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Who? What? When? Where? How? Why? Ask.com Unveils the Top Questions of 2009 Ask.com®, for questions and answers online and an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ:IACI) , today announced its top questions of 2009, as told through the billions of questions asked by millions of Americans on Ask.com this year. The full list of Top 2009 Questions is available on Ask.com. More than 50 million people visit Ask each month, where they are three times more likely to enter their queries in the form of a question than on other search engines. (According to comScore, Oct, 2009) Additionally, queries in the form of a question on Ask have grown year-over-year and sequentially. "The top questions of 2009 reveal a portrait of Americans determined to improve their financial and personal health, strengthen their relationship and parenting skills, and learn from the modern-day heroes who emerged this year," said Doug Leeds, President of Ask.com US. "Our research shows that when consumers type a question into the search box, they want a direct and immediate answer, versus when they search by keywords, they're more likely to be exploring information options. As such, Ask has unique insight into Americans' attitudes about current events and their culture." According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly 40% of all Americans are overweight, so it's not surprising that the most-asked question of 2009 was "How much should I weigh?" followed closely by "How do I get out of debt fast?" - a reflection of the all-time highs of credit card and mortgage debt in 2009, worsened by the steadily rising unemployment rate. Ask.com's Top Questions of 2009:
Consumers are taking a pass on the expensive, all-inclusive gym memberships and turning to the Internet as their personal trainer. Top Fitness Questions:
Reflecting the economic wake-up call the world has received over the past two years, Americans sought to resolve their financial woes and improve their financial acumen in 2009. Top Personal Finance Questions:
Twitter wasn't the only technology that consumers sought to understand in 2009, as Americans are still seeking to understand Internet basics. Top Technology Questions:
No doubt about it; consumers want to know the latest gossip on their favorite celebrity personalities. While some of the Top Celebrity Rumors of 2009 proved to be nothing more than sensational tabloid headlines, others proved to be true. Top Celebrity Rumors of 2009:
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Dictionary.com Reveals Its Top Searched Words of 2009 Users receive a grammar lesson while searching for the difference between "affect" and "effect"; Synonyms for "greedy" on the rise Dictionary.com, one of the leading online dictionary and a service of Ask.com, an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI) , revealed today its top searched words of 2009. These lists are based on the actual searches of more than 43 million people a month who use Dictionary.com to help them communicate more effectively. Users accessed word definitions, synonyms, antonyms, spelling suggestions, example sentences and audio pronunciation through Dictionary.com's website and mobile iPhone and BlackBerry applications. |
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Insights and Trends Last year's top searched words Bush, maverick, and liberal fell completely off the list as attention diverged from the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Politics aren't completely off Americans' minds, though. Socialism remained popular for the second year in a row. In the midst of the Bernie Madoff financial scandal, AIG's collapse and numerous bank failures, it's no surprise that esurient, a synonym for greedy, experienced the greatest growth in popularity with an 831 percent increase. However, Dictionary.com users are feeling less cynical as evident by a 17 percent drop in search popularity for that word. Meanwhile, despite being the most misspelled word of the year, perseverance is the best way to describe the current attitude of Dictionary.com users. While it's everyone's prerogative to check their spellings with Dictionary.com, people can't be "pretentious" if they misspell the word. That mistake might leave them embarrassed. Some things never change. Knowing when to use affect vs. effect continues to stump English speakers. "Dictionary.com's top searched words of the year clearly illustrate the everyday value of our service in helping people communicate smarter and more effectively," said David Wygant, Senior Director of Products and Programming. "With more than 43 million users relying on Dictionary.com per month, our end-of-year lists serve as a barometer of the prevailing attitudes and sentiments of people throughout 2009." Dictionary.com is a leading provider of language reference products and services on the Internet and an affiliate of Ask.com, a leading search engine website. Both are wholly-owned subsidiaries of IAC (NASDAQ:IACI) . Dictionary.com, LLC, which includes Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com, serves an average of 43 million unique worldwide users per month (source: 2009 Quantcast data). Web Site: http://www.dictionary.com Ask.com is an operating business of IAC. The Ask Network of sites is the 6th largest Internet property in the U.S., with 88 million domestic unique monthly users, according to October 2009 comScore data. Ask.com syndicates its search technology and advertising solutions to a network of affiliate partners. Source: Web Site: http://www.ask.com OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ |
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