Most popular internet searches in 2011

Most popular search and what was trending on the internet search engines regarding to BT Blog online ; If the internet is a mirror reflecting modern Britain, we’re in deep trouble. What do you suppose was the second fastest-rising question typed into Google this year beginning with “what is… ” ? What is quantitative easing perhaps? Or what is Britain’s debt total? (£967bn in case you’re interested). Nope. It was “what is scampi?” closely followed by “what are truffles/piles/cookies?” The only glimmer that the nation has an IQ above that of chihuahuas was the question that claimed the top spot “what is AV?” At least some people wanted to know what the alternative vote and referendum were all about.

According to Google’s annual “Zeitgeist” study, the UK’s most popular searches in 2011 were what you might expect – the functional Facebook (top), eBay, YouTube, Amazon etc. However, lots of people have been googling Google, making that the sixth most popular search in the UK. Odd.

In the “How to…” category “revise” came top followed by “snog” which immediately indicates the age range of those searching “how to… ” questions online.

The fastest-rising search was the royal wedding, the fastest-rising TV show was X Factor 2011, and the fastest-rising film was Breaking Dawn (of the Twilight series).

The top celebrity was Kim Kardashian, with Victoria Beckham not far behind. I’m tempted to google “why?” for the last two, but fear I’d get a ridiculous answer.

“Google’s year-end Zeitgeist shows what’s been on the minds of people in the UK and beyond over the last twelve months,” a Google spokesperson told BT. “As usual, search is helping people satisfy their appetite for celebrity pictures and salacious gossip.”

Top UK searches
1. Facebook
2. YouTube
3. Hotmail
4. eBay
6. Google
7. BBC
8. Amazon
9. Argos
10. Yahoo

Top celebrities
1. Kim Kardashian
2. Victoria Beckham
3. Emma Watson
4. Scarlett Johansson
5. Jennifer Aniston
6. Britney Spears
7. Megan Fox
8. Ricky Gervais
9. Jessica Jane
10. Angelina Jolie

What is …
1. What is AV
2. What is scampi
3. What are truffles
4. What are piles
5. What is 4D
6. What are cookies
7. What is copyright
8. What is zumba
9. What is iCloud
10. What is probate

How to …
1. How to revise
2. How to snog
3. How to reference
4. How to wallpaper
5. How to draw
6. How to sleep
7. How to flirt
8. How to geek
9. How to pronounce
10. How to shuffle

Fastest-rising searches
1. Royal wedding
2. iPhone 5
3. Fifa 12
4. Groupon
5. iPad 2
6. Ryan Dunn
7. Adele
8. Minecraft
9. Rebecca Black
10. Ed Sheeran

Fastest-rising TV programme
1. X Factor 2011
2. Apprentice 2011
3. X Factor USA
4. NCIS season 9
5. House season 8
6. Glee season 3
7. Thundercats 2011
8. Big Brother 13
9. Supernatural season 7
10. Smallville season 10

Fastest-rising movies
1. Breaking Dawn
2. Final Destination 5
3. Mean Girls 2
4. True Grit
5. Conan the Barbarian
6. Scream
7. The Inbetweeners
8. Little Fockers
9. Transformers 3
10. Unstoppable

Fastest-rising sports terms
1. Haye vs Klitschko
2. Olympic tickets 2012
3. Arsenal transfer
4. Six Nations 2011
5. Wimbledon 2011
6. Grand National 2011
7. Wrestlemania 27
8. Copa America 2011
9. Randy Savage
10. Dan Wheldon

Top food and drink
1. Asda
2. Recipes
3. Tesco
4. Sainsburys
5. Pizza
6. Chicken
7. Chocolate
8. Dominos
9. Morrisons
10. Argos

Top travel destinations
1. Las Vegas
2. New York
3. Disneyland Paris
4. Jamaica
5. Orlando
6. Barbados
7. Hawaii
8. Caribbean
9. Florida
10. Cuba