Most Web searches for Occupy Wall Street are coming from Vermont

The Cutline

Most Web searches for Occupy Wall Street are originating in the hippie-loving states of Vermont and Oregon, according to a topical analysis of search trends by search giant (and Yahoo competitor) Google. Not only that--the volume of searches on the Wall Street protests have eclipsed the number of searches on the tea party. Here are some other pertinent search-related factoids on the protests:

• Searches for Occupy Wall Street started on Sept 16th & peaked one month later on October 15th.
• New York is tops in searches, right? Wrong. Top 3 states for most "Occupy" searches: Vermont, Oregon, New York.
• Search interest in OWS is higher than the Tea Party. Both currently and in looking at the birth of each.
• Searches for the Tea Party peak each April as Americans begin to file their taxes.

You can read more on Google's Politics and Elections blog.

As far as Yahoo search trends go, New Yorkers have the most interest in Occupy Wall Street, followed by Oregon, Connecticut, Maine and Vermont:

Top States Searching on Occupy Wall Street on Yahoo!:
(30 Days Ending October 26th, 2011)
1. New York
2. Oregon
3. Connecticut
4. Maine
5. Vermont
6. Colorado
7. Pennsylvania
8. Washington
9. Hawaii
10. New Mexico

Analysis of Yahoo search trends echoes Google's assertion that Americans are more interested in learning about Occupy Wall Street than the tea party:

Despite the speed in which the tea party formed, the outreach did take longer. If you compare the first six weeks when searches for the tea party appeared in meaningful numbers on Yahoo! (March through mid April 2009) to the first six weeks of Occupy Wall Street (Mid-August to October 2011), Occupy Wall Street attracted more interest in all but the first week.

Other popular Yahoo! News stories:

• Washington Post defends publishing odd Occupy Oakland photo featuring cop petting kitten
• White House criticizes The New Yorker's 'leading from behind' sourcing
• News International had secret phone for hacking called 'The Hub,' report claims