Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 01 December 2009 13:59
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 3
Google’s top list of Australian searches for 2009 has been revealed,
showing the ideas and spirit of the times as they were down under, and
as you can imagine, many of the major Australian and international
events of the year such as Twilight, Susan Boyle and stimulus packages
all definitely make the cut!
It’s that time of the year again – Google launching its yearly “zeitgeist” of what’s hot and what’s not in the world of online searching.
Effectively accurately representing the mood of the nation through the searches made at google.com.au, Google notes that, “when seen in aggregate, search queries reflect the people, places and events that captured our attention and imagination throughout the year.”
One of the most popular topics this year most unsurprisingly turns out to be vampires. As Google explains, a “Twilight-related search featured in the fastest rising searches of the year, the most searched for news stories, most popular celebrities and of course dominated the most searched for movies of the year for both Twilight and the new release, New Moon. The most Twilight obsessed title went to the state of NSW, followed closely by Queensland and Tasmania.”
Michael Jackson naturally was also a big feature as people sought the latest information online, which Google notes also happened when the false rumours of Miley Cyrus and Jeff Goldblum’s “deaths” raced across the Internet only to quickly be dismissed as inaccurate.
Google also uncovers the interesting news that information about the decades old ABBA breakup and, separately, the Simon and Garfunkle band breakups, are still being actively searched for! Perhaps the younger generation wants to know why they broke up, and the older generations simply want to relive fond memories.
When it came to reality TV weddings were for two Americans and a Brit – Kendra Wilkinson, Khloe Kardashian and the late Jade Goody from the UK’s Big Brother who passed away from cancer earlier in the year soon after getting married.
Next up on Google’s gargantuan list of Aussie surfer searching comes up everything “foodie”, with the lemon detox diet, Masterchef and recipes including “Croquembouche” all on the degustation menu.
AFL sports fans will be proud to know that AFL tops the sports list, followed by the NRL and the cricket, with Google unsurprisingly noting the “AFL's popularity peaking in Victoria and Tasmania.”
The Australian Google Zeitgeist lists start on page 2, with the link also available to the worldwide results - please read on!
