Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

a story in search terms

Much has been made recently of AOL’s inadvertent public release of its logs of user search terms. Doug took a look at the data and came up with some fairly sad, PostSecret-like narratives, told through individual users’ interactions with the search field. This one in particular caught my eye (the notes at the end are Doug’s):

why do stay at home mothers get no respect
what does invalid system disc mean
what is the difference between a maid and a housewife
can a headstone be reposesed
what happens when a funeral has not been paid for
i’m burned out being a stay at home mom
easy easter crafts for children
what is the difference between a cd r and cd rw
why do parenting books set you up for failure
why am i always tired
my husband takes off for days at a time drinking then his sister tells me he needs a break
how to be a good parent when one parent does all the work
people without children just don’t understand
i’m so tired of my sister-in-law acting like she knows it all
im so tired of being a mom all the time
im so tired of being a mom all the time
im so tired of being a mom all the time
my 4 year old tells me he hates me

(Note: This one has several dismal subplots, including an abusive toddler that injures a kitten, a neighbor who loses a child, and a mysterious cigarette burn to a child’s eye. Dear 2252555, I hope things get better.)

It’s like a sad, voyeuristic kind of poetry.