Gift cards are exceptionally popular during the holidays–but then again, so are most things, right? This link indicates that the online searching of gift cards skyrocketed since last year, with double digit increases in search terms (sometimes the increases are as much as 80%!) regarding gift cards. So what does this tell us? Well, it indicates the rising popularity of gift cards, of course. But it also lets us know that more people are turning to the Internet, and search engines, as a source of information about gift cards. This rise mirrors that of search terms regarding politics, religion, and virtually every other subject under the sun (though certainly these increases are more dramatic) because of the rising popularity of search engines in general.This includes searching for individuals, which is why the reputation risk management industry has sprung up so quickly.

http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/091216-145012