OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ask.com, a
leading online brand for questions and answers and an operating
business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI), today released the top trending
search terms and corresponding questions for 2012 around
celebrities, news and politics. This year, Ask takes its annual
analysis one step further with its 2012: What's on America's
Mind? survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive among
over 2,000 adults in November, which sets out to surface the
underlying consumer perceptions driving these questions to the top
of Ask's annual list. In conjunction with the release, Ask also
created a virtual flipbook, capturing some of the most notable
moments of the year.
"With nearly half of the queries on Ask.com in the form of a
full question, we get a snapshot of not only what captured
consumers' attention, but also what piqued their curiosity," said
Valerie Combs, vice president of
communications for Ask.com. "This year, we partnered with Harris to
dig even deeper and unearth how the nation really feels about
2012's most captivating headlines."
More than 100 million people turned to Ask.com to satisfy their
curiosity around 2012's biggest news and events. And, apologies to
Kim Kardashian, but the person Ask
users most wanted to know about this year was Kristen Stewart, one-half of America's
favorite Twilight couple. Indeed, "Will
Rob and Kristen get back together?" is officially the
top trending question of 2012, and if the tabloids are correct,
Ask.com users have their answer.
Top celebrity search terms and questions from Ask.com
include:
- Kristen Stewart. Will
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart get back together?
- Katie Holmes. Was
Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's marriage fake?
- Psy – Gangnam Style. What does Gangnam Style mean?
- Snooki. When is Snooki's baby due?
- Prince Harry. What will
happen to Prince Harry because of
the nude pictures?
- Brad Pitt. How big is
Angelina's engagement ring?
- Carly Rae Jepsen. What is
the best Call Me Maybe parody?
- Jessica Biel. When are
Justin and Jessica getting married?
- Miley Cyrus. Why did
Miley Cyrus cut her hair?
- Ryan Lochte. Does
Ryan Lochte have a girlfriend?
What do Americans think? Kristen
Stewart may drive the most searches, but she is no fan
favorite. According to the 2012: What's on America's
Mind? survey, Kate
Middleton is 2012's overall favorite celebrity by a
landslide. Nearly one-half (47 percent) of US adults surveyed put
Kate Middleton at the top of
their list of favorite celebrity newsmakers, beating out
Brad Pitt (41 percent) and
Angelina Jolie (39 percent),
Tom Cruise (37 percent) and
Katie Holmes (36 percent) and
Kristen (20 percent).
Top news search terms and questions from Ask.com
include:
- 2012 Olympics. How many medals did the US gymnastics
team win?
- Hurricane Sandy. What is the damage from Hurricane
Sandy?
- Black Knight shooting. What happened at the Colorado shooting?
- Jerry Sandusky. What is
Jerry Sandusky's sentence?
- iPhone 5. When will the iPhone 5 be released?
- Facebook IPO. When is the Facebook IPO?
- Lance Armstrong. Did
Lance Armstrong take drugs?
- Whitney Houston. How did
Whitney Houston die?
- Costa Concordia. How did the Costa Concordia sink?
- Trayvon Martin. Why was
Trayvon Martin Shot?
What do Americans think? Millions of users clamored for
details on these headlines, but here's what they really think,
according to our survey:
- Armstrong Divides the Nation: America is split
over the Lance Armstrong
scandal; 38 percent of US adults support Lance Armstrong being
stripped of his Tour de France titles while 39 percent do not.
- iPhone Who? The iPhone 5 may have made big
waves in the press, but it barely registered a ripple among U.S.
adults: nearly one-half surveyed (49 percent) said they don't see a
big difference between the iPhone 5 and the previous version.
- I-P-Out: Like investors, many Americans were
unimpressed by Facebook's much-anticipated IPO, with 45
percent of respondents believing the stock is not a good buy.
- Time to Heal: When it comes to the most shocking
headlines, more than a third of Americans point to the devastating
Shootings in Aurora, Colo.
(36 percent), followed by the damage caused by Hurricane
Sandy (24 percent), and the shooting of Trayvon Martin 7 percent).
Top political searches and questions from Ask.com
include:
- Presidential race. Who will win the Presidential
race?
- Democratic National Convention. When is Clinton speaking
at the DNC?
- Mitt Romney. What did
Mitt Romney say about 47
percent?
- Republican National Convention. Why did Clint Eastwood talk to a chair in his
speech?
- Chick-Fil-A. What did the CEO of Chick-Fil-A say about
gay marriage?
- Todd Akin. What did
Todd Akin say about legitimate
rape?
- Gay marriage. Where is gay marriage legal?
- Obamacare. What is Obamacare?
- Greece bankruptcy. Is
Greece bringing down the
Euro?
- John Edwards. Was
John Edwards found guilty?
What do Americans think? This election year, there was no
shortage of questions, but it appears Americans didn't much "Like"
getting the answers from friends via social media. Despite the
popularity of going political, 59 percent of Americans have an
aversion to reading friends' political views on Facebook.
For more information on these findings and the stories that
seized America's attention in 2012, go to http://blog.ask.com/.
About Ask.com
With more than 100 million global
users, Ask.com is a leading online brand for questions and answers
and an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI). Now
available as a mobile service, Ask.com mobile apps have been
downloaded more than 2 million times. More information is available
at www.ask.com or http://blog.ask.com.
Methodology
This survey was conducted online within
the United States by Harris
Interactive on behalf of Ask.com from November 12-14, 2012 among 2,071 adults age 18+.
This online survey is not based on a probability sample and
therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be
calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting
variables, please contact stephanie@dottedlinecomm.com
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of
the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research,
technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into
actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris
Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies,
Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and
customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and
marketing, advertising, public relations and communications
research. Harris possesses expertise in a wide range of industries
including health care, technology, public affairs, energy,
telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail,
restaurant, and consumer package goods. Additionally, Harris has a
portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom
solutions while maximizing our client's research investment.
Serving clients in more than 215 countries and territories through
our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in
delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay
ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit
www.harrisinteractive.com.
SOURCE Ask.com