By John Kelly
Monday, October 6, 2008

The Web is a big mass of data into which we dip in search of enlightenment and entertainment. I like to think of it as a boiling pot of soup -- a thick soup with lots of tasty morsels in it. Scotch broth, maybe.

Of course, we don't always know what we're looking for. Or, rather, we sorta know what we're looking for, just not where to find it. And so we search.

Curious about what is being searched for on area government Web sites I contacted local webmasters and asked them to provide me with a list of the top terms people are typing into that little rectangular box with the word "SEARCH" next to it.

Here are the results. Nothing too earth-shattering, but I did notice a few things:

1. People are obsessed with jobs. "Jobs" was in the Top 4 of all the counties that responded -- all except Anne Arundel, where "employment" was No. 6. In fact, Anne Arundel County emerges as a veritable pleasure dome, where jobs are a secondary concern and searchers are most interested in parks and recreational opportunities.

2. The minutiae of civic life figures prominently in people's searches. "Parking tickets," "zoning," "tax" -- these are the warp and woof of our existence.

3. People in Arlington County like mulch. It was No. 5 on their list. Arlington spokeswoman Jennifer Smith pointed out that the county offers free mulch at two locations. If they can figure out how to send it through a modem, they'll have a real hit on their hands.

4. Some people in Montgomery County are a bit mixed up about this Interwebs thing. No. 5 on MoCo's search list was "google." People are going to the Montgomery County Web site and searching for a search engine. This isn't quite as bad as asking, "What's the number for 911?" but it troubles me nonetheless.

5. Prince William County gets traffic from people interested in Prince Charles's hunky, polo-playing son. How else to explain that county's No. 10 entry: "William." Alas, they won't find much information on Prince William of Wales, second in line to the British throne. The county is named after a different William: Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, George II's second son.

6. Washingtonians have a mind-boggling interest in bureaucracy. Look at the specificity of one of the District's top queries: "FR-900M." In case you wondered, that's a monthly withholding-tax form. I also worry about the term right under that: "emergency." If time is of the essence, I don't want anyone searching http://www.dc.gov to see whom to call.

Finally, let's be thankful no one is searching for "Paris Hilton" or "Britney Spears."

Do you have access to interesting bits of data? Let me know: kellyj@washpost.com.