by Greg Deligero
If gauged by the topics being searched in Google, Filipinos remain an optimistic people with a high passion for sports, entertainment and music.
The collective spirit of the Filipinos in 2010 is revealed in Google’s annual yearend Zeitgeist (German word for spirit of the times) which ranks the top search queries in the country and around the globe.
“The 2010 Zeitgeist in the Philippines is all about triumphs, from the success of the 2010 automated elections and the election of a new president in Noynoy Aquino, to Manny Pacquiao’s back-to-back victories against Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito. Venus Raj, 4th runner up in this year’s Miss Universe Pageant, snatched #2 on our list of fastest rising local newsmakers, and Charice, fresh off her Glee appearance, is this year’s fastest rising local music artist,” said Google.
As expected, the Filipino champion boxer is the top online newsmaker, followed by Raj and Pres. Aquino, who shared victories in having placed fourth runner up in the Miss Universe 2010 pageant and being elected the Philippine president, respectively.
According to Google, the fastest-rising term of the year is the uniquely Filipino urban slang meme “jejemon,” which became a trend in the mobile and online world, followed by the Apple iPad, which became a big success when it hit local stores earlier this year.
Pinoys also made it a point to sing along with Charice Pempengco’s international hit single “Pyramid” as search queries for its lyrics spiked this year, making it one of the hottest search terms for 2010 on Google.
As expected, search volume on the result of the first automated elections was high, making it the top news issue for 2010. Likewise, the sites and island destination of the Queen City of the South, Cebu, continue to fascinate local and foreign travelers, making it the top-searched travel destination in the Philippines. Davao ranks 6th in the list.
Pinoys are also discovering other destinations in the CALABARZON region, aside from the beach resorts in Batangas, with Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort in San Pablo City, Laguna made it to the top local travel destinations list.
In the entertainment scene, Filipino netizens were just as glued to their television screens watching episodes of ABS-CBN’s fantaserye, Agua Bendita and local talent show “Pilipinas Got Talent,” which was won by Jovit Baldovino. The Nokia C3, an affordable smartphone with integrated social networking, got Pinoys searching in the hottest mobile phones category, while Filipino students showed that geography is a key subject for learning, with “mapa” as the fastest-rising homework-related term.
Pinoys showed their passion for movies and music, with international singing sensation Charice Pempengco and Sarah Geronimo as the top most-searched artists. For movies, the remake of the 1988 comedy film, “Petrang Kabayo,” which stars Vice Ganda, drove local interest. The hottest hangout in Metro Manila, at least according to online searches, is SM Cinema, where Pinoys feed their passion for the silver screen.
Google Insights for Search, a publicly available tool at www.google.com.ph/insights/search, provides deeper insight into the year’s significant issues and events.
“Current data from the tool shows Pinoys remaining an optimistic people despite the year’s biggest tragedy, as searches for Miss Universe 2010 still yielded more search volume compared to the Quirino grandstand hostage crisis which happened in the same week,” Google said.
Sports became a very popular hook for local tourism, with Filipinos scouring the Web for search results related to Camarines Sur which boasts the Camsur Watersports Complex CWC, where tourists can wakeboard and wakeskate. Perennial favorite Boracay again tops the list, but perhaps for an additional reason this time: data from Google Insights for Search this year shows that searches for Boracay peaked in March, coincidentally the same time that actress Anne Curtis experienced a wardrobe malfunction on the beach during the Sunday noontime show ASAP.
In addition to telling us what people are curious about in the Philippines, Google Zeitgeist tools also offer insight into which topics were of interest across the globe. Top search terms from over fifty countries appear in Google Zeitgeist webpage, google.com.ph/zeitgeist2010 — from political candidates in the United States, to holiday destinations in Singapore, to online games searches in South Korea.
This year’s global fastest rising searches show interest in new tech trends with chatroulette at the help, followed by the iPad; pop culture (with Justin Bieber a bona fide worldwide sensation), and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
