#biblebridge

[biblebridge]

Which Bible verse topics are the most popular?

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly. 1 Peter 4:8

Love. In each and every analysis of Bible verse search data that I ran, "love" came out at the top of the charts. Not only that, but the gap in relative search volume between love and any other topic has been remarkably wide and consistent over time.

In the chart above, you see that sin, faith, hope, and comfort (+bible+verse) track closely together, with hope taking a slight lead in 2011. The popularity of these search terms is representative of other Bible-related key words occupying a similar topical level (e.g., strength, healing, etc.), based on this Google Trend analysis and a few variations that I ran in tandem.

Running the numbers worldwide produces a similar pattern, with two exceptions: the gap between love and the rest is even larger, and sin beats out its peers.

I expected to see love leading the pack, but I was surprised and in some ways encouraged by its degree of primacy. Two thousands years after Jesus spoke with the teachers of the law in Jerusalem, it seems that his response to their question about the most important of God's commandments is still on our hearts: 

“The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31

[biblebridge]

How are Christians discovering Bible-based content online?

As a first step toward designing BibleBridge, I began studying existing Bible apps and analyzing Google Trends to understand how Christians are searching for Bible verses and related content. My goal was to answer the question: what are the existing use cases for Bible-based apps and online resources? 

After pulling together the search data and the behaviors I observed, I identified five primary use cases for Bible-based content: 

Navigating to a specific verse or resource referenced during church or Bible study

Seeking encouragement and inspiration from trusted sources, and through them serendipitously arriving at specific content

Attending an occasion or life event, such as a wedding or funeral

Investigating a sensitive or controversial topic (e.g., "what does Jesus say about...")

Following through on a commitment to deliberate study of God's word

It's in the last few areas that I see an opportunity for BibleBridge. The first use case is crowded with YouVersion and its many copycats, and the second will continue to be served quite well by the church leaders active on Facebook, Twitter, and the rest. But topical discovery is challenging for nearly all online media, and particularly broken for Christian content. 

Later this week I'll post about the topics that users most commonly search for and the shortcomings of the tools and results that they find.