One of the remarkable things I’ve noticed about Google Hot Trends over the past few months is its ability to tell you everything about a breaking story without the need to look elsewhere. Take a look at what’s in there right now and see if you can piece it together: Morgan Freeman, Morgan Freeman Car Accident, Ground Zero Blues Club, 1997 Nissan Maxima, and Jaws of Life. Figure it out, Sherlock?

This goes to my theory that people have to search for related terms when trying to figure something out. They can’t just read one article and feel like they’ve got the whole picture. Instead, they have to look up each of the things they read in the article. It’s a free Internet, so I suppose they’re entitled, but come on…do you really have to search for “1997 Nissan Maxima?” Is knowing what this looks like or what it is really helping your understanding of the story?

In case it does, here you go…I hope you can follow what I’m saying better now.

Yep…that helped me. At least when “1967 Fiat BTM” was in Google Trends after Jerry Seinfeld’s accident, there was a reason why people might search for it. You’ve likely never seen one and you probably have never even heard of it, but a 1997 Nissan Maxima? They made 5 million of these things…how come you’re the only one who hasn’t seen one?

Getting back to our blog…watch me tell the story of what happened to some person in some situation using only Google Trends and these terms: Morgan Freeman, Morgan Freeman Car Accident, Ground Zero Blues Club, 1997 Nissan Maxima, and Jaws of Life.

Morgan Freeman, who happens to own Ground Zero Blues Club, was in a car accident, requiring the use of the Jaws of Life to extract him, while driving in a 1997 Nissan Maxima. Ta dah! No reason to read TMZ’s story…it’s all right here. If you can only look at one site in the world and figure out what’s happening, go to Google Trends. It ought to have its own TV show (and people ought to have a limited number of searches they are allowed to make each day).

Update: 3:43 PM

It should come as a relief to many of you that Morgan Freeman is now “lucid.” What shouldn’t come as a relief is how many people don’t know what “lucid” means.

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Posted on August 4th, 2008 by Jonathan - Everyone But You
Filed under: Celebrities

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