Tag Archives: Politics & Elections

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 28–September 3

With the long Labor Day weekend beckoning, we’ll spare you the introduction and dive right into the past week of search trends.

Party at the VMAs

It’s been nearly a week since it all went down, but given the number of trending topics related to the Sunday evening spectacle known as the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, we feel almost obligated to recap how it played out on Search. So, here are the highlights: bizarre but wonderful host Miley Cyrus pulled in a cool 5 million searches, while her onstage confrontation with Nicki Minaj (which may or may not have been planned) got another 500,000+. Kanye West accepted the show’s highest honor—the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award—in a rambling 13-minute speech (during which he may or may not have committed to running for president in 2020), racking up more than 200,000 searches.

kanye-west.width-1024.png

Justin Bieber cried while performing his new single, “What Do You Mean,” inspiring 500,000+ searches for the performance and another 500,000+ for the song; and finally, Taylor Swift—no stranger to VMA drama featuring Kanye West and acceptance speeches, as well as public spats with Nicki Minaj—premiered her video for “Wildest Dreams,” (100,000+ searchers wanted to know more). For more trends from the show (and to find out which of these artists claimed the “Most Searched” title), check out the trends page.

vmas

Kentucky courthouse drama

A Kentucky county clerk found new notoriety this week, appearing in Hot Trends not just once but three times. Kim Davis has repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claiming it would infringe on her religious beliefs. Multiple couples sued her, and Judge David L. Bunning ordered her to issue the licenses. Finally, after her request for a stay from the Supreme Court was denied, yesterday Davis was held in contempt of court. With Davis in jail, her deputies began issuing licenses to couples today. As the saga played out in Rowan County, people turned to the web with inquiries ranging from “What religion is Kim Davis?” and “What law did Kim Davis break?” to more broad questions like “Why do we need marriage licenses?” and “How long have there been marriage licenses in the U.S.?”

Fall fun

The days are getting shorter (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) and the long Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. In the U.S., people have turned to the web to learn more about the origins of Labor Day and to ask an important fashion question: “Why can’t you wear white after Labor Day?” Our advice: don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.)

labor-day-trends.width-1024.png

Autumn may make some melancholy, but for football fans it’s a time to rejoice. Tomorrow marks the first college football Saturday of the season, and searchers are gearing up in anticipation. Yesterday’s Michigan game against Utah drew 500,000+ searches as people looked to find more about the game. As the debut game for new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, expectations were high, but deflated (see below) when Utah won 24-17. But it’s Michigan rival—and defending national champs—Ohio State that lit up the scoreboard as the most searched team over the past month:

college-football-teams-trends.width-1024.png

Finally, though the NFL season doesn’t officially start until next Thursday, the league is in the news after Patriots QB Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for “Deflategate” was overturned. Brady was the top trend Thursday, with 1 million searches, as people asked questions like “Is Tom Brady suspended?” and “What does ‘nullified’ mean?”

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 28–September 3

With the long Labor Day weekend beckoning, we’ll spare you the introduction and dive right into the past week of search trends.

Party at the VMAs

It’s been nearly a week since it all went down, but given the number of trending topics related to the Sunday evening spectacle known as the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, we feel almost obligated to recap how it played out on Search. So, here are the highlights: bizarre but wonderful host Miley Cyrus pulled in a cool 5 million searches, while her onstage confrontation with Nicki Minaj (which may or may not have been planned) got another 500,000+. Kanye West accepted the show’s highest honor—the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award—in a rambling 13-minute speech (during which he may or may not have committed to running for president in 2020), racking up more than 200,000 searches.

Justin Bieber cried while performing his new single, “What Do You Mean,” inspiring 500,000+ searches for the performance and another 500,000+ for the song; and finally, Taylor Swift—no stranger to VMA drama featuring Kanye West and acceptance speeches, as well as public spats with Nicki Minaj—premiered her video for “Wildest Dreams,” (100,000+ searchers wanted to know more). For more trends from the show (and to find out which of these artists claimed the “Most Searched” title), check out the trends page.

Kentucky courthouse drama

A Kentucky county clerk found new notoriety this week, appearing in Hot Trends not just once but three times. Kim Davis has repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claiming it would infringe on her religious beliefs. Multiple couples sued her, and Judge David L. Bunning ordered her to issue the licenses. Finally, after her request for a stay from the Supreme Court was denied, yesterday Davis was held in contempt of court. With Davis in jail, her deputies began issuing licenses to couples today. As the saga played out in Rowan County, people turned to the web with inquiries ranging from “What religion is Kim Davis?” and “What law did Kim Davis break?” to more broad questions like “Why do we need marriage licenses?” and “How long have there been marriage licenses in the U.S.?”

