Memorial Day, Star Trek and President Obama topped Nielsen’s monthly index of most blogged news stories for May 2009, according to the just released top 10 most-blogged topics report.
Conversations about Memorial Day ranged from the hottest retail sales during the holiday to plans for the weekend. So what were bloggers doing? Maybe they were at the movies. Two of the top 10 topics in May were the new movie releases, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation.

Political figures were also widely discussed in May, with Barack Obama being the No. 3 most …

Swine Flu, Easter, and Somali Pirates topped Nielsen’s monthly index of most blogged news stories for April 2009, according to Nielsen’s just released top 10 most-blogged topics report.
“Understanding what is currently important to bloggers is essential to marketers since we know that highly blogged about topics are important indicators of conversational sustainability and impact,” said Pete Blackshaw, executive vice president, digital strategic services, Nielsen Online. “Moreover, those topics with high blog links tend to embed themselves prominently in search results.”
Top 10 Blogged Topics, April 2009

RANK
NAME

1
Flu Outbreak

2
Easter

3
Somali Pirates

4
2009 NFL …

While gas prices in the U.S. have fallen by nearly half since May 2008, online interest in hybrid vehicles remains strong. The new 2010 Honda Insight was just released in March and is generating online interest from a younger audience than the Prius. The demographic composition of a hybrid shopper is moving closer to the mainstream vehicle shopper’s profile.
Some insights on the Insight
The 2010 Honda Insight is having a tough time breaking out of the Prius’ shadow as the majority of consumers often compare the two vehicles. However, …

The Conficker computer virus, which has been infecting computers since late 2008 and threatens to impact PCs starting April 1, is getting big buzz in the blogosphere. In the last week, buzz has grown so much that it recently eclipsed chatter for another web hot topic, March Madness and the NCAA Championships. While viruses often spread thanks to mass misinformation on the web (and dubious emails), could the abundance of this computer bug buzz be acting as an early viral warning for PC users?
Recent Buzz On Conficker Vs. March Madness

Spring …

By Julie Enzweiler, Nielsen Online
The automotive industry has witnessed an extremely volatile and game-changing 2008. With Ford, BMW, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen leading the way, here is a look at the top 25 automotive brands that consumers discussed online in 2008 relative to all online discussion.

Barack Obama’s historic election victory set bloggers abuzz.
In the wake of winning the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Obama was mentioned in almost 20% of all blog discussions, Nielsen Online reported Wednesday.
In comparison, John McCain was referenced by just 6.3% of all blog entries posted on November 5, according to Nielsen.

Amid an extraordinarily media-driven presidential campaign, the Internet has loomed large, influencing everything from fundraising to fact-checking.
Nielsen Online recently analyzed the online presidential campaign, examining online advertising by the candidates, Web traffic and online video viewing at both campaign’s sites, and blog buzz related to the election.

Online Advertising
Senator Barack Obama’s campaign ramped up its online advertising in mid-September. Image-based ad impressions by the Obama campaign grew 202% from September 15 to 22 — and by another 94% by September 29.
In mid-October, Obama’s campaign also stepped up its sponsored link advertising, …

Online buzz surrounding Senators Barack Obama and John McCain remained strong during the three presidential debates in September and October, but voters’ engagement in the debate TV broadcasts declined significantly after the first debate, according to an analysis released Tuesday by Nielsen IAG and Nielsen Online.
“Engagement” refers to the amount of attention paid to a television program by the average viewer.  Nielsen measures TV engagement by questioning a representative panel of viewers about their recall of specific telecasts’ content.
Online consumer discussion of both candidates spiked before and after each of the four …

Television audiences for four U.S. news networks spiked Monday afternoon after the House of Representatives voted to defeat Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s Wall Street bailout bill, Nielsen reported Wednesday. 
During the 2pm to 3pm (EST) daypart on Monday, the combined audiences for CNN, CNBC, FOX News, and MSNBC jumped by 71% over the average daily audience for that daypart between Sept. 1 and Sept. 28, according to Nielsen.  The 3pm to 4pm daypart saw an even larger jump (103%) over the average audience for the prior portion of September. 

Daypart
CNN, CNBC, FOX News, and MSNBC Combined TV Audience:
Sept. 1 – 28
(in 000s)
CNN, CNBC, FOX …

For their respective nomination speeches at the conventions, Senator Barack Obama drew 38.3 million TV viewers compared to 37.2 million for Governor Sarah Palin. Tracking buzz via Nielsen Online the day after each speech, Obama again showed an edge with mentions in nearly 3.5% of all blog posts on August 29, compared to Palin’s peak of just north of 2.5% of all posts the day after her highly anticipated debut on the national stage. As reported previously, Palin’s announcement buzz overshadowed that of her rival Joe Biden as well as …