Google users confirm, Yahoo! better than sex

Category : Yahoo | 3082 views | 2007-02-01 13:22:00

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 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