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Today Yahoo launched its 2009 Year in Review which features the top trends and web searches made on Yahoo for 2009.

Categories included in the Year in Review include:

• Top 10 Searches e.g. Twilight
• Farewells e.g. Michael Jackson
• Sudden Fame e.g. Susan Boyle
• Mad Science e.g. Hubble Telescope
• Obama in the House e.g. Health Care Plan
• Market Darlings e.g. Twitter
• Financial Hangovers e.g. Stimulus Plan
• Bloggers Roll e.g. Huffington Post

Each category features a Top 10 list of the most popular searches queries for that topic. Search query trends were measured by various factors, including total volume and growth versus previous periods.

Yahoo has also created a competition for the Year in Review called Your Moments, where you are invited to share your meaningful moments of 2009 via Twitter using the hashtag #myyearyahoo.

So what were the top ten most popular searches on Yahoo in 2009?

1. Michael Jackson
2. Twilight
3. WWE
4. Megan Fox
5. Britney Spears
6. Naruto
7. American Idol
8. Kim Kardashian
9. NASCAR
10. Runescape

After 4 years in the #1 spot, Britney Spears moved down to the #5 position. However, the majority of top 10 search queries still relate to the entertainment industry, suggesting that we consistently like to escape from reality. Sad but true.

What were your memorable moments of 2009? Please add your comments below.

Have you heard of Yahoo Meme? The new microblogging site was soft-launched in Portuguese in May by invitation only and according to TechCrunch, Yahoo has just launched a Spanish version.

Yahoo Meme is kind of like a Twitter / Facebook mashup. When you create an account, you are presented with an empty blog which you can template with your choice of avatar and background and populate with text posts, music, videos and pictures. You can also comment underneath any of your content. You can follow people and repost their content, similar to retweeting on Twitter. View a sample Meme profile to get a feel for it.

Meme’s mascot is a cartoon dog. Not quite as cute as the Twitter bird but close enough.

With Yahoo launching Meme to the Spanish speaking market, it seems they are getting closer to building a potential rival to Twitter.

News has just broken on Twitter that Microsoft and Yahoo! have finally closed a deal where Bing will power Yahoo! search results while Yahoo! will become the worldwide sales force for both companies’ search advertising.

@Bing broke the news with this tweet:

“Bing. Yahoo! Two great tastes that are now going to be great together. Check out http://bit.ly/9eUh7″

I can hear the mobile phones of a hundred Google executives ringing from here. Talk about a wake up call!

More details available on my SiteProNews blog post: It’s Official: Bing to Power Yahoo! Search.

Added: more industry coverage here:

It’s Finally Official, Microsoft and Yahoo Make a Deal, Yahoo Gives Up on Search (Search Engine Land)

Microsoft and Yahoo Finally Announce Deal (WebProNews)

Live Blogging The MSFT – YHOO Search Press Conference (Search Engine Land)

Top 10 Things the Microsoft/Yahoo! Deal Changes for SEO (SEOmoz)

The Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal, In Simple Terms (Search Engine Land)

Could the Google Gigantosaurus be challenged by a Yahoo / Bing Tyrannosaurus-Rex?

That’s the question I pose in my latest SiteProNews blog post Could it be Bing(o) for Yahoo? in response to the rumors that Yahoo and Microsoft are about to announce a major search advertising partnership.

What are your thoughts? Is a Yahoo / Bing T-Rex going to be strong enough to take a bite out of the Google Gigantosaurus? Please leave your comments below.

Has anyone else been following the drama unfolding at Yahoo this week?

A battle of wills between a major shareholder, Carl Icahn, and the Yahoo board of directors has seen Microsoft take a step closer to a Yahoo acquisition. The in-fighting has seen board members step down, new ones get appointed and the majority of them having to stand for re-election when the company holds it’s Annual General Meeting on August 2.

Read the whole saga in my latest blog post at SiteProNews.