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The following is also my January 5th column for AdAge.com.
When I first started blogging five years ago, I was big into writing new year prediction posts. Many bloggers continue this fine tradition. I stopped when I realized that no one would go back and fact check me. More importantly, they were based on gut feelings, not numbers.
With that, sometime this year I resolved instead to form observations using data. The numbers then lead me to insights and directional trends. I prefer to talk about trends rather than predictions because they're based firmly on currents. Much of my focus on this blog over the past 18 months has been on trends. It's my job to study them.
Enter Google Insights for Search - which launched earlier this year. It's the closest thing we have to a global time capsule.
Often overlooked, there's so much you can learn from digging into aggregate query data. Given its huge share and the prevalence of search in our lives, Google actually knows more about us than our own mothers. Everyday we confide in it. We share what we think, hope and fear. The data is absolutely invaluable and the archive goes back five years.
With that in mind, using Google Insights I crunched some data and spotted three Internet trends. These are simply thought-starters as we start the new year (all figures are US only).
Insights without data is useless and, of course, Google is just one indicator. However, it's the best tool that we have and a good way to gauge where the wind will blow in 2009. It will be fun to watch to see how this all evolves and to see if any of this is right.
Twice this week when I searched for a blogger's name and some other related keywords, I noticed that Google is running a little thumbnail alongside the first links. I have verified that this is not an experiment but rather a new mini feature. When I logged out of my account I was able to replicate it.
You should be able to see this for yourself on the following searches: Gigaom papers and Luis Suarez.
It appears to be in effect for WordPress blogs. See updates at the end of this post.
LATER:: If your blog is on Wordpress, then you get a thumbnail. This can also be found in a search for Scobleizer. Also, try Googling Jeff Jarvis or Kevin Mason blog and you will get the same result.
EVEN LATER:: There are further updates in the comments. Matt Cutts from Google notes this is a bug. Meanwhile, the images are popping up for some TypePad and Blogger blogs as well.
Young Urban Professional