Influx

Although it’s hard to gauge the real sales numbers for the iPhone, people are talking about 1.2-1.4 million, I thought it would be interestng to look at the “noise” the launch generated and compare it to other cultural events.

The tool I have used is Google Trends which looks at data for search volumes. This isn’t the same as column inches or minutes of news time, but it’s still an interesting barometer.

It’s clear that the iPhone may have generated more “noise” than any other brand in recent years. It’s peak is comprable with that of the Superbowl (the most watched event in the US) and nearly double that of the Oscars.

It’s pretty remarkable that a single product can create that level of interest and hardly surprising that Time Magazine continued to fuel the noise by naming it Invention of the Year.

Obviously, all this noise is only good if it can be translated into sales.

As an interesting sidenote, I also plotted the trajectory of Facebook, which appears to be slowly creeping up to the iPhone frenzy noise level, no wonder Google is scared.

Posted by Ed Cotton