Do Not Call Harry Potter?

July 2, 2003

Searchers using Lycos were determined to halt telemarketing calls, while those using Yahoo! were looking for details on a new book release. The top search term was only one of the many differences found between The Lycos 50 for the week ending June 28, 2003 and the Yahoo! Buzz Index for the week June 29, 2003.

The “Federal Do Not Call List” claimed the top spot on Lycos, while “Harry Potter” — #2 on Lycos — dominated the Yahoo! list. The ever-popular “KaZaA” landed at #2 on the Yahoo! Index and #4 on Lycos. The only other common denominator among the top ten spots of the two lists was “Britney Spears” — #7 on Lycos and #8 on Yahoo!

According to Lycos, Donotcall.gov was twice as popular as Harry Potter, even though the service wasn’t introduced until Friday. For just those two days, Friday and Saturday, Donotcall.gov was a remarkable 15 times more popular than Harry Potter.

Measurements from Nielsen//NetRatings indicate that Donotcall.gov drew more than 3.4 million unique visitors at work on its launch date, and continued its strong performance during the weekend garnering 2.1 million and 2.9 million at home surfers on Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th, respectively.

“The one day growth in site traffic for Donotcall.gov was unprecedented,” said Patrick Thomas, senior Internet analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings. “The Internet makes this streamlined process a possibility, allowing the government to easily collect the information of those opting in, and relay that to telemarketing companies. This registry gives the power back to the consumer.”

Exclusively in the top ten of the Lycos 50 were the terms: “Clay Aiken” at #3; “Pamela Anderson” at #5; “Dragonball” at #6; “Las Vegas” at #8; “Atkins Diet” at #9; and “Brooke Burke” at #10.

The Yahoo! Buzz Index claimed a few terms for its own too, most notably, music artists: “PlayStation2” #11; “Sean Paul” #14; “Bow Wow” #15; “Ashanti” #17; “KaZaA Lite” #18; and “R. Kelly” #20.

Some new arrivals to the Lycos list include: “Wimbledon,” “Titone-Sandler Wedding,” “NBA Draft,” “Demi Moore,” “air conditioners,” “fireworks,” and “Orange County Choppers.”

Lycos 50 for the week ending June 28, 2003
Current Position	Search Term	Last Week’s Position
1	Federal Do Not Call List	New
2	Harry Potter	1
3	Clay Aiken	2
4	KaZaA	3
5	Pamela Anderson	4
6	Dragonball	5
7	Britney Spears	7
8	Las Vegas	8
9	Atkins Diet	9
10	Brooke Burke	12
11	NBA	23
12	Baseball	14
13	WWE	11
14	Yu-Gi-Oh!	20
15	Mortgage Rates	25
16	The Matrix: Reloaded	10
17	Powerball	40
18	Wimbledon	Re-entry
19	IRS	15
20	NASCAR	16
21	Jackie Titone	New
22	The Hulk	6
23	Beyonce	28
24	Golf	18
25	Christina Aguilera	19
26	F4/Meteor Garden	24
27	The Bible	17
28	2 Fast 2 Furious	13
29	Oprah Winfrey	42
30	Final Fantasy	30
31	50 Cent	22
32	Eminem	26
33	Neopets	38
34	Jennifer Lopez	23
35	NBA Draft	New
36	Demi Moore	New
37	Air Conditioners	New
38	NFL	41
39	Weight Watchers	46
40	Carmen Electra	37
41	Pokemon	39
42	Anna Kournikova	32
43	Good Charlotte	43
44	Marijuana	33
45	t.A.T.u.	31
46	Barbie	44
47	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	45
48	Fireworks	Re-entry
49	Metallica	36
50	Orange County Choppers	New
Source: Terra Lycos

The Buzz Index for the week ending June 29, 2003
Current Position	Search Term	Last Week’s Position
1	Harry Potter	23
2	Kazaa	3
3	50 Cent	1
4	Beyonce Knowles	8
5	Christina Aguilera	14
6	Hulk	30
7	Eminem	5
8	Britney Spears	10
9	Jennifer Lopez	7
10	WWE	13
11	PlayStation 2	9
12	Neopets	15
13	Metallica	2
14	Sean Paul	12
15	Bow Wow	32
16	NASCAR	19
17	Ashanti	20
18	Kazaa Lite	22
19	Wimbledon	–
20	R. Kelly	18
Source: Yahoo!