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10.11.07
Check Out Windows Live Celebrity Search
 By
Nathan Weinberg
No one seems to be writing about this, so take a look at Windows Live Search for Celebrities.
If you search for many famous people, a Smart Answer will list their xRank at the top of the page. The xRank determines how much buzz the person currently has, based on searches. Click on it, and you discover a whole seperate Windows Live service with information on the top celebrities.
Check out the results page for the current #1, Britney Spears:
As you can see, Britney was fluctuating up and down the top ten the last six months, but has firmly held the top position since her early September MTV awards performance. The page includes news results on that celebrity, pictures of related celebrities (like Madonna, Christina, Justin Timberlake), and a link to reveal a biography (from MSN Music or a similarly appropriate service).
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It's interesting to note celebrities like #2 Jennifer Lopez, who were in the 80s in June but have shot up on a new album and pregnancy rumors, or Anna Nicole Smith, who was top 5 in May, but #90 right now.
Meanwhile, Kenny G is holding firmly at #6368.
The celebrities losing their buzz the fastest right now include Mila Kunis, Margaret Cho, K.D. Lang, Macaulay Culkin, Tom Sizemore, Fred Savage, Nick Nolte, Jane Seymour and John Lennon.
You can see the charting on a big scandal or news story involving a celebrity, like Chris Benoit:
Ultimately, Microsoft's created a fun little site here that could prove very popular if they make it more discoverable for users. Add a few things, like Google Finance-type charts (with news flags and better historical tracking) and people could get obsessed with seeing the rise and fall of top celebs. Celebrity news and gossip are among the most popular topics on the internet, and if Microsoft can better tap into that, it could pay off nicely for them.
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About the Author:
Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.
Visit the InsideGoogle blog.
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