Web Users Have Spoken: Janet Jackson is the Most-Searched Term for 2004

Web Users Have Spoken: Janet Jackson is the Most-Searched Term for 2004

The Lycos 50(TM) Announces the Most Popular Internet Search Terms of 2004 and the Ones to Watch in 2005

Clay Aiken, Web's Most Wanted Man; American Idol, Top TV Show; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Top Movie; Evanescence, Top Band

War in Iraq, Most-Searched News Event, for Second Straight Year

WALTHAM, Mass., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lycos, Inc. (http://www.lycos.com/), a leading provider of search, community and technology lifestyle destinations and a wholly owned subsidiary of Daum Communications, Corp. (KOSDAQ: 035720), a premier Internet portal in Korea, today announced The Lycos 50's eagerly anticipated annual list of top 50 search terms for the year 2004. The Lycos 50 (http://50.lycos.com/) is a weekly list of the most popular people, places and things Lycos users search for every day. The Lycos 50 2004 year-end list is based on Lycos user searches from January 1, 2004 through November 30, 2004. For a complete list of The Lycos 50 top 50 search terms of 2004, and for in-depth commentary of The Lycos 50 2004 Report, go to http://50.lycos.com/.

The Lycos 50 Top 10 Search Terms for 2004 are:
1) Janet Jackson 6) KaZaA
2) Paris Hilton 7) Tattoos
3) Clay Aiken 8) Pamela Anderson
4) Britney Spears 9) Michelle Vieth
5) Nick Berg 10) Poker



"Janet Jackson held the number one spot on The Lycos 50 for only two weeks this year, but she generated more search activity in those two weeks than any other search topic, making her the most searched topic in the history of The Lycos 50, and easily the top search of 2004," said Dean Tsouvalas, writer of The Lycos 50. "In the first 24 hours following Jackson's now infamous 'wardrobe malfunction,' Janet Jackson and the Super Bowl halftime show received 60 times as many searches as the Paris Hilton sex tape and 80 times as many searches as Britney Spears."

Jackson remained on The Lycos 50 for 14 consecutive weeks until she was finally bumped during the week of May 18, when Nick Berg, the American hostage beheaded by Iraqi militants, and the War in Iraq dominated Web search activity.

Clay Aiken, the most-searched man of 2004, and Paris Hilton, the second most popular woman of 2004, each had more staying power online this year than Jackson. Hilton has appeared on The Lycos 50 for 60 consecutive weeks, and has occupied the number one spot 17 times, while Aiken continues to dominate web search activity, appearing 81 consecutive weeks on The Lycos 50, landing at number one eight times. Search activity for Aiken has increased more than 150 percent over last year.

"The War in Iraq is the most-searched news event of 2004, just as it was in 2003," Tsouvalas added. "Searches for the war spiked several times during the year, particularly after the controversial photographs of Iraqi prisoners of war in the Abu Ghraib prison surfaced, and after the beheadings of Nick Berg and Paul Johnson were shown online. But over the past several weeks, the war-related searches have shifted. In addition to searching for photos and videos, web users are also searching for news about the upcoming elections in Iraq and the psychological impact of the war."

Making its first-ever appearance on the top 10 list of most-searched terms for the year, and the number one fad of 2004, is poker. "We're seeing less emphasis on video games and more focus on some of the old fads that are new again," Tsouvalas added. "There are several new fads that made this year's list like crochet and scrap booking and DIY, do it yourself. Politics also drove attention to some of the satirical sites like JibJab, and the newer diets like Green Tea for Weight loss also had a big impact with web users. The Lycos 50 predicted the green tea diet would be hot earlier this year."

Some of the top men and top women who normally appear on the year-end list, are missing this time around. Nelly, 50 Cent and Justin Timberlake are replaced in this year's top men's list by Usher, Howard Stern and George W. Bush. This is also marks the first year Ana Kournikova did not make the top women's list, although she continues to be the most-searched athlete. The new tennis diva appears to be Maria Sharapova, whose search activity increased more than 350 percent over last year. Jag and Friends made their first-ever appearances on this year's top TV shows list, while American Idol is the top television show for the second straight year.

