Google users confirm, Yahoo! better than sex

  • Posted February 1st, 2007 at 11:22 am by Yahoo! Search
  • Categories: Search

I was reading Slashdot yesterday and came across an interesting tidbit. It turns out that, according to data from Google Trends, Yahoo! passed sex as the number one search term on their search engine last year. When we heard that Google searchers thought Yahoo! was better than sex, let’s just say it put a little smile on our faces.

That got me thinking about where sex stacked up in the overall scheme of things, so I referred to none other then the good old Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Need a refresher of Psychology 101? Here’s a look at Maslow’s hierarchy:

maslow pyramid.gif

Maslow contends that the needs on the bottom four tiers must be met and entirely satisfied in order for people to reach their full potential through Self-Actualization. According to Maslow, sex partially addresses both our Physiological and Love needs. Which one people are searching for is probably best suited for another post. But, I guess it’s safe to say that Yahoo! is either satisfying a user’s Esteem or Self-Actualization needs. Pretty heady stuff.

So what does this all mean? I’m not sure, but Nicholas Carr’s take on top searches for 2006 sums it up for me: ‘This seems to confirm what I’ve long suspected: Googling is bad for the libido. Consider yourself warned.’

So, do you Yahoo!?

Raj Gossain
Yahoo! Search

  • 14 Comments
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14 Comments

Comment by Danny Sullivan
2007-02-01 13:25:22

So Raj, c’mon. Give us the top five search terms on Yahoo, unfiltered. Is Google more popular than sex on Yahoo?

 
Comment by Eric Itzkowitz
2007-02-01 13:58:35

More and more people understand they’re better off using multi-word queries to reach the very specific type of sex information they want. :)

It’s not such a shocker the single term Yahoo (brand) is searched for more than sex.

Nonetheless, I like the spin used for this post–good marketing!

 
Comment by Zach Katkin
2007-02-01 16:15:36

Yahoo Mail beta, is better than sex…

 
Comment by Disowned
2007-02-02 13:31:47

Strange…I wonder it was just the word “Yahoo!” or was it a combination of searches related to Yahoo! related brands like Jumpcut and Yahoo! Answers.

 
Comment by H.L Coleman
2007-02-02 14:42:51

Come on guys keep up with Maslow. In 1970 he added intellectual and aesthetic needs to the pyramid. So the search for Yahoo was being above sex means that we’ve satisfied our belongingness needs and are moving on. So it’s basically sex then yahoo.

At least that’s how I do it.

 
2007-05-05 22:32:13

it just means yahoo is really good. keep it up.

 
2007-05-10 09:54:59

G is definitely still better than yahoo. Especiall after tis recent update.

 
2007-05-10 09:58:29

Yahoo mail Beta is the greatest around now…

 
2007-05-10 10:00:27

How do the top searches in Yahoo compared with Googles’s ?

 
Comment by video
2007-05-21 07:07:05

Yes Danny,
Google more popular than sex on Yahoo.

 
Comment by mirc
2007-05-21 07:07:57

yes i agree with u!

 
Comment by Gymso
2007-05-26 00:19:39

Yahoo Search is always better —
yahoo provide accurate results

 
Comment by Neil Simmons
2007-06-15 02:28:34

I think that yahoo should invest in a movie site, similar to youtube but only feature length movies, i.e. free movies for all !!

 
Comment by Chris Heath
2007-06-26 19:55:41

Yes, yahoo is coming up on Gooogle fast!

 

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