During the two years that we have been tracking Internet searches, some subjects have proven to be regular denizens of the Lycos 50. Some you surely know, such as Britney Spears, tattoos, and the WWF, three of the eight subjects that have been on the list every single week.
Other subjects, however, once regulars on the Lycos 50, have faded off the list entirely. Here are some of the subjects that once ruled the Internet, only to see their popularity fall.
Interest in anime, or Japanese cartoons, seems to have died down in the past few months. Yes, Dragonball is still the unchallenged ruler of Internet searches, and Pokemon has recently rebounded with the release of Pokemon Crystal. But other anime programs have fallen from Lycos 50 consideration.
Gundam Wing, for example, spent 41 weeks on the list and peaked at #8. Sailor Moon spent 67 weeks on the Lycos 50 and peaked at #14. Neither topic has been on the list, however, since January.
One year ago, Sailor Moon and Gundam Wing were #24 and #25 on the Lycos 50. Since then, queries for them have fallen 42 percent and 54 percent, respectively.
Another group of topics who have seen a big plunge are hard rock bands. Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Metallica have each spent over 40 weeks on the Lycos 50, but all have faded in recent weeks.
Metallica has fallen 80 percent since a year ago. Limp Bizkit and Korn have each fallen 90 percent. These used to be the three top rock bands on Lycos; right now, Metallica is #5, Limp Bizkit is #8, and Korn is #17, behind such bands as Weezer and Alien Ant Farm. Yikes.
Some topics that used to make regular appearances on the Lycos 50 are still hugely popular on a week-to-week basis. The TV series South Park and singer Christina Aguilera are good examples of this. While neither has made the Lycos 50 for the last few weeks, both subjects fall between #51 and #70 on a consistent basis.
Finally, no discussion of faded subjects would be complete without last year's two Presidential candidates. During 2000, Al Gore and George W. Bush each spent 13 weeks on the list, with Bush getting three more weeks in early 2001.
How things have changed. George W. Bush, despite being the current President and being in the news every day, gets less than one-quarter of the search number that would be needed to put him on the Lycos 50.
Al Gore, meanwhile, is now a man of constant sorrow. Far below the Lycos 50, he got as many searches last week as the Soggy Bottom Boys, the band from O Brother, Where Art Thou?
TOMORROW: The new Lycos 50.