Fall fun

The days are getting shorter (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) and the long Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. In the U.S., people have turned to the web to learn more about the origins of Labor Day and to ask an important fashion question: “Why can’t you wear white after Labor Day?” Our advice: don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.)

Autumn may make some melancholy, but for football fans it’s a time to rejoice. Tomorrow marks the first college football Saturday of the season, and searchers are gearing up in anticipation. Yesterday’s Michigan game against Utah drew 500,000+ searches as people looked to find more about the game. As the debut game for new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, expectations were high, but deflated (see below) when Utah won 24-17. But it’s Michigan rival—and defending national champs—Ohio State that lit up the scoreboard as the most searched team over the past month:

Finally, though the NFL season doesn’t officially start until next Thursday, the league is in the news after Patriots QB Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for “Deflategate” was overturned. Brady was the top trend Thursday, with 1 million searches, as people asked questions like “Is Tom Brady suspended?” and “What does ‘nullified’ mean?”

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 28–September 3

With the long Labor Day weekend beckoning, we’ll spare you the introduction and dive right into the past week of search trends.

Party at the VMAs

It’s been nearly a week since it all went down, but given the number of trending topics related to the Sunday evening spectacle known as the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, we feel almost obligated to recap how it played out on Search. So, here are the highlights: bizarre but wonderful host Miley Cyrus pulled in a cool 5 million searches, while her onstage confrontation with Nicki Minaj (which may or may not have been planned) got another 500,000+. Kanye West accepted the show’s highest honor—the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award—in a rambling 13-minute speech (during which he may or may not have committed to running for president in 2020), racking up more than 200,000 searches.

kanye-west.width-1024.png

Justin Bieber cried while performing his new single, “What Do You Mean,” inspiring 500,000+ searches for the performance and another 500,000+ for the song; and finally, Taylor Swift—no stranger to VMA drama featuring Kanye West and acceptance speeches, as well as public spats with Nicki Minaj—premiered her video for “Wildest Dreams,” (100,000+ searchers wanted to know more). For more trends from the show (and to find out which of these artists claimed the “Most Searched” title), check out the trends page.

vmas

Kentucky courthouse drama

A Kentucky county clerk found new notoriety this week, appearing in Hot Trends not just once but three times. Kim Davis has repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claiming it would infringe on her religious beliefs. Multiple couples sued her, and Judge David L. Bunning ordered her to issue the licenses. Finally, after her request for a stay from the Supreme Court was denied, yesterday Davis was held in contempt of court. With Davis in jail, her deputies began issuing licenses to couples today. As the saga played out in Rowan County, people turned to the web with inquiries ranging from “What religion is Kim Davis?” and “What law did Kim Davis break?” to more broad questions like “Why do we need marriage licenses?” and “How long have there been marriage licenses in the U.S.?”

Fall fun

The days are getting shorter (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) and the long Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. In the U.S., people have turned to the web to learn more about the origins of Labor Day and to ask an important fashion question: “Why can’t you wear white after Labor Day?” Our advice: don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.)

labor-day-trends.width-1024.png

Autumn may make some melancholy, but for football fans it’s a time to rejoice. Tomorrow marks the first college football Saturday of the season, and searchers are gearing up in anticipation. Yesterday’s Michigan game against Utah drew 500,000+ searches as people looked to find more about the game. As the debut game for new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, expectations were high, but deflated (see below) when Utah won 24-17. But it’s Michigan rival—and defending national champs—Ohio State that lit up the scoreboard as the most searched team over the past month:

college-football-teams-trends.width-1024.png

Finally, though the NFL season doesn’t officially start until next Thursday, the league is in the news after Patriots QB Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for “Deflategate” was overturned. Brady was the top trend Thursday, with 1 million searches, as people asked questions like “Is Tom Brady suspended?” and “What does ‘nullified’ mean?”

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 28–September 3

With the long Labor Day weekend beckoning, we’ll spare you the introduction and dive right into the past week of search trends.

