"Ken Jennings" Yahoo Searches Skyrocketed 318%

By Rich Ord - Fri, 12/03/2004 - 11:03

When super smart Ken Jennings finally answered wrong on Jeopardy Yahoo search results for his name shot up 318%.

Molly McCall, Yahoo! Buzz Index Editor, comments in the Yahoo search blog ...

"... Searches on "Ken Jennings" skyrocketed 318% on the news. Even "Ken Jeopardy" jumped in search, suggesting the perfect name change for the recordholder. Jeopardy-watchers went hunting for H&R Block (+132%) (the correct answer), FedEx (+194%) (the incorrect answer), and Nancy Zerg (who dethroned the ruler). The moment Jennings gave that sly, sideways smile, we knew he was sunk. In the weeks before, we'd seen gloomy searches on "Ken Jennings loses" and "Ken Jennings lost." Why never a "Ken Jennings winner"? Yes, the 74-game run is over, but the elfin wunderkind walked away with more than $2.5 million."

Rich Ord is the CEO of iEntry, Inc. which publishes over 200 websites and email newsletters. Rich also publishes his blog WebProBlog which focuses on internet business and marketing trends.