The search for local products and services continues to shift away from the Yellow Pages and online directories and searchengines to location-based services via a plethora of mobile apps.
And in healthcare, hospitals are adjusting emergency room staffing levels based on the frequency and proximity of key words in searchengines (e.g. flu symptoms).
Luxury industry market intelligence firm, Digital Luxury Group, recently released the results of the haute horlogerie category (18 brands) of the WorldWatchReport, based on an analysis of watch-related search queries typed into major global searchengines.
In other words, it may be that the searchengines are reflecting society's own prejudices - as the advertising results Google serves up are often based on the most popular links previous users have clicked on.