Here is a an interesting chart I made using Google Gadgets showing the number of global searches for the keyword “tenkara” since 2004. Not surprisingly, no data shows prior to 2009 (the year Tenkara USA was founded). Keep in mind that the numbers on the y-axis are not the actual number of searches, but normalized data compared to the total number of searches done on Google over time. I’ll spare you the boring data analysis. Let’s just leave it at the fact that this is clear proof of the explosion in interest in tenkara over the last three years.
Look at the spike in the beginning of 2012 (don’t you wish that were your stock?). The climb directly corresponds with Tenkara USA’s recent participation in major trade shows. With the Tenkara Summit coming up in July, word of mouth spreading, an increase in mainstream media publications on tenkara, and Daniel’s marketing efforts at the trade shows, I predict 2012 will be a great year for tenkara. And if Google is any litmus test (do we even doubt that?) it will be interesting to revisit this data in 2013. Tenkara…the 2,000 year old fad. LOL.
I will take 10000 stock options please. 😎
tj
Unless someone else in another country whose language we don’t don’t read discovered Tenkara at about the same time as Daniel and is promoting it somewhere we are not aware of like China or India.
Then I would say that Daniel/TUSA is the locomotive driving Tenkara train outside of Japan. Everyone else is just a car attached to the train. At least thus far.
Hi David. Good analogy. I didn’t want to get too granular with the data but I can tell you the number of searches for this keyword is more than double in the u.s what it is in the rest of the world combined. So I think that lends some credibility to the fact that it’s Tenkara USA driving the train.
Interesting! It really is a case of the world being ready for this idea.
See that spike at the end of 2011? That was me 🙂 I bet this line will just continue to rise straight up!!
-Tom