Ashley Greene comes in as #11 in the top 20 search phrases.

Wikipedia to the rescue:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Greene

Ashley Michele Greene (born February 21, 1987) is an American actress and model, best known for playing Alice Cullen in the film adaptations of Stephenie Meyer‘s Twilight novels.

Played in the Twilight Saga:

Filmography

But why is trending today?  A look at the news does not provide clues:

www.google.com/search?aq=f&hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&btnmeta_news_search=1&q=Ashley+Greene

Maybe it is the Demi Moore comment on LOL where she calls Ashley Greene ‘Sassy and Saucy’. 

www.twilightish.com/2011/10/demi-moore-talks-ashley-greene-in-lol.html?spref=tw

Most people probably know Demi Moore, and the issues going on with her marriage.  People are probably listening to her.  When Demi says “Ashley Greene”, a lot of people probably do not know Ashley Greene (like me), and therefore went to go search for her.

Teleprompter is #19 on Google Trends list…. how?

Tweeter:

politico POLITICO
Report: A truck carrying President Obama’s podium, teleprompterand audio equipment was stolen in Richmond, Va.: politi.co/oUbXby

washingtonpost The Washington Post
Remember Obama’s stolen teleprompter and podium? Yeah, so do comedians wapo.st/nQN31B

southernlizzie southernlizzie
Conan: Obama Recently Had His Teleprompter Stolen, and You Can Definitely Tell – Teleprompter – Fox Nationnation.foxnews.com/teleprompter/2…

TheWrap TheWrap.com
Conan: Obama Without His TelePrompTer Is Like, Well, This (Video) tinyurl.com/66k4t2c

DaveGraveline Dave Graveline
Obama’s teleprompter was stolen Monday. When asked for comment, the president had absolutely nothing to say.

Searching for teleprompter in Google News produces this result:

Republicans, comedians, and the media start using the word teleprompter, stolen, and Obama in the same sentence, and enough people go to Google to find out what a teleprompter is.   Unless you have done video yourself (very few of us), taken a tour of a television studio, or seen a televised speech live, then it is surprise you may not be familiar with it.  It is kind of interesting that the people who report the news see these teleprompters all the time.  To them, it is probably surprising that so many people are not familiar with them. 

This is one case where the Google trends provides an insight into mass ignorance on what a teleprompter is and their curiosity to find out.

What is a teleprompter?

It is a device the puts words in front of the camera.  The person that is being recorded can read the words while looking directly into the camera, and the audience watching the recording will not see the words.

Here is a YouTube video that explains it:

Mitt Romney is #9, Ron Paul #10, and Newt Gingrich is #17.  It is interesting to see these 3 but not see Rick Perry or Herman Cain on the list..  Is that because people already know about Rick Perry and Herman Cain but want to find out more about Romney, Paul, and Gringrich?  Or does it mean there really is more interest in these three?

Actually, looking at wikipedia, there are quite a few GOP presidential candidates that are missing:

• Michele Bachmann, U.S. Representative from Minnesota^[33][34]
• Herman Cain, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO, former National Restaurant Association CEO, and businessman from Georgia^[35][36]
• Newt Gingrich, former U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives from Georgia^[37][38]
• Jon Huntsman, Jr., former U.S. Ambassador to China and former Governor of Utah^[39][40]
• Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico^[41][42]
• Ron Paul, U.S. Representative from Texas^[43][44]
• Rick Perry, Governor of Texas^[45][46][47]
• Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts^[48][49][50]
• Rick Santorum, former Senator from Pennsylvania^[51][52][53]

^{Why have these three made it into the Google Trends top 20?}

^{Doing a Google News search for Romney doesn’t suggest much:}

It does probably indicate why Newt made the list.  Apparently at the recent debate there was some interest in the interaction between Romney and Gringrich.