Three of The Lycos 50 predictions of "ones to watch" in 2004 were right on target including the huge popularity of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, as well as this year's most-searched band, Evanescence.

The Ones to Watch in 2005:

The following people, television shows, films and games had strong showings in 2004. Based on growing search queries, The Lycos 50 predicts these are the ones to watch in 2005: Maria Menounos, weekend host of Entertainment Tonight with a recurring role on the WB's One Tree Hill ... Bam Margera, 23-year-old skateboarding pro and star of MTV's Viva La Bam ... Joss Stone, 17-year-old English soul crooner ... Country music singer Gretchen Wilson ... UK Soccer heartthrob Cristiano Ronaldo ... The film Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale as the young Batman ... Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, featuring web darling Johnny Depp as the infamous Willy Wonka, while the Oompa Loompas from the upcoming film will be the Halloween costume of choice in 2005 ... City of Heroes, massive multiplayer game ... Teen Titans on the Cartoon Network and WB Kids.

Top 10 Women of 2004:
1) Janet Jackson 6) Brooke Burke
2) Paris Hilton 7) Hilary Duff
3) Britney Spears 8) Catherine Bosley
4) Pamela Anderson 9) Jennifer Lopez
5) Michelle Vieth 10) Anna Nicole Smith

Top 10 Men of 2004:
1) Clay Aiken 6) George W. Bush
2) Nick Berg 7) Tupac Shakur
3) Usher 8) Orlando Bloom
4) Howard Stern 9) John Kerry
5) Eminem 10) Kobe Bryant

Top 10 Bands of 2004:
1) Evanescence 6) Good Charlotte
2) Linkin Park 7) The Beatles
3) Slipknot 8) Blink 182
4) Tool 9) Incubus
5) Metallica 10) G-Unit

Top 10 Films of 2004:
1) Harry Potter, Prisoner of Azkaban 6) The Girl Next Door
2) Lord of the Rings, Return of the King 7) Shrek 2
3) Star Wars 3, Revenge of the Sith 8) Van Helsing
4) Spider-Man 2 9) Troy
5) The Passion of the Christ 10) Kill Bill 2

Top News Stories of 2004:
1) The War in Iraq 6) Tour de France
2) Super Bowl XXXVIII 7) Federal Do Not Call List
3) 2004 Olympics 8) Stem Cell Research
4) Mars Rover 9) Hurricane Ivan
5) U.S. Election 2004 10) Mount Saint Helen's

Top Fads of 2004:
1) Poker 6) Scrapbooking
2) Atkins Diet 7) Crochet
3) South Beach Diet 8) DIY -- Do it Yourself
4) Green Tea & Weight loss 9) JibJab
5) Yu-Gi-Oh! 10) Zone Diet

Top Television Shows of 2004:
1) American Idol 6) Charmed
2) Survivor 7) Buffy the Vampire Slayer
3) The Simpsons 8) Friends
4) Big Brother 9) JAG
5) South Park 10) Smallville

Top 10 Sports Stars of 2004:
1) Anna Kournikova 6) Michael Jordan
2) Kobe Bryant 7) David Beckham
3) Maria Sharapova 8) Amanda Beard
4) Serena Williams 9) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5) Amy Acuff 10) Allen Iverson

About Lycos, Inc.


Lycos, Inc. (http://www.lycos.com/) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Daum Communications Corp., a leading Internet portal and e-commerce destination in Korea with a growing presence throughout the Asian markets. Lycos, Inc. creates and operates search, community and technology lifestyle sites including Lycos.com, Hotbot.com, Wired.com, Tripod.com, Angelfire.com and Quote.com. Other Lycos products and sites include Lycos Mail, Gamesville and GetRelevant. Lycos was acquired by Korean Daum Communications Corp. in October 2004 and has its U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. Daum Communications Corp. is traded on the KOSDAQ: 035720, http://www.daum.net/.

Lycos(R) is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon University. All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of Daum Communications Corp., Lycos, Inc. or their respective owners. All rights reserved.


Source: Lycos, Inc.

CONTACT: Kathy O'Reilly of Lycos, Inc., +1-781-370-3454,
Kathy.O'Reilly@lycos-inc.com

Web site: http://www.lycos.com/


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