Party at the VMAs

It’s been nearly a week since it all went down, but given the number of trending topics related to the Sunday evening spectacle known as the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, we feel almost obligated to recap how it played out on Search. So, here are the highlights: bizarre but wonderful host Miley Cyrus pulled in a cool 5 million searches, while her onstage confrontation with Nicki Minaj (which may or may not have been planned) got another 500,000+. Kanye West accepted the show’s highest honor—the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award—in a rambling 13-minute speech (during which he may or may not have committed to running for president in 2020), racking up more than 200,000 searches.

kanye-west.width-1024.png

Justin Bieber cried while performing his new single, “What Do You Mean,” inspiring 500,000+ searches for the performance and another 500,000+ for the song; and finally, Taylor Swift—no stranger to VMA drama featuring Kanye West and acceptance speeches, as well as public spats with Nicki Minaj—premiered her video for “Wildest Dreams,” (100,000+ searchers wanted to know more). For more trends from the show (and to find out which of these artists claimed the “Most Searched” title), check out the trends page.

vmas

Kentucky courthouse drama

A Kentucky county clerk found new notoriety this week, appearing in Hot Trends not just once but three times. Kim Davis has repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claiming it would infringe on her religious beliefs. Multiple couples sued her, and Judge David L. Bunning ordered her to issue the licenses. Finally, after her request for a stay from the Supreme Court was denied, yesterday Davis was held in contempt of court. With Davis in jail, her deputies began issuing licenses to couples today. As the saga played out in Rowan County, people turned to the web with inquiries ranging from “What religion is Kim Davis?” and “What law did Kim Davis break?” to more broad questions like “Why do we need marriage licenses?” and “How long have there been marriage licenses in the U.S.?”

Fall fun

The days are getting shorter (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) and the long Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. In the U.S., people have turned to the web to learn more about the origins of Labor Day and to ask an important fashion question: “Why can’t you wear white after Labor Day?” Our advice: don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.)

labor-day-trends.width-1024.png

Autumn may make some melancholy, but for football fans it’s a time to rejoice. Tomorrow marks the first college football Saturday of the season, and searchers are gearing up in anticipation. Yesterday’s Michigan game against Utah drew 500,000+ searches as people looked to find more about the game. As the debut game for new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, expectations were high, but deflated (see below) when Utah won 24-17. But it’s Michigan rival—and defending national champs—Ohio State that lit up the scoreboard as the most searched team over the past month:

college-football-teams-trends.width-1024.png

Finally, though the NFL season doesn’t officially start until next Thursday, the league is in the news after Patriots QB Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for “Deflategate” was overturned. Brady was the top trend Thursday, with 1 million searches, as people asked questions like “Is Tom Brady suspended?” and “What does ‘nullified’ mean?”

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 14-20

Inspirational women. A surreal theme park. And a third-party candidate we can all get behind. This week had a little of everything—read on for a look at the top topics on Google Search.

Top tabs

Lieutenant Shaye Haver and Lieutenant Kristen Griest are the first women to break a major gender barrier and graduate from the rigorous Army Ranger School this week. The course is known for its tough physical challenges and a high dropout rate, and this was the first year women were admitted. Search interest in Haver and Griest has spiked more than 150X since Tuesday; at today’s graduation, they earned their tabs—and a place in history.

This Presidential campaign is Nuts

The Republican Presidential candidates continue to draw headlines in the long lead-up to the 2016 election. One of the top topics this week? Immigration, after Donald Trump said in an interview that he would overturn the law that grants citizenship to people born in the U.S.—a law better known as the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It didn’t take long for the other candidates to take a stand one way or the other on the “birthright citizenship” issue, while searchers turned to the web to learn more about the Amendment and the ongoing debate. In less political political news, Trump also drew ire this week when he said that supermodel Heidi Klum—a knockout at 42—was “no longer a 10.” More than 200,000 searches—and a smart comeback from Heidi—weren’t far behind.

Meanwhile, there’s a new presidential candidate on the scene in Iowa. A 15-year-old high school sophomore named Brady Olson made quite the splash after he submitted his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission as “Deez Nuts.” Not only is he polling at a not-too-shabby 9 percent against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in North Carolina—Nuts was a trending topic on Twitter and he’s surpassed Clinton in search interest, too.

ClintonVsDeezNuts.width-1024.png

Cheater, beware

The cheating site Ashley Madison was a top trending term this week, after hackers stole user account and payment information and posted the data online. There were more than 1 million searches for [Ashley Madison] on Tuesday, with more than half a million for [Ashley Madison List] as people tried to find out whether someone they knew had a profile. But questions about the hacking were myriad, and sometimes innocent. Many