Google News search for Ron Paul does not generate many clues either:

A little bit more about Newt Gingrich in Google News:

Interesting headlines:

Palin: Gingrich won the debate

Go, Newt, Go! Gingrich Super Committee Slam Highlights GOP Fashion …

Newt Gingrich Under Your Mistletoe? Merry Caucus Campaign, Iowa!

Definitely the most advocative results of the three. 

Romney related tweets of interest:

kathygriffin Kathy Griffin
Wow watching @CNN @AndersonCooper host GOP debate.Romney/Perry girl fight reminding me of a "Bad Girls Club" spring break

GlobeMCramer Maria Cramer
Perry v. Romney: The story that started it all: Illegal immigrants toiled for governor – The Boston Globe shar.es/b7feu #WH2012

thinkprogress ThinkProgress
Romney reveals details of Medicare plan: "We’re going to give people vouchers." thkpr.gs/nJggly

stevebenen Steve Benen
Romney last night: "I want to reduce taxes on middle-income families." Problem: he really doesn’t bit.ly/qjDWVe

RonPaul Tweets:

RonPaul Ron Paul
"I say we replace the income tax with NOTHING" #CNNDebate #RonPaul #GOP2012 #tcot #tlot #teaparty #economy

lewrockwell Lew Rockwell
‘Ron’s Best Night’: Writes Todd McAdams: "It was Ron’s best night so far since the "heavyweights"… bit.ly/o9lqh2 #tcot @ronpaul

ketelsen Katie Ketelsen
First political tweet: The more I hear #RonPaul speak the more I like him. ht.ly/72ob4

Gringrich related tweets:

SuPerlative73 Sudan Life |718
…Gringrich & Santorum were not invited to the after debate party festivities… Because they were described as quote…"Not Ballers!"

thesportsexpert Riker Kasamoto
Love reading all these tweets about the #GOP. Gringrich is getting a lot of support and everybody hates Rick Perry.

PullOutKing Money Mitch
Dog there’s no way I would vote for a candidate named "NewtGringrich" naww get’em outta here

tdkelly Tim Kelly
If we have to listen to Newt Gringrich for seven 3-hour debates, the terrorists have already won.

Still not much insight into why these three are suddenly of interest and the other ones are not..

Soulja Boy is #8 in Google Trends.   He is an rapper: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulja_Boy 

Background information

Birth name: DeAndre Cortez Way

Also known as: Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em

Born: July 28, 1990 (age 21) Chicago, Illinois

Origin: Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Genres: Hip hop

Occupation: Rapper

Years active
2007–present

Labels: Stacks on Deck/Interscope

Associated acts:  Arab, Mr. Collipark

Website: thedeandreway.com

Looking at his Wikipedia History:  Lots of edits in October and September.  Only one in August, and lots in previous months as well.

en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soulja_Boy&limit=500&action=history

Jason Campbell is #7 on the Google Trends.  This is another NFL star.  He was playing as the Raider’s quarter back, but he breaks his collarbone, and the Raiders then acquire Carson Palmer.

Now we know that Google Trends #1, #2, #3, and #7 are all related to NFL.

World Series schedule:

Wednesday, October 19th: Game 1 – Rangers @ Cardinals, 8:05 p.m.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Tim McCarver (analyst), Ken Rosenthal (reporter)

Thursday, October 20th: Game 2 – Rangers @ Cardinals, 8:05 p.m.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Tim McCarver (analyst), Ken Rosenthal (reporter)

Saturday, October 22nd: Game 3 – Cardinals @ Rangers, 8:05 p.m.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Tim McCarver (analyst), Ken Rosenthal (reporter)

Sunday, October 23rd: Game 4 – Cardinals @ Rangers, 8:05 p.m.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Tim McCarver (analyst), Ken Rosenthal (reporter)

(Monday, October 24th: Game 5 – Cardinals @ Rangers, 8:05 p.m.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Tim McCarver (analyst), Ken Rosenthal (reporter)

*Wednesday, October 26th: Game 6 – Rangers @ Cardinals, 8:05 p.m.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Tim McCarver (analyst), Ken Rosenthal (reporter)

*Thursday, October 27th: Game 7 – Rangers @ Cardinals, 8:05 p.m.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Tim McCarver (analyst), Ken Rosenthal (reporter)

*if necessary

World Series in the news

#3 on the Google Trends chart is “Ronnie Brown”?  But who is he?

