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Fame Game Reveals Top Content and Search Trends of 2008
Monday, December 29th, 2008Mayor Bloomberg, Anna Wintour, and Marc Jacobs Among the Highest Ranked on the New York Scene in 2008. Fashion and Local Scandals Dominate as Largest Drivers of Web Traffic and Online trends on FameGame.com.
NEW YORK, N.Y. – December 29th, 2008: Politicians, magazine editors, and fashion moguls were among the overall top ranked movers and shakers in New York City according to Fame Game’s annual lists of top content across more than 10 categories for 2008. Fashionistas and socialites continued to be hot topics for searchers as well, and they dominated many of the top content categories.
Fame Game is able to measure and analyze the overall attention of people, organizations, and parties in three different ways: through the use of its proprietary algorithm which takes into account public media, news and editorial mentions, user generated content, and attention on Fame Game (“Attention score”), through the internal search queries users are making on the site (“Search trends”), and through the individual profiles receiving the largest volume of web traffic on Fame Game (“Most Visited Profiles.”) Learn more about the algorithm and ranking system by visiting the about page.
“The profiles that people are visiting on Fame Game are a strong reflection of what is happening in the offline world, breaking news stories, and even fashion trends,” said Jen Novak, Chief Executive Officer of Fame Game. “People were clearly focused on the election this year, but even with sour economic news in the latter part of the year, we still saw a growing fascination with philanthropy, luxury and fashion.”
Highlights from this year’s top content include:
ATTENTION: HIGHEST RANKED 2008
Top Attention Overall: Fashion and Politics Beat Out Society
- In the wake of the economic meltdown, the New York media focused more on politicians and fashion moguls than the socialites and pseudo celebrities of years past. Mayor Bloomberg (1) takes the top spot, followed by Anna Wintour of Vogue (2), Derek Blasberg of Style.com and Women’s Wear Daily, socialite Fabiola Beracasa (4), designer Marc Jacobs (5), publicist Kristian Laliberte (6), Lindsay Lohan (7), Martha Stewart (8), socialite Emma Snowdon-Jones (9), and finally, Paris Hilton (10). Other notables: Tinsley Mortimer (12), Calvin Klein (15), the newest cast member of “Real Housewives of New York City,” Kelly Killoren Bensimon (18).
Top Fashion Designers: Social Designers Lead the Charge
- Marc Jacobs (1) remains in the limelight with his constant party hopping, followed tightly by socialite-turned designer Tory Burch (2) and the original wrap dress innovator Diane von Furstenberg (3). Zac Posen (5) and Peter Som (10) climb their way into the top 10. New York designers Cynthia Rowley (11) and Nicole Miller (12) just barely miss the top 10.
Top NY Politicos: New York Locals Win the Race, Scandal Propels Spitzer to New High
- Mayor Bloomberg (1) takes the cake with the number one spot, followed closely by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (2), and Senator-Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton (3). Hillary Clinton’s husband Bill takes the number 5 spot, while Eliot Spitzer (6) rises to the top 10 in the wake of scandal.
Top Magazine Editors: Fashion and Home
- Anna Wintour of Vogue keeps her reign as queen bee taking the number one spot, while Martha Stewart (2) takes the number 2 spot and Glenda Bailey (3) of Harpers Bazaar comes in slightly behind. Other notables: David Zinczenko (5) of Men’s Health and the Abs Diet empire and Graydon Carter (6) of Vanity Fair slips out of the top five.
Top NY Patrons of the Arts/Philanthropy: New York Power Scene
- Gillian Miniter (1), Somers Farkas (3), and Beth Rudin de Woody (4) show that art and society are still intertwined as they continue to dominate the New York power scene. Other notables: Highest ranked male “patron” Mark Gilbertson (5) and Valesca Guerrand Hermes (8.)
Top New York Famous Children: Ann Dexter Jones’ Brood Monopolizes at the Top
- Three of the children of Ann Dexter Jones fill out the top 10: Designer Charlotte Ronson (5), DJ and Lindsay Lohan girlfriend Samantha Ronson (9), and music producer Mark Ronson (10). Not surprisingly, the top spot is taken by Ivanka Trump, and 3 Hearsts show up as well: Lydia Hearst (3), Amanda Hearst (7), and Gillian Hearst Simonds (8).
Top Movers and Shakers: High Profile Divorces and Child Custody Spats
- Drama around the divorce between Christie Brinkley (1) and Peter Cook (5) drives them both into the top 10. And the custody fight over Caleigh Perelman puts father Ronald Perelman (2) and mom Patricia Duff (3) prominently in the local news and online.
Top News Anchors/Media Personalities: Evening Anchors Beat Out Morning Co-Hosts
- CBS anchor Katie Couric (1) takes the top spot, followed tightly by Barbara Walters (2) and Anderson Cooper (3). Other Notables: Morning show stars Al Roker (4) and Matt Lauer (7) are not far behind.
Top Business Moguls: Trump vs. Murdoch Reign Supreme
- Donald Trump’s (1) TV promotion propels him slightly ahead of Rupert Murdoch (2), while Harvey Weinstein (3), Barry Diller (4), and Jeff Zucker (5) round out the top five list.
Top New York Newspaper Gossip Columnists/Society Contributors: Niche Media is King, But the Dailies Hold Their Ground.
- Grande dame Debbie Bancroft (1), ranks at the top, with the top 10 heavily weighted by the New York Post and the New York Daily News. Other notables: R. Couri Hay (2) and Jeff Slonim (3), both contributors to Niche Media publications.
Top NY Media Power Brokers (Top 5): Page Six Dominates
- Richard Johnson (1), Editor of Page Six for the New York Post retains his stronghold. Youthful newbie Jared Kushner (2) comes in at number 2 with his New York Observer. Other notables: Two Internet mavens make it to the top 5: Tina Brown with The Daily Beast (3), and Arianna Huffington’s Huffington Post (4).
Top Artists (Top 5): Modern Artists Keep the Media’s Attention
- Abstract artist Hunt Slonem (1) comes in on top followed by well-known extremist Jeff Koons (2). Julian Schnabel (3) and Ross Bleckner (4) take number 3 and 4, while Damien Hirst (5) closes out the list.
Top Authors (Top 5): New York Society Chronicles and Cameos
- Candace Bushnell secures the top position with her latest book, “One Fifth Avenue”, and her TV series, “Lipstick Jungle”. Newcomer Anisha Lakhani (2) makes a surprising landing at number 2 with the release of “Schooled”. Jay McInerney (3) proves that being a regular contributor to New York magazines, and even doing a cameo on “Gossip Girl” can help you hold your own.
Top Gossip Girl Cast Members: Serena on top no more, Real-Life Blair and Jenny reign over Serena in media
- New Yorkers continue to show local support for The CW’s “Gossip Girl” cast. The girls win again: Leighton Meester (1) takes the number one spot, followed by Taylor Momsen (2) and then Blake Lively (3). Male co-stars Ed Westwick (4) and Penn Badgley (5) follow, while Chace Crawford fails to make the top 5.
Top Real Housewives of New York City: Newbie steals the scene
- The cast’s newest addition Kelly Killoren Bensimon (1) rises to the top of the pack, followed by Countess Luann de Lesseps (2) and Bethenny Frankel (3). Jill Zarin (4) and Alex McCord (5) round out the top 5. Ramona Singer fails to make the top 5.
MOST VISITED OVERALL: LARGEST VOLUME OF WEB TRAFFIC 2008
2008 Most Visited People Profiles Overall
- “The Real Housewives of New York City”’s large volumes of web traffic attests to an ongoing fascination with reality TV, especially when it involves New Yorkers. The “Housewives” are followed closely by a smattering of well known New York socialites including Tinsley Mortimer, Amanda Hearst, and Olivia Palermo. Countess Luann de Lesseps (1) and her husband Count Alexandre de Lesseps (2) take the top 2, followed by cast member Jill Zarin (3) and CNN News Anchor Poppy Harlow (4).
2008 Most Visited Party Profiles Overall
- Fame Game’s co-hosted event (with Volkswagen and Z!NK Magazine): This World is Yours (1) takes the number one spot, followed by the Best Buddies Beach Bash (2), and Russell Simmons’ Art for Life (3) event in East Hampton. Other notables: Disney Channel Games (4) and New York After Dark (7), an event held at the Museum of the City of New York.
2008 Most Visited Organization Profiles: TV, Fashion, and Magazines on top
- Longstanding fashion magazine (and Anna Wintour’s prodigy) Vogue (1) comes in at number one, followed by Niche Media’s Gotham Magazine (2) under the leadership of Cristina Greeven Cuomo. Third place goes to luxury brand Louis Vuitton (3). Other notables: Vanity Fair (4) and Bergdorf Goodman (9).
SEARCH TRENDS: TOP SEARCHES ON FAMEGAME.COM 2008
2008 Top Search Terms: Socialites and media personalities most searched for on FameGame.com
- Paris Hilton (1) comes in as the number one most searched for term, followed by socialites Tinsley Mortimer (2) and Olivia Palermo (3), journalist-turned blogging mogul Julia Allison (4), and controversial publicist Kristian Laliberte (5).
More content and the full lists below. (more…)
We’re Working on it!
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008Now that we’ve got the PLAY blog up and running (please go check it out if you haven’t), we’re repurposing this older blog as a platform for news and updates about Fame Game at large. PLAY is our exploration of this culture, the media that surrounds it, and the underpinnings of Fame in New York… this blog, by contrast, is more about the technology of Fame Game and our growth as a tool, reference point, and cultural map.
As such, we might as well get right to it: Fame Game is getting a ton of traffic and it has slowed the site down us down to a crawl!!! This is a bit like the problem we encountered during the winter, except that we’re finally building out the infrastructure that will allow us to grow much much quicker. We’re constantly working to improve the experience and meet demand, so please bear with us. It will be over soon, I promise.
As always, if you have any questions please write to me at rbrown [at] famegame.
