Just found a service called ZocDoc.  Put in a location, search for doctors, see available appointments, and schedule an appointment.  It looks really great.

How does it work?

click on: the icon on the top part of the browser:

And down pops a list retrieved from Google Trends:

www.google.com/trends/hottrends/

Where to get it?

chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ajdcedppjhiaombmhffpjnamlicfkpfj

On November 6th residents of the US will need to set their clocks 1 hour back.  Why are people searching for this today?

Let’s take a look at the news:

www.google.com/search?aq=0z&hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&btnmeta_news_search=1&q=daylight+savings+2011

Why is it on the top 20 list?  Bridget over at Twirlit.com says:

Are you starting to get that niggling feeling that it’s time to “fall back” and you can’t remember when?  Beginning to suspect you’ll show up to work one monday and realize you’re an hour early?  Dying to know when you get that extra hour of sleep you start counting down to somewhere around July?

You’re not alone… googling, “Daylight Saving’s Time” has become something of a national hobby.

Read rest of the article

Yes it is getting darker quicker.  And you are going to have to wait until November to see the time change.

Actually it should be, where is Zanesville.  The answer is in Ohio.  Why are people searching for it?  Well, some exotic animals (wolf, grizzly bear, mountain lion, and others) were left out loose.   How often do you see this?

Google News:

www.google.com/search?gcx=w&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=znesville#hl=en&sa=X&ei=uR6fTvuWC-P0sQL7vfX0CQ&ved=0CCsQvwUoAQ&q=zanesville&spell=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=a7d5b7030ebfa2c5&biw=1280&bih=963

This is one of those local news stories that grab national attention.  If you were a blogger or a news site in Zanesville and you wrote a blog post about this today, then you could be the center of national attention.  You could have links to your site from many national sites, and you would have more traffic than you know what to do with.

A friend of mine has a Real Estate site, and he wrote an article about a local plane crash.  He was one of the only sources for information about this.  If you have a local event happen, you might want to piggyback on it by posting a little information about it.

Baseball player: (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._J._Wilson)  Christopher John "C. J." Wilson (born November 18, 1980, in Newport Beach, California) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.

Looking at the Wikipedia History, you get a sense for what has changed: en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=C._J._Wilson&action=historysubmit&diff=456257096&oldid=453821496

Google News: www.google.com/search?aq=f&hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&btnmeta_news_search=1&q=cj+wilson

Twitter: twitter.com/#!/search/cj%20wilson

Violetatrmgv Violeta Lambey
CJ Wilson is the coolest guy at the World Series bit.ly/pMmxSr cjwilson

TylerKepner Tyler Kepner
You’re CJ Wilson. You’re 17, working at the mall, and you see Jim Palmer. What do you do? @davidwaldstein tells us. bit.ly/rgL5FM

januaranas januar anas
bit.ly/q5d94n CJ Wilson Gets the Opportunity to Show that He is an Ace: Fan’s View

Wow!  Rocksmith is like GitarHero but with a real Gitar?  Looks really cool:

worthplaying.com/article/2011/10/19/reviews/83789/

Learning how to play a musical instrument can be a challenging task, so when Ubisoft announced it was making a game that used an actual electric guitar as a controller, there were plenty of skeptics, including us. In order to put Rocksmith through its paces, we decided to have someone with zero guitar experience (outside of the plastic Rock Band variety) give the game a go. While it has a few rough edges as a game, Rocksmith is a surprisingly fun way to learn how to play.

This is probably a follow on to the Google Ice cream sandwich.  Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus is going to include a barometer.  And a lot of people were wondering why that is a good thing.

Tweets:

Gizmodo Gizmodo
The ace up Android’s sleeve might be… a barometer?gizmodo.com/5851288/why-th…

Symbiantweet Symbian Tweet
RT @pocketnowTweets: What Can You Do With a Barometer on a Smartphone? pocketnow.com/android/what-c…

rewiredinc The Re-Wired Group
The new Android phone has a barometer. Crowdsourced weather prediction? Not likely, here’s why: ow.ly/72une

What is a Barometer?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer

A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. It can measure the pressure exerted by the atmosphere by using water, air, or mercury. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Numerous measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis to help find surface troughs, high pressure systems, and frontal boundaries.

I wonder if some people thought it might be a bar-o-meter instead of a bar-om-e-ter.  Like a meter to measure bars.  I’m sure there is an app for that.

Coming is the #20th most search thing on Google from the USA, we have “Google Ice Cream Sandwich”.  This is Google’s latest version of Android.  It was just released.  It is the only pure technology item on the list of top 20.  Of course we do have barometer and teleprompter, but the search for those was really prompted by something else. 

Google News:

www.google.com/search?gcx=w&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=google+ice+cream+sandwich

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: