Britney - Search Engine Queen of the Decade
Britney Spears is the queen of the internet. No one has been more popular with internet searchers over the past ten years, it was revealed last night...
LONDON, ENGLAND, December 22, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Britney Spears is the queen of the internet. No one has been more popular with internet searchers over the past ten years, it was revealed last night.
The pop princess is the number one most searched for name across the whole of the first decade of the 21st century, beating world leaders, Hollywood icons and royalty to the top spot.
Every aspect of her rollercoaster life has been lived in the glare of the internet age with each episode the trigger for millions of clicks from internet surfers to find out more, said Ask Jeeves, one of the few search engines to have been around for the whole period.
Based on questions asked by users of the site, the singing superstar came top, ahead of both Osama Bin Laden and David Beckham, as people asked about her songs, her marriages, her children and other aspects of her life both on and off stage.
Having released her debut single, Hit Me Baby One More Time, in 1999, Britney Spears entered the century as a public figure and, ten years later, that celebrity status has grown even more.
From searching for her videos and music to finding out more about her whirlwind Las Vegas wedding and subsequent battle with her personal demons, there has been no let up in interest in her life, as shown by the 'Rising Search Index' of the past 10 years.
Every episode in her life led to a massive rise in the number of people going online simply to ask for more information about the star, said Ask Jeeves which deals with 20 million questions to its UK site every month.
Bin Laden was second after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, as people wanted to ask about who he was and, in later years, where he might be - a question Allied forces are still asking eight years later.
Perhaps less surprisingly, David Beckham is third in the list, as the decade saw his rise to football superstar, fashion icon and his off-the-field role as husband and father.
England's World Cup appearances as well as his own transfers, first to Real Madrid then to LA Galaxy, kept up his high profile for those wanting to ask about his style, his family and his football.
Amazingly Princess Diana is still up there in the top ten even though she died in 1997, thanks to the inquests into her tragic accident, the conspiracy theories around the crash, plus her legacy - whether it is her charity work or her two sons William and Harry.
In contrast, Madeleine McCann is also in the top ten even though she did not appear in searches until after her disappearance on a family holiday to Portugal in May 2007.
But the subsequent campaign to find her became so well-publicised and touched so many people that she was consistently among the most asked-about names among Britons.
The simple question 'Where's Maddie?' dominated again and again during the period, together with queries about every possible sighting and as well as others about where she went missing and how to help publicise the search.
The other names of the decade include Brad Pitt, whose fans have followed him across both his career and his tangled personal life with, first, Jennifer Aniston and, now, Angelina Jolie.
Jade Goody lived and died in the spotlight across the first decade of the century, first as many wanted to know more about her sudden rise to fame on Big Brother in 2002, asking to see clips of the series or the things she said, and then, in subsequent years, about her life in general.
But her legacy has been to raise the issue of cervical cancer after her death from the disease this year with Ask Jeeves responding to potentially life-saving questions from young women asking how to get check-ups to detect the illness.
The other constant names dominating online searches over the whole decade were Tony Blair, Madonna and Simon Cowell said Ask Jeeves, which is among the older search engines still around.
Ask Jeeves spokeswoman Nadia Kelly said: "Some names are popular searches for a year or two and then no more but a select few have been topping our search lists for up to a whole decade.
"Britney Spears began the decade as a fresh faced new superstar on the block and has remained as high profile ever since - which is no mean achievement when so many other people have been and gone.
"Other names in the list are not unexpected as they have dominated headlines but it is noticeable just how much Princess Diana still attracts interest so long after her death and the sudden but massive impact Madeleine McCann had among the online community in just two short years."
The full top ten in the Ask Jeeves Rising Search Index over the past ten years (and the subjects of searches about them) are:
1. Britney Spears - her marriage, her divorce, her breakdown, music and concert dates
2. Osama Bin Laden - who he is, what Al Quaeda is, where he is hiding, his family roots and beliefs
3. David Beckham - his children being born, his outfits, his goals, transfers and advertising
4. Princess Diana - inquests and investigations into her death, al Fayed accusations, her children and legacy
5. Tony Blair - re-election (twice), standing down, Iraq War, family and subsequent career
6. Madonna - marriage and divorce to Guy, children (natural), children (adopted), music and living in London
7. Simon Cowell - Pop Idol, X-Factor, Britain's Got Talent, his personal life and his wealth
8. Jade Goody - her original Big Brother appearance, her relationships, the Shilpa Shetty row, her death and her legacy
9. Madeleine McCann - her kidnapping, the campaign to find her, her parents and follow-up sightings
10. Brad Pitt - his looks, marriage to Jennifer, divorce from Jennifer, 'Brangelina', his children and films
For further information, please contact:
Nadia Kelly, PR Director
nadia.kelly@ask.com
Anna Skerten, PR Manager
anna.skerten@ask.com
Press Release Contact Information:
Anna Skerten
Ask Jeeves
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