Bill Tancer [blog], General Manager of global research for Hitwise, and the author of the upcoming book Click, due to be released this year, was interviewed on ABCs 20/20 regarding search and the kinds of data that he / Hitwise has learned about human behaviour based on what we search for on search engines.

He says that some of the most popular searches are related to such things as celebrity misdeeds, and deaths, specifically Anna-Nicole Smith, and a spike in searches for the non-existent video of the death of Steve “The Crocodile Huneter” Irwin. Also noted, and no surprise here, was the fact that men like looking at porn while women like to read about it. He did imply that some of the things he has learned did surprise him a little, especially concerning people’s fears (the fear of elbows was cited) and how interesting it was to see spikes in search traffic as related to events happening in the media, such as the relationship between Viagra and The Superbowl.

Interviewer Elizabeth Vargas did sum up asking the question “are we what we search?” Bill Tancer’s position is that the internet has grown from a resource to a confidant, with whom a surfer may ask questions and consume information in a non-judgemental environment.

Of course, if you don’t erase your cookies, you can bet money on the fact that someone you dont know nor have ever met, who certainly isn’t judging you, is attempting to deliver to you an ad based on what you really like, whether you care to admit it or not.