The Socially Awkward Network: Meet Your Idols on G+

“AKB48 and Google+ have a lot in common. Only psychologically stunted, obsessive-compulsive geeks understand how they work.”
- Some famous dude

For many fans, their first memory of the AKB48/Google+ launch was the futility of trying to submit comments as the Google servers got hammered. Or perhaps, prior to that, signing up/reactivating G+ accounts that were otherwise useless because everyone was still on Facebook or Twitter.

But now that the smoke has cleared (and people can comment on the girls’ posts like normal human beings), the online landscape has shifted dramatically.

Two tone?

The AKB48 Popularity Curve

Things I do at work when there is no work to do:

Predictable rankings are predictable

The above graph shows the “most talked about AKB48 members online,” according to an informal study by Japanese entertainment portal BARKS. The search totals are based on the number of times each member has been mentioned in blogs and social media since January 1st of this year.

In other words, “How many times did someone say Atsuko Maeda’s name on the internet?”