StateStatesTile.gifInternet users in states with high illiteracy rates are more likely to search for MySpace, according to a site called StateStats.

Plug a search term into StateStats and it shows how common that search term is in each state relative to the other 49. StateStats colors the states where a search term is common red -- uncommon, blue. This means that for a universally common term, like "iPhone," there are a lot of purple states. There's a more severe contrast between red states and blue states for a term like "Jerry Yang," whose fate seems to interest only New York and California.

StateStats also compares search term popularity with other ways the states are ranked -- by density, percentage of high school graduates in the population and obesity, for example.

When we heard about StateStats, we were curious to see how much the rest of the country shares our obsessions. If you are too, then see the 12 StateStats maps we've embedded below.


Strongest Correlation: Income

Between California and the north east and outside of Colorado, very few people care about Twitter.






JerryYangMap.gifStrongest Correlation: Income

Group M chief executive Rob Norman calls Yahoo CEO "one of the top five jobs in America right now," but no one outside of California seems aware of the guy who just resigned from it.






Strongest Correlation: Violent Crime

The whole country still searches for Yahoo and that's why Norman isn't wrong.






GoogleMap.gifStrongest Correlation: None

But Yahoo isn't nearly so universally searched for as Google.







Strongest Correlation: Density.

New York is obsessed with -- and the Dakotas have never heard of -- Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Populous California, Texas and Florida searchers are curious, perhaps driving a correlation with density up.





FacebookMap.gifStrongest Correlation: Density

Good for Zuckerberg -- people in the Midwest and South may never have heard of him, but they search for his company's name.






Strongest Correlation: Illiteracy








iPhoneMap.gifStrongest Correlation: Violent Crime

The iPhone is commonly searched for across the 50 states, but "iPhone" is used as a search term most in the more populous states, perhaps explaining a correlation with violent crime.






Strongest Correlation: Density

Interest in BlackBerry's new touch screen phone in New York and New Jersey far outweighs the rest of the country. Alaska couldn't care less.






BarackObamaMap.gifStrongest Correlation: Density

Who still cares about Barack Obama and the make-up of his administration? Anybody bordering the Mississippi river and east. And Colorado.





TumblrMap.gifStrongest Correlation: Density

New Yorkers search for David Karp's micro-blogging service Tumblr. On the west coast, they've heard of it.







See Also:
Buy Apple Now, Get Company Free In 7 Years (AAPL)

BlackBerry Storm Sales Delayed By Software Glitch? Click Screen A Flop? (RIMM)
PC Magazine Goes Out Of Print

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