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Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Out of Date 

There is a new way of knowing whether you are out of date these days. It is to look at the most searched terms for a year and to realize you looked for none of them, or at most one or two out of a hundred. This list is from AOL.

The Intelliseek list of terms is no better although it is closer to what I would search for. Perhaps I am not out of date so much as I am out of touch with pop culture. If that is the case, I shouldn't be worried. I haven't been in touch with the People Magazine view of the world for most of my life.

True confession. Every six months or so, I pick up a copy of People and flip through it to see what millions read. It is a dispiriting commentary on the taste and intelligence of Americans. But, many PR practitioners make their livings by following hot trends and celebrities. One must not be too critical.

I don't think celebrities are of much use. Indeed, they are offensive when working as political hacks, as they were during the last presidential campaign. Nothing makes a celebrity an authority on American values and beliefs. To have them yammer about issues is lousy PR, it seems to me.

Do your own test. How many of the terms did you search for during 2004?

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