Cybermetrics and Groundhog Day

Available for over a year

COUNTING THE WORLDWIDE WEB Can you measure your popularity - or that of anyone or anything - by the number of results that an internet search generates? Tim Harford points the finger at lazy journalists. The programme hears from Professor Mike Thelwall of Wolverhampton University in the UK, and Ahmet Uyar from Mersin University in Turkey. GROUNDHOG DAY Every year in February, a groundhog in Pennsylvania - made famous by the Hollywood film, Groundhog Day - makes a weather forecast. If Punxsutawney Phil, as the creature is known, sees his shadow when he comes out of his hole, he predicts six more weeks of winter; if he sees no shadow, he predicts an early Spring. What nonsense? Well, Professor Paul Sommers, of Middlebury College in the United States has done some statistical analysis of groundhog these metereological assessments, and found them surprisingly accurate. Producer: Ruth Alexander (Image: Google search engine webpage. Credit: Getty Images)