NFL player who was traded for Jerome Harrison.  This is really tied to #2 on the list, Jerome Harrison.  I am sure the numbers are very close between the two:

Mark Paul at Yahoo writes:

The Philadelphia Eagles have already said bye to one of their big offseason acquisitions. Just before the trading deadline on October 19, the Eagles dealt running back Ronnie Brown to the Detroit Lions. In exchange for Brown, the Eagles got back former back Jerome Harrison(notes) and a seventh round pick. As an Eagles fan, the trade is a little disappointing in terms of what the team got back. However, I’m not surprised it happened. Brown has been a major bust since joining the team.

Read rest of article

“Shia Labeouf” is #5 on the Google Trends list. At first, I had no idea if this was a person, place, or something else.  But with 2 seconds of research I see it is the lead character in transformers and that I have seen him act.

IMDB says:

Shia Saide LaBeouf was born June 11, 1986, in Los Angeles, California, to Jeffrey LaBeouf and Shayna Saide, and is an only child. His parents are divorced, and he lives with his mom in Los Angeles. He started his career by doing stand-up comedy around places in his neighborhood, such as coffee clubs… See full bio »

His latest transformer movie came out earlier this year.  But why are people searching for him?  He was involved in a street fight. 

“Man up” is #4 on the Google Trends list.  Why?

“Man Up” is

• “Man Up!” is a new ABC TV show. 
• Third album by the Danish blues-rock group The Blue Van. It was released on October 27, 2008 in Danish music stores and on iTunes under TVT Records.
• Campaign to stop violence against women
• a phrase that means “brave it, be daring.”
• a phrase that means “to fulfill your responsibilities as a man, despite your insecurities and constant ability to place yourself in embarrassing and un-manly scenarios.”
• a phrase that means “to be strong”
• a phrase that means “To work through impediments and obstacles without whining”

(Phrases taken from the Urban Dictionary)

The ABC TV series is probably the idea people have in mind when searching on it. Official website

Of course the CBS news article points out:

Unfortunately, most critics felt that the show’s tried-yet-true genre of men being boys failed to hit a comedic chord. ABC’s new sitcom "Man Up!" only received a 39 out of 100 on ratings aggregate Metacritic, due to what most critics pointed out as an unfunny, overly used premise.

He is trending as #2 at the moment according to Google Trends.

Jerome Harrison is a NFL player.  Born on February 26, 1983 in Kalamazoo Michigan.  He was playing as #36 for the Detroit Lions and is now #33 for the Philadelphia Eagles. He had previously been with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2010 and before that he had played from 2006-2010 for the Cleveland Browns. 

My youngest son has just started to play football.  One question we have been asking ourselves is “What does it take to be a NFL player?”  Not that this is something we are all really interested in, but it is worth noting that to become a good football player requires dedication, practice, and good coaching.

You can see a lot of these changes by comparing the Wikipedia.org article changes from August 10, 2011 with the latest:

en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerome_Harrison&action=historysubmit&diff=456259812&oldid=444105097

It is interesting to see the date and frequencies of the changes to the article:  en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerome_Harrison&action=history

January 2011 – 1 edit

February 2011 – no edits

March 2011 – 1 edit

May 2011 – 1 edit

July 2011 – 3 edits

August 2011 – 8 edits

September 2011 – no edits

October 2011 – 5 edits

If you were following a football player or other sports figure at one point in their career, and you needed to see what changes occurred between the time you last knew them and now, then the Wikipedia.org history feature could be a good way to focus on the changes.  

Also, it would be interesting to see how the frequency in edits is changing across wikipedia articles.  Is there a tool out there that does this?