Can Google Predict Oscar Winners?
Last week, Google announced a new tool called Oscar Trends - which is the second vertical-ized view of our trend data with the first being Flu Trends . Granted, I "drink the Google Kool-Aid" and think that Google data is compelling on any subject, but by combining the geek/chic pieces of Google+Oscars, I think we have a winner. For a full sense of the project, let take a look at the research - which is based on past year's trends and eventual winners. Check out this interesting set of examples from the past three years. Each winner saw a surge in queries BOTH when they were announced as a finalist and leading up to the actual ceremony. Each year, as you would expect, Google sees a flood of searches around the movies, actors, and film industry as the Oscar broadcast comes closer. People want to see the movies in person, they want to learn more about them, and they also want to see what their friends and others are saying about them. They turn to Google for all of