http://www.influxinsights.com/blog/ 2008-10-12T23:10:52Z http://www.influxinsights.com/blog/article/1653/how-big-was-the-iphone-launch-.html Although it's hard to gauge the real sales numbers for the <b>iPhone</b>, <a target="_blank" href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jeQB_4vxoBp-evv_7ghNwrkYpDWQD8SH8MN81">people are talking about 1.2-1.4 million,</a> I thought it would be interestng to look at the "noise" the launch generated and compare it to other cultural events. <br><br>The tool I have used is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Google Trends</span> 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. <br><br>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 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Superbowl </span>(the most watched event in the US) and nearly double that of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Oscars.</span> <br><br>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 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1677329_1678542_1677891,00.html">Invention of the Year. </a><br><br>Obviously, all this noise is only good if it can be translated into sales. <br><br>As an interesting sidenote, I also plotted the trajectory of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Facebook,</span> which appears to be slowly creeping up to the iPhone frenzy noise level, no wonder Google is scared. <br><br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/edcotton/1888746318/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2379/1888746318_eb7ddfd83d.jpg" alt="iPhone launch" height="185" width="500"></a><br><br><br><br>Posted by Ed Cotton Influx Insights 2007-11-06T13:42:33Z