Top Search Terms for 2008 Include "What is Scientology"

Google has released its year-end list of the most popular terms searched on the Web site.

In the United States, Barack Obama came in at No. 1.

In search queries prefixed by the words "what is..", "What is love" tops the list, while Scientology is sixth.

I doubt the prank pulled out by Anonymous in July to put "Scientology is a cult" on top of the supposed search list had much an effect in this context, since the stats are drawn out of the whole year and, in this category, pre-fixed by "what is..". I blogged about this prank here and here.

PS - Metro.co.uk reports that top of the "how to" questions on Google this year is "how to draw", while web-users have also been typing "how to kiss" into their Google search boxes on a regular basis. The web site then proceeds to offer a titiling video of two girls embarking on a mammoth lesbian snogging session in order to teach watchers how to French kiss.

PS2 - Check also http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist2008/mind.html for a more detailed info about the top searches. I observe among other things that Isaac Hayes is 4th on the Fond Farewells category. Interestingly as well, Miley Cyrus is 5th on the Who Is category. I never heard of her until I learned she was the co-star of the new (doubling voice only) Travolta movie.