Google Trends API coming soon
Google is planning to release an application programming interface for its Google Trends program, according to Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience at Google.
During the question and answer portion of a Webcast demonstration of Google Trends on Tuesday, Mayer said the company would eventually release a Google Trends API. She also said the company would make it possible to download data from Google Trends into spreadsheets. Mayer said she couldn't provide a time frame for either action.
Google Trends allows people to see trends in searches. You can compare specific searches, see how the search volume for search terms changes over time with interactive graphs, and even see the top 100 searches for any given day. You can also see how spikes and drops in searches are linked to news and blog items.
For instance, comparing searches for Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama shows that Clinton is leading in terms of searches, although Obama seems to have more news references.
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service, and the Associated Press. E-mail Elinor. 
