Macworld keynote hype barely registers on Google Hot Trends

Ian Lamont — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:18:13 -0500

The last few Macworld expos have attracted huge amounts of public attention, outside of the core group of Mac fanatics. The 2007 event was parodied on MadTV, and the 2008 Macworld keynote generated so much chatter that it caused Twitter to crash.

Not so this year. Twitter didn't crash. There is no media frenzy. And one useful measure of public interest -- Google Hot Trends, which tracks up-and-coming search terms used by millions of Web users -- didn't have any Macworld-related phrases in the top 10 or top 20 terms during the 2009 keynote. "Macworld live blog" showed up in the #28 spot, followed by "Macworld keynote" at #52, and "mac rumors" at #75 (see screenshot below). "Macworld coverage" was #91. After the keynote, the terms moved up, but there wasn't nearly as much interest as there was in sex expert Whitney Casey or Liskula Cohen, the model who is suing Google for negative comments made by an anonymous blogger.

What are the other hot themes for today? There are lots of searches relating to FBI jobs in the top 20, plus a mysterious combination of characters in the number two slot (✈ ▌▌) that could be a reference to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

The reason for the tepid interest in Macworld obviously relates to the fact that Steve Jobs didn't give this year's keynote. Jobs is not only Apple's co-founder and CEO, he has proved to be a master showman who can make the most mundane product features seem utterly innovative and desirable. Many people assumed that because Jobs had decided to bow out of the keynote that Apple had nothing interesting to show off this year. That was not the case -- marketing chief Phil Schiller demonstrated a new MacBook Pro and significant improvements to the iLife software suite. Still, a keynote by a relatively unknown Apple executive doesn't generate the same warm feelings as Steve Jobs' appearances in years past.

Google Hot Trends during the keynote:

Sources cited, referenced, or consulted: Associated Press, Cnet, Techmeme, rcfp.org, YouTube, Techcrunch, Google Hot Trends.

Image: Phil Schiller speaking at Macworld 2009 (AP/Ben Margot)