October 7th, 2008
Watching you watch the debate
Tonight, as you watch the second presidential debate, Google will be watching you to see what you’re searching for.
It’s just another peek into the minds of voters to find out which issues matter most or which are most confusing or unclear. Take, for example, the results of the vice-presidential debate. Republican candidate Sarah Palin keeps talking about how she and John McCain are such “mavericks” yet Googlers must be confused about what exactly that means. Some of the most popular searches of the night: “definition of maverick,” “what is a maverick,” and “define:maverick.”Democratic VP candidate Joe Biden’s mention that “theocracy controls the security apparatus” in Iran, Googlers wanted to know the “meaning of theocracy.” To follow the most popular searches during tonight’s debate, go to Google’s Hot Trends page. 
That’s not the only place on the Web where you’ll get a chance to see what’s on viewers’ minds as they watch.
Current.tv, for example, will once again host Hack the Debate, an online opportunity for Twitter users to sound off about what they’re thinking during the debate - in the form of 140-character tweets on the screen.
OK, it’s almost debate time. Tune in at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT on pretty much every network or cable news channel.
Sam Diaz is a senior editor at ZDNet. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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