David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Nick Clegg

I have so little to say about this graph. As the cliché goes, it speaks for itself. Nick Clegg's rise in approval is mirrored by a rise in Google searches - makes sense, since he's the 'dark horse' here, coming from behind. But it's easy to understand his appeal now, based on how much rust has collected on the Labour and Conservative brands. Sometimes shiny and new is attractive.

This is a dynamic chart that changes over time. And as I'm writing this several days before it posts, even I don't know what it'll look like when it publishes. Will Clegg still be sky high? Or will it be a temporary spike?

Oh, and how cool is it that the three colours Google Insight chooses for its first three earch items complements the political scene in the UK so well?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Brown, Cameron or Clegg: Who Wins the Google Personal Branding Vote? (seoptimise.com)
• Nick Clegg for PM! Or at least a snog! (newstatesman.com)
• Hague and Clegg 'differ' on Iraq (bbc.co.uk)
• 12 Things To Look Out For Tonight (iaindale.blogspot.com)

FOX News, CNN, MSNBC

It would appear that in the USA, among the other millions of things that oughtn't to be political but for some reason are... we have news channels. You often hear rhetoric that FOX News has a conservative bent, but you less often hear the claim that MSNBC has a liberal bent. Or that CNN is allegedly somewhere in the middle.

Well, it is certainly true that CNN is way more popular than the other two. But let's check which states Google them the most, and let's compare that to voting trends from the last election.

FOX NEWS:

1. Alabama: McCain 61%, Obama 39%
2. Missouri: McCain 50%, Obama 49%
3. Georgia: McCain 52%, Obama 47%
4. Texas: McCain 55%, Obama 44%
5. Mississippi: McCain 56%, Obama 43%
6. Tennessee: McCain 57%, Obama 42%
7. Ohio: Obama 52%, McCain 47%
8. North Carolina: Obama 50%, McCain 49%
9. South Carolina: McCain 54%, Obama 45%
10. Arkansas: McCain 59%, Obama 39%

MSNBC:

1. Maine: Obama 58%, McCain 40%
2. Rhode Island: Obama 63%, McCain 35%
3. New Mexico: Obama 57%, McCain 42%
4. District of Columbia: Obama 93%, McCain 7%
5. Pennsylvania: Obama 55%, McCain 44%
6. New York: Obama 63%, McCain 36%
7. Maryland: Obama 62%, McCain 37%
8. Alaska: McCain 60%, Obama 38%
9. Ohio: Obama 52%, McCain 47%
10. Missouri: McCain 50%, Obama 49%

CNN:

1. Georgia: McCain 52%, Obama 47%
2. District of Columbia: Obama 93%, McCain 7%
3. New York: Obama 63%, McCain 36%
4. North Carolina: Obama 50%, McCain 49%
5. Maryland: Obama 62%, McCain 37%
6. Texas: McCain 55%, Obama 44%
7. Florida: Obama 51%, McCain 48%
8. Minnesota: Obama 54%, McCain 44%
9. Illinois: Obama 62%, McCain 37%
10. Ohio: Obama 52%, McCain 47% 

Well, those are pretty conclusive results. 8 of the top ten FOX News Googling (not watching) states are 'red states', 8 of the top ten MSNBC Googlers are 'blue states'. Interesting that 8 of the 10 are 'blue' for CNN too - note that #1, Georgia, is red, but note also that CNN is centred in Georgia. CNN Googlers are very much concentrated on the Atlantic Coast, and the vast majority of them are on the top ten of one of the other networks too. Ohio, the newshounds, are on the top ten of all three.

Related articles by Zemanta

• McCain Spokesman Told Off On All Networks [Flackery] (gawker.com)
• Pieces Fall In Place For Obama [Gawker Decision Desk] (gawker.com)
• Stewart Tackles Arizona Immigration Law, Mocks McCain & Fox News (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)
• McCain, DeMint add to Steele's troubles (washingtonmonthly.com)