sparked a frenzy of searches for the Oscar nominated actress up 3,692%. Hathaway will play a role she reportedly suggested to the show – the lesbian aunt of the character “Kurt.”

Yahoo! Maxim Survey
If you’re really into video games, you may be in luck if you’re looking for a date. According to a new Yahoo! survey with Maxim magazine, nearly 40% of women said they’d find it a turn on if a man listed video games as a personal interest.

Some more of the findings:
With 38 percent of the adult population surveyed looking to date or hook up at any one time, at virtually every stage of a budding romance, social media plays a role and what you put on your profile could be the difference between a date and no date:

• 25 percent of those surveyed admitted to using social networking sites to aide their dating life.
• 40 percent of people judge a potential date’s social networking profile as important and 41percent of people will “friend” someone they are interested in dating as a way to get to know that person.
• The vast majority, 70 percent, want in-person interaction as the first point of contact with a potential date.
• For more results and commentary, please visit http://www.maxim.com and http://shine.yahoo.com

Check out the video for more trends spiking this week.

More on Heather Cabot:
Heather Cabot serves as Yahoo! Web Life Editor. She combines her reporting background with an every woman approach to spot web trends and advocate for consumers. She’s a former network news anchor and lifestyle blogger who provides practical tips and perspective on how technology is reshaping our day to day lives. Heather has appeared on “The Today Show,” “The Martha Stewart Show,” “The Rachael Ray Show,” “The Early Show,” “Fox & Friends” and more. Heather is also the founder and editor-in-chief of The Well Mom www.thewellmom.com a new weekly e-zine that empowers and inspires moms to better care for themselves.

The Yahoo! Year in Review returns, with a look at our collective cultural consciousness, as gleaned through a year’s worth of searches. In 2001, we started publishing lists of lists looking who topped the Search charts across various beats like news, sports, games, and overall. (Check out this flashback moment from a 2001 press release.)

But a Top 10 just isn’t enough to see what the world was looking for. In the past few years, we’ve pumped up our analyses to ferret out underlying trends. Plus this year, the Year in Review has expanded to 16 countries.

Enough with the preamble — what riveted us in 2010?

The Transocean oil rig explosion and the resulting spill dominated online activity, making the BP Oil Spill this year’s top search. Many of us were transfixed by that underwater spillcam that showed the best — and not so best — efforts to cap the gushing crude.

The FIFA World Cup ground productivity to a slow crawl, as people went online to cram in not only the rules of the game, but also controversies (that bouncy jabulani ball), and South African traditions (the ever-buzzing vuvuzela).

Pop culture’s leading ladies (including the hyper-theatrical Lady Gaga, new to the list), a gadget that begin with a small “i,” and Web-spun music artist Justin Bieber (also a Top 10 freshman) also made the top slots. And Britney Spears, who has dominated the list in the past decade, held on at No. 10.

Top Searches on Yahoo! in 2010

1. BP oil spill
2. World Cup
3. Miley Cyrus
4. Kim Kardashian
5. Lady Gaga
6. iPhone
7. Megan Fox
8. Justin Bieber
9. American Idol

10.  Britney Spears

The year 2010 was definitely one of extremes: Record heat and floods around the world caused natural disasters, economic turnarounds spurred financial uprisings, and some high-profile firings stirred up ruckus at a time when people are looking for or holding on to jobs.

Another new list this year: 10 Obsessions of 2010 — what couldn’t we get enough of this year? For this list, we looked at both total search volume and the percentage change compared to 2009, and came up with some doozies. Among them: Apple proved its worth as a most valuable company by generating excitement for its iPhone 4 (plus that accidental sneak peek) and that “magical and revolutionary” iPad. Other compulsions that were gnawing at us: Would Lindsay ever have that comeback? How many Silly Bandz can I possibly wear (and make the owner an a millionaire several times over)? And are those bedbugs I see?

Top Searched Obsessions on Yahoo! in 2010

1. iPhone 4
2. Lindsay Lohan
3. iPad
4. Glee
5. Jersey Shore
6. Facebook
7. Bedbugs
8. Tea Party
9. Silly Bandz

10.  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (series)
For years, people have sought out the answers to life’s questions on Yahoo!. Every Friday and Saturday night, for instance, teens primping for dates try to figure out “how to tie a tie.” Some questions are more plaintive — like the search for love. In 2010, we finally reveal these burning queries, and we give the answers too. Yes, about love.

Top Searched Questions on Yahoo! in 2010

1. How to tie a tie
2. How to lose weight
3. How to kiss
4. How to write a resume
5. What’s the world’s only immortal animal
6. Which city has the best tap water
7. Which natural disaster shortened earth’s days
8. What is love
9. What causes lightning
10. How to boil an egg

If you’re curious to see what others around the globe were pondering, check out a few Year In Review sites:

UK: http://uk.yearinreview.yahoo.com/

Brazil: http://br.retrospectiva.yahoo.com/

Taiwan: http://tw.yearinreview.yahoo.com/

Germany: http://de.jahresrueckblick.yahoo.com/

As for the uber Yahoo! Year in Review, many great engineers, wise analysts, and fine writers took aim at summing up 2010, and seeing what’s up for 2011. Settle down for some good reads.

We’re not done yet either — there will be even more look-backs throughout the month of December as our writers figure out mid-term political moodiness, revisit strange creatures we have loved (we’ll miss you, Paul the octopus), and much much more. Visit often, and get in on the conversation at our Facebook and Twitter pages.

-Vera Chan, senior editor and Web trend analyst for Yahoo!

For hundreds of millions of people around the world, email is a critical part of their online communications, connecting them to the people who matter most to them. With that in mind, we are rolling out Yahoo! Mail Beta — a faster, safer, more personally meaningful communication experience – seamlessly across PC, mobile and tablet devices. Here’s what we focused on:

Blazing Speed: We’ve re-architected Yahoo! Mail Beta from the ground up to provide lightning-quick performance. It’s at least twice as fast as previous Yahoo! Mail versions, and significantly faster in key geographies. The Yahoo! Mail team has made several technological advancements to make this happen, from utilizing Yahoo!’s cloud technology to focusing on user-flow optimization. Check out our post on the YDN blog for more on the great technology that’s making this possible.

Reaching Everyone: There are even more ways to share your stories with the people who matter most to you in Yahoo! Mail Beta – no matter what device or what service they use. We’ve added Twitter integration alongside Facebook, as well as richer IM and SMS experieneces, offering you more ways to share directly from your inbox. You can tweet or retweet or send a text message out to friends while pulling together an email.  And you can also easily check out photos and videos from Flickr, Picasa, and YouTube via a new feature that automatically shows slideshows right in your emails when your friends send you links from these sites.

Simple yet Powerful Search: When you’ve got unlimited storage (as you do with with Yahoo Mail) – you have a lot of email!  Our new search interface helps you get the messages you need quickly and easily.  You have the power of sophisticated searches at your fingertips, allowing you to sort and refine by sender, attachment file, date, or folder location.

Stay Safe From Spam: We all know spam is incredibly annoying; it can also be malicious. That’s why we’re proud to be No. 1 in spam protection, blocking over 130 billion spam messages each month. And Yahoo! Mail Beta gives you an even better spam-free mail experience by leveraging the power of Hadoop technology to keep you one step ahead of the spammers.

Take it With You: With this new communications experience, we’re making sure your encounters will be equally fabulous whether you’re emailing from your laptop, iPhone, iPad or Android device. No more relearning how to get things done each time you switch from one connected device to another.

So wherever you are in the world, check out Yahoo! Mail Beta now – a single speedy, simple, safe, and seamless stop for all your online communications.  We’ll be making lots of enhancements and improvements during this beta period, and we can’t wait to hear your feedback.  For more details about Yahoo! Mail Beta, visit the Yahoo! Mail blog, and to find out about related policy updates, check out the Yahoo! Policy blog.

- Kakul Srivastava, vice president of product management, Communications and Communities

Check out the video for more trends spiking this week and if you are in Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento or Atlanta, catch us live on Fridays!

Trend: Franken Fish
With the FDA holding hearings this week on genetically engineered salmon, searches are off the charts on Yahoo!. Some are looking at the pros, searching for things like “is it healthy.” And the cons. Is it safe to eat? If the so-called Franken fish escape, will it have an impact on wild salmon? Women seem most interested in these fish this week making up 55% of searches.

Trend: Get Out The Tailgating Games
Summer may be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to put away the BBQ grills. Tailgaters across the country are moving their grills from backyards to parking lots as college and NFL football seasons push forward. People are looking up rules for tailgate toss, ladder toss, corn hole on Yahoo!. One place to look for tips is tailgating.com, created by professional tailgater Joe Kahn, the self-proclaimed commish of tailgating.

Trend: Dancing With The Stars
On the TV side, Yahoo!’s seeing a huge spike as expected for “Dancing With The Stars.” There is a lot of buzz on who’s cutting the rug this year including Bristol Palin, “The Situation,” and David Hasselhoff. Anything can happen, searches on the cast are up 846% this week. Dirty Dancing alum Jennifer Grey is also on the show this season, searches are up 1,500% on Jennifer.

Check out the video for more trends spiking this week and if you are in Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento or Atlanta, catch us live on Fridays!

As I’ve learned more about the people and products that make Yahoo! great, I’ve grown even more positive that our future will be a bright one. Our products continue to evolve — and at the heart of that evolution is our commitment to bringing personal meaning to the Web for everyone. In short, that means helping you and the other 600 million people on Yahoo! cut through the vastness of online data by providing the experiences that are most important to you — whether that’s instantly finding the content you are searching for or connecting you with family and friends.

Key to creating these experiences for you, and adding value for advertisers and partners, is our constant technological innovation of products like Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, and Yahoo! Search, as well as our mobile sites, tablet and Connected TV experiences, and content properties like Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, and Yahoo! Sports. You’re using these products every day, and starting this fall, you’ll see more frequent updates for them. Check out our live webcast to watch this morning’s “Yahoo! Product Runway” media event, which we’re hosting in Sunnyvale:

While you can’t always see “under the hood” as a consumer, you should know that we’re delivering a number of planet-scale technology components to make it all possible. For example, we have built our products on global platforms and one of the world’s largest cloud computing infrastructures. What this means for you is more features and enhancements for the products you love — sooner and more often.

Some of the updates you can expect to see this fall include:

• A new Yahoo! Mail experience with even more focus on performance and speed
• New Yahoo! Search experiences with rich, immersive results that keep you in the loop on the news and entertainment topics that matter to you the most
• Twitter integration on Yahoo! that will allow you to link your accounts so you can view and share updates with friends across both networks
• A new Yahoo! app for iPad and other tablets that’s designed to deliver personally relevant news, information, and essentials like weather, commute updates, and more
• Customized Content Ads with creative formats that leverage an advertiser’s robust content and enable social sharing
• New Connected TV partnerships that provide consumers with thousands of video-on-demand content sources, social networks, games, music, shopping, and more — all while watching TV

Keep an eye out for updates to more Yahoo! products for consumers and advertisers in the coming months, including communication experiences, more social integrations, and improvements to our content offerings. At Yahoo!, our products are our babies. We create them, nurture them, and watch them grow to engage with hundreds of millions of people. Like any proud parent, we love them as they are — but we never stop trying to make them better.

-Blake Irving, EVP & Chief Product Officer, Yahoo!
@blakei

Hurricane Earl:

• The path of Hurricane Earl: searches are off the charts on Yahoo! for “hurricane earl path” and “earl hurricane track”
• Searches for the “National Hurricane Center” are up 344% this week
• Searchers are looking on Yahoo! for “hurricane tracking map” up 366% this month

From hurricanes and earthquakes to floods and tornadoes, it’s likely we will all be impacted by the threat of a natural disaster at some point in our lives, yet the unpredictable nature of these events doesn’t mean we can’t establish a plan in advance.

Emergency Preparedness

• Searches for “hurricane preparedness” and “storm preparation” are off the charts this month on Yahoo!
• Yahoo! searches for “72 hour emergency kits” are off the charts this week
• “Portable generator” searches on Yahoo! are up 54% this month.
• Yahoo! searches for “free first aid kits,” “emergency kits,” and “emergency preparedness” are off the charts this month.

***off the charts refers to searches that received little to no searches the week/month before and are now gaining interest***

Disaster Awareness

• Yahoo! searches for “hurricane” were up 53% this month, with 59% of searches coming from men. Top states searching for “hurricane” this month are: Louisiana, Florida, Texas and North Carolina.
• Searches for “2010 hurricane names” on Yahoo! are up 298% this week, with 57% of searches by females and the majority coming from women ages 35-54. Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina were the top states searching for this term.
• Yahoo! searches for “NOAA Hurricane Center” on Yahoo! were up 240% this week.

And, as you prepare for the possibility of a Natural Disaster, Yahoo! Health shares the essentials for your disaster recovery kit, including the following items to name a few:

• Three-day supply of water for each person (one gallon of water per person each day), stored in plastic containers and three-day supply of food, such as canned fruits, vegetables, juices, granola bars and other compact items
• Kitchen items, including: a manual can opener, a mess kit, all-purpose knife, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and resealing plastic bags
• First-aid kit, including: spare pairs of eyeglasses and prescription medicines
• Fire extinguisher, Crow bar, Heavy-duty gloves
• Portable radio and batteries; solar and hand-cranked radios are available that need no batteries and are better choices for long-term storage of emergency equipment