interstices
interstices are small spaces that intervene between things - in space or time - like the spaces between rocks in the bottom of a stream. And it is in the intersticies where interesting things are found
interstices are small spaces that intervene between things - in space or time - like the spaces between rocks in the bottom of a stream. And it is in the intersticies where interesting things are found
Idaho as viewed through the internet
A couple years ago one of the more enduring figures in the Idaho advertising/public relations business observed to me that for generations Idaho in the minds of those in the rest of the country called to mind potatoes more often than anything else. That changed, he said, after Senator Larry Craig’s Minnepolis arrest was reported in August 2007. Now people thought of something other than potatoes first.
With that in mind I figure it would be interesting to put this statement to the test using google.com/trends and run a comparison of a number of essential Idaho elements. The various graphs above runs through a sequence of comparisons. If you have not used Google Trends it is a tool that measures the number of searches on various topics. Hot topics and news of the day dominate the instant information, but you can also use the information and take a long view.
Craig > potatoes - Hands down the former Senator dominates the state’s vegetable and there is a noticeable spike in August 2007 but otherwise it looks like both topics are a boring flat line. This is because the graph is scaled to handle the massive number of searches during that 2007 peak.
Boise State > Craig - There is something more popular than Sen. Craig and it’s Boise State, with a spike in Google searches around the January 2007 Fiesta Bowl that is just as tall as the Larry Craig search in August 2007 and then a renewed interest in the late summer 2009 associated with the Oregon football game as noted with the blue “A” on the chart. The number of searches is about 1/3 that of the 2007 traffic. A second spike occurs again at the 2010 Fiesta Bowl period, and then a larger spike in the summer 2010 tied to the opening game against Virginia Tech, at about 2/3 of the 2007 spikes. There is also a graph along the bottom showing the number of news stories at the time with the search topics and Boise State has sustained a strong volume through the summer and fall 2010.
Blue turf > gray wolves - This is a contest in colors and the blue turf search ascendancy is a more recent trend and tied to the Boise State publicity, but it is also interesting to see the endurance of the gray wolf though internet searches over many years.
Fish > chips - Since we’re comparing Idaho colors we should compare Idaho food and it turns out that Idaho salmon searches exceed those for Idaho potatoes. Interestingly news articles for Idaho potatoes are much greater than Idaho salmon stories most likely because the latter are part of news coverage on Columbia and Snake River salmon issues.
Sun Valley > Tamarack Resort - Not a surprise here. Sun Valley is a 75 year old institution and Tamarack, currently in bankruptcy, was a real estate development project in ski resort drag.
Sun Valley = Boise State - Finally a comparison in Google Trends where there is rough parity between two items. Except for the events with Boise State football that lead to punctuated massive searches these two icons of Idaho appear to be roughly equal and both rate higher than the other topics searched.
