Social Media Search Trends: LinkedIn, tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest

Which of these popular social sites -- LinkedIn, tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Groupon -- have generated the most search traffic? And how are search trends shifting for these sites? Google Trends has the Answer.

No real surprise that Pinterest has grown from no awareness to exceeding the others in recent months, but what is surprising is how Pinterest's search trend is now declining. Of the group, only search trends for tumblr have steadily increased.

For more web statistics and analytics, see

• Best Web Analytics Data: 1 Million Visits/Day to 125 Countries
• Going Mobile: 25% of RunTri.com Traffic Via Mobile Devices
• Real-Time Results: Super Bowl Impact on Traffic and Results
• Most Popular Marathons: The Web Analytics View
• Chicago Marathon: Using Web Analytics to Predict How Fast the Race Would Sell Out
• RunnersWorld.
• Bicycling Magazine
• Competitor Group
• Scott Sports Bicycles
• Marathon Guide
• LinkedIn // LinkedIn Mobile Trends
• Flotrack

Ironman Lake Placid: Kona Qualifying Slots from 2004 to 2010

The inaugural Ironman Lake Placid, in 1999, offered 120 Kona slots. Over time, the number of slots has been reduced significantly, to 100 by 2004, to 80 in 2005, and to 72 slots in 2009. Here's how the slots have been allocated by age group. [Also see 2004-2010 changes in IMLP Qualifying Times]

Note: In all years, 10% of slots were reserved for pros.  In 2005 and 2007, Lake Placid hosted Male Pros only, and in 2006, Women Pros only.

Ironman Lake Placid Kona Qualifying Times Analysis

At Ironman Lake Placid 2011, 65 outstanding triathletes qualified for Kona, earning the right to race at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii this October.

Here's our analysis showing the last qualifying time (LQT) and number of qualifying slots distributed by age group, since 2004. [also see our complete Ironman Lake Placid 2011 Results Analysis]

Competition was tough this year, but we were surprised at how many age group qualifying times were similar, if not a bit slower, compared to 2010 results. The differences, even compared to earlier years, jump out when graphed from 2004 to 2011. One explanation for the slower times might be that only those who did not complete the swim in a wetsuit were eligible to qualify.

Note: we were able to identify 64 Kona qualifiers directly, and we estimated that the 65th slot was awarded in the M70-74 age group, which had multiple finishers.

For more, see our Qualifying For Kona analysis, and our complete Ironman Lake Placid race coverage.