Noynoy, Pacman top local Google search

By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 21:08:00 12/08/2009




Filed Under: Technology (general), Internet


Original Story: http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20091208-240886/Noynoy-Pacman-top-local-Google-search


MANILA, Philippines - Topping this year's Google most-searched items in the Philippines are presidential aspirant and senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manny Pacquiao.

Facebook and Twitter, two of the most popular social networking sites tools on the Web
, grabbed the first and eighth spots in the top ten fastest rising search items, according to Google’s 2009 Year-End Zeitgeist report.

Music-related searches also made it high up the top ten local searches, with Love Story being the hottest sing-along song, Lady Gaga who visited the country for a one-night concert at the Araneta Coliseum on August and pop king Michael Jackson's unexpected death.

Filipinos’ interest in celebrities continues as among the year’s top searches include local actress Maricar Reyes and controversial actor-surgeon Hayden Kho, who were allegedly previous lovers and both involved in sex videos uploaded online, and Korean TV star Kim Bum from the show “Boys Over Flowers.”

Also in the top ten is Pacquiao’s second round knockout of British boxer Ricky Hatton last May.

Therese Lim, Google’s corporate communications head for the Philippines, believes the year-end report serves as “barometer to reflect the pulse of Filipinos on wide-ranging issues” such as politics, the Internet and celebrities.

“Searches via Google offer an accurate assessment and is reflective of the information seeking behavior of Filipinos, especially on issues that interest them locally and even globally,” Lim told INQUIRER.net.

“As with other 50 countries, the results in the Philippines are very local as seen in the various categories. The results also reflect the country’s interest for international news,” she added.

Aquino, son of former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. and late president Corazon Aquino, leads this year’s “fastest-rising politicians” category, and managed in four months to gain as much web search volume as other politicians have for the year, the report added.

Interest on Aquino, which has been below other 2010 presidential candidates, spiked in August, peaked on September and continues to top other bets including Senators Richard “Dick” Gordon and Manny Villar, ex-president Joseph Estrada and former defense chief Gilbert Teodoro, according to Google search data.

The fastest rising politicians searched on Google between January to December include: Aquino III, Senators Panfilo Lacson, Francis Escudero, Mar Roxas and Manuel Villar, ex-NEDA chief Ralph Recto, Teodoro, Estrada, local TV host Willie Revillame and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Kho, whose so-called sex videos got leaked online, was dubbed the fastest-rising local “buzz maker”. But the list of current events topics that had Filipinos searching for more information online showed the A (H1N1) flu pandemic (top spot), the typhoons that severely damaged the country and the reproductive health bill.

For this year, Baler is the fastest-rising local travel destination search term for Filipinos, the interest on which was spurred by a period film shown late last year starring Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales.

Local band Sponge Cola's "Di Na Mababawi" is this year's anthem, leading the fastest-rising OPM songs category, along with late rapper Francis Magalona’s “Kaleidoscope World” on the fourth spot.

Carla Abellana, who got her first big break by starring in the local remake of Mexican telenovela “Rosalinda,” is the hottest searched local showbiz celebrity of 2009. The actress bested Bebe Gandanghari, Sandara Park, Coco Martin, Pacquiao’s mom Aling Dionisia, Katrina Halili, Angel Locsin, Dennis Laurel and Katherine Luna.

Insights for Search analyzes a portion of global Google web searches to compute the number of searches have been done for terms, relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time.

Aside from Insights for Search, Google said it also used internal tools to filter out spam, irrelevant and repeated queries to build lists that best reflect "the spirit of the times" or the collective searching and browsing trend of Filipinos.


Original Story: http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20091208-240886/Noynoy-Pacman-top-local-Google-search