One cant but help love Florida, the only state that has its own tag on FARK.com, a website dedicated to tawdry, off-beat news stories.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that in a monumental year --when the Arab Spring and Occupy were said to be movements that fed on the high-tech connectivity, when Europes euro caused constant global financial uncertainty, when Japan faced nuclear peril following an earthquake and tsunami, and when Osama bin Laden was finally gunned down -- online users worldwide should be focused on something going on in Florida.
Sadly, that happening was the murder trial of Casey Anthony.
The summer trial and not-guilty verdict was the fourth most searched news item on Internet search giant Google, while grabbing the top spot for most searched News Story of 2011 on both Yahoo! andBing.
The so-called trial of the summer was controversial for even being covered, noted Yahoo in posting its top stories of the year. To some, the daily queue of courtroom spectators was little better than the crowds of people in days gone by who gathered to witness public beheadings and hangings. For those who passionately sought justice for toddler Caylee Anthony, the story was every mother's terror: the disappeared child, the callous mother, a legal bureaucracy that favored the criminal over the innocent.
Expect to read more about the case in 2012, even if you do your best to avert your eyes and ears to the TMZs and tabloids, as the trial has spawned legislation that has a good chance to succeed in the next legislative session.
Google Most SearchedItems of 2011:
1.Rebecca Black.
2.Google.
3.Ryan Dunn.
4.Casey Anthony.
5.Battlefield 3.
6.iPhone 5.
7.Adele.
8.TEPCO Fukushima I Plant Japan.
9.Steve Jobs.
10.iPad2.
Bing Most Searched News Stories of 2011:
1.Casey Anthony Trial.
2.Osama bin Laden death.
3.Hurricane Irene.
4.Japan earthquake, tsunami.
5.Amy Winehouse death.
6.Joplin, Mo., tornado.
7.Michael Jackson trial/Conrad Murray.
8.9/11 10-year anniversary.
9.Republican candidates: Herman Cain and Rick Perry.
10.Haiti earthquake anniversary.
Yahoo! Most Searched News Stories of 2011:
1.Casey Anthony trial.
2.Japan earthquake and tsunami.
3.Royal wedding.
4.Death of Osama bin Laden.
5.Unemployment.
6.Arizona shooting.
7.Death of Amy Winehouse.
8.Arab Spring.
9.Libya/death of Moammar Gadhafi.
10.Occupy Wall Street.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859, or (772) 215-9889.
