Enginespy.com

I get a little more excited than most people about data, but I think even "normal" people will have fun with the new xTreme movers feature in xRank, which lets you track the searches that are gaining popularity the fastest.

Just yesterday, "dow jones," "recession," and other economy-related terms were moving incredibly quickly, while today we're noticing that people are interested in recent events including the debates, Boss Day, and Hurricane Omar. It's a truism that people seek more entertainment when times are tough, which could explain the recent growth in people searching for lolcats and gossip about Madonna.

As LiveSide has already noticed, we've made significant updates to all of the xRank categories (celebrities, musicians, politicians, bloggers) and added new features like "compare," which lets you not only see who's more popular right now but also look at how search popularity has shifted over time. There's more information available on every page, including videos, images, and news. We think you'll find the new design a little more exciting and interesting. And the xRank homepage? It's now set as my default so I can watch what happens every day.

For now, we've only released these new features in the U.S. Typically, we release features in one or two markets first to see how things go and then work with our search teams in other countries to decide which features they think will work best for them.

Let us know what you think!

Jacquelyn Krones, Senior Product Planner, Live Search