WALTHAM, Mass.- December 12, 2005 - Lycos, Inc. (www.lycos.com), a media destination for creators and consumers of quality content, today announced The Lycos 50's eagerly anticipated annual list of top 50 search terms for the year 2005. The Lycos 50TM is a weekly list of the most popular people, places and things Lycos users search for every day. The Lycos 50 2005 year-end list is based on Lycos user searches from January 1, 2005 through November 30, 2005. For a complete list of The Lycos 50 top 50 search terms of 2005, and for in-depth commentary of The Lycos 50 2005 Report, go to http://50.lycos.com.
| The Lycos 50 Top 10 Search Terms for 2005 are: | |||
| 1) | Paris Hilton | 6) | Jennifer Lopez |
| 2) | Pamela Anderson | 7) | WWE |
| 3) | Britney Spears | 8) | Pokemon |
| 4) | Poker | 9) | Playstation |
| 5) | Dragonball | 10) | Hurricane Katrina |
"Paris Hilton generated more searches than any other search term this year, as she consistently find ways to stay top of mind with web users," said Dean Tsouvalas, writer of The Lycos 50 "People continue to search for more than just the infamous Paris Hilton sex tape. Whenever Paris makes headlines offline, search activity skyrockets for her online." Right behind Paris is Pamela Anderson, who won acclaim as the most popular search term of the past decade, when Lycos announced its top 50 search terms of the past 10 years in September. "Paris and Pam routinely jump in and out of the top spot on our Lycos 50 weekly list and Britney Spears is never far behind. But this marks the first time in the history of The Lycos 50 year-end list, that three women make up the top three most-searched terms of the year," Tsouvalas added.
Eminem is the most-searched man of 2005, generating 25 percent more searches than his protege 50 Cent and 36 percent more popular than Usher. Some of the top men who normally appear on the year-end list, are missing this time around. George W. Bush, Orlando Bloom, and Kobe Bryant have been replaced by Brad Pitt, Andy Milonakis and Bow Wow. Due in part to his break-up with Jennifer Aniston and his relationship with Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt makes the top 10 list of most-searched men for the first time ever.
The Simpsons dethrones American Idol this year, taking over as the most-searched television show of 2005. Search interest in American Idol dropped 63 percent compared to this time last year. Former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson sees the biggest jump in search interest over the past year, although shy of making the top 10 women list.
Hurricane Katrina is the most-searched news event of 2005, edging out the Tsunami which came in at number 15 on the overall list. This marks the first time since 2001 that a news event makes the top 10 list of most popular search terms. This also marks the first time in three years that the War in Iraq did not generate enough search interest to make it the number one news event of the year with web users. "Search activity for the Iraq War has dropped 90 percent over the past year," Tsouvalas said. "Searches for President George W. Bush also decreased 82 percent, with the president dropping from number 81 in 2004, to number 359 this year, generating less interest online than Scooby-Doo."
The Ones to Watch in 2006: The following terms had strong showings in 2005. Based on growing search queries, The Lycos 50 predicts these are the ones to watch in 2006: Bird flu or Avian flu...Reggae rapper Daddy Yankee...Reggaeton music fad... singer Ciara...the 2006 movies already generating buzz online are all based on comic books including, Superman Returns, starring the relatively unknown, Brandon Routh...Ghost Rider, starring Nicholas Cage...and X-Men 3...Recycle craze, Freecycle...video game Kingdom Hearts 2...singers Pharrell Williams and Natasha Bedingfield...Rap group Threesix Mafia...rapper Young Jeezy...golf phenomenon Natalie Gulbis...and teen TV drama, Degrassi, The Next Generation.
| Top 10 Women of 2005: | |||
| 1) | Paris Hilton | 6) | Tara Reid |
| 2) | Pamela Anderson | 7) | Angelina Jolie |
| 3) | Britney Spears | 8) | Lindsay Lohan |
| 4) | Jennifer Lopez | 9) | Carmen Electra |
| 5) | Brooke Burke | 10) | Hilary Duff |
| Top 10 Men of 2005: | |||
| 1) | Eminem | 6) | Andy Milonakis |
| 2) | 50 Cent | 7) | Howard Stern |
| 3) | Tupac Shakur | 8) | Michael Jackson |
| 4) | Usher | 9) | Bow Wow |
| 5) | Clay Aiken | 10) | Brad Pitt |
| Top 10 Bands of 2005: | |||
| 1) | Green Day | 6) | U2 |
| 2) | Slipknot | 7) | Good Charlotte |
| 3) | Metallica | 8) | My Chemical Romance |
| 4) | Linkin Park | 9) | Fall Out Boy |
| 5) | The Beatles | 10) | Pretty Ricky |
| Top 10 Films of 2005: | |||
| 1) | Harry Potter & Goblet of Fire | 6) | Fantastic Four |
| 2) | Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith | 7) | Exorcism of Emily Rose |
| 3) | Batman Begins | 8) | Sin City |
| 4) | Dukes of Hazzard | 9) | Constantine |
| 5) | Charlie & the Chocolate Factory | 10) | Hitch |
| Top News Stories of 2005: | |||
| 1) | Hurricane Katrina | 6) | September 11th |
| 2) | Tsunami | 7) | Pope John Paul II |
| 3) | War in Iraq | 8) | Peter Jennings |
| 4) | Petra Nemcova | 9) | Rosa Parks |
| 5) | Hurricane Rita | 10) | Gas Prices |
| Top Fads of 2005: | |||
| 1) | Poker | 6) | Yoga |
| 2) | iPod | 7) | Rate Your Professor |
| 3) | RuneScape | 8) | Texas Hold 'Em |
| 4) | Blackjack | 9) | Freecycle |
| 5) | Free Credit Report | 10) | Crochet |
| Top Television Shows of 2005: | |||
| 1) | The Simpsons | 6) | South Park |
| 2) | Teen Titans | 7) | Lost |
| 3) | American Idol | 8) | Family Guy |
| 4) | Smallville | 9) | Survivor |
| 5) | Big Brother | 10) | Charmed |
| Top 10 Sports Stars of 2005: | |||
| 1) | Anna Kournikova | 6) | Danica Patrick |
| 2) | Serena Williams | 7) | Michael Jordan |
| 3) | Maria Sharapova | 8) | Martina Hingis |
| 4) | Candice Michell | 9) | David Beckham |
| 5) | John Cena | 10) | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Lycos, Inc. operates search and technology web sites that foster online communities, including the new Lycos Cinema community, bringing people together one flick at a time. Other Lycos products and sites include Lycos.com,Hotbot.com, Tripod.com, Angelfire.com, Gamesville.com, Lycos Mail, WhoWhere.com, and The Lycos 50™. Lycos, Inc. (www.lycos.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Daum Communications Corp., a leading Internet portal and e-commerce destination in Korea with a growing presence throughout the Asian markets. Lycos was acquired by Korean Daum Communications Corp. in October 2004 and has its U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. Daum Communications Corp. is traded on the KOSDAQ: 035720, www.daum.net
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©2008 Lycos, Inc. Lycos® is a registered trademark of Lycos, Inc. All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of Daum Communications Corp., Lycos, Inc. or their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Edward Noel
Vice President of Search, Sales and Business Development
LYCOS, Inc.
100 Fifth Avenue
Waltham, MA 02451
phone: 781-370-2852
edward.noel@lycos-inc.com
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