Google has a fabulous new(-ish) tool called Correlate where you can draw lines on an empty graph and Google will try to find search trends that match. You can find some really interesting curves by dicking around this way. For example, searches for "how to write a resume for a job" go through the roof from 2008 to today. Also, it turns out that people tend to google "work out equipment" around the holiday season. [more inside]
posted by Zero Gravitas on Sep 2, 2011 - 49 comments

Google Trends now includes chart information about what people are listening to while using Google Talk. Some genres have questionable entries, but it's still fascinating for chart followers. Mind you, I don't remember signing off on sharing that information when I got the new version of Google Talk...
posted by beaucoupkevin on Oct 10, 2006 - 25 comments

Google Trends is really cool. Yes, it's yet another google project, but you can compare so much pointless stuff with it!
posted by blacklite on May 10, 2006 - 122 comments

Google Zeitgeist charts the popularity of certain search queries on Google (via Slashdot). Of course, it'd be more interesting to track your own keywords, and you can. I stumbled across this partially hidden Google feature last night. (More inside...)
posted by waxpancake on Jul 6, 2001 - 23 comments