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Who’s the Most Searched Person of 2012? You May Not Be Happy With Yahoo’s Results

Dec 4, 2012  •  Post A Comment

Internet search firm Yahoo! revealed the top searches of 2012, and one of the “prestige” categories — most searched person of the year — went to a media personality many observers wish would go away: Kim Kardashian.

Reuters reports that Yahoo’s top search term of the year was “election.”

In a conference call Yahoo! Web trend analyst Vera Chan said: "The 2012 elections dominated the online searches, which is amazing because if something is in the news, it’s already accessible … people were really saturated by it, but even so, that was a key word that people typed throughout the year."

Chan noted that only twice in the past decade has a news story topped the list: Michael Jackson’s death in 2009 and the BP oil spill in 2010.

Second on the list was the search term "iPhone 5." The iPhone has been high on the list before, but Chan said this was the first time a specific model ranked high on the list.

The rest of the top 10 was dominated by famous women, led by Kardashian at No. 3.

“Chan said Kardashian’s ‘notoriety has kept her at the top,’ citing her ongoing divorce saga with ex-husband Kris Humphries, her high-profile relationship with rapper Kanye West and her E! channel reality shows,” the story reports.

The report adds: “Sports Illustrated cover model Kate Upton, British royal Kate Middleton, late singer Whitney Houston, troubled former child star Lindsay Lohan and pop star and former ‘American Idol’ judge Jennifer Lopez all featured in the top 10 after being in the news prominently throughout the year.”

Middleton was also the subject of the most searched scandal of the year, in which a French magazine published topless photos of her.

Also making the top 10 was "Olympics" at No. 7, while "political polls" came in at No. 8.

The story adds: “On Yahoo!’s separate list of top-searched obsessions, pop culture dominated this year, with ‘The Hunger Games,’ reality star Honey Boo Boo, erotic novel ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’ British boy band One Direction, Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit song ‘Call Me Maybe’ and Korean rapper Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ featuring in the top 10.”

One Comment

  1. Of course, this is coming from Yahoo!, which means that Kardashian may very well be going away. Being the number one personality searched on Yahoo! is kind of like being the #1 draft pick for the Arena Football League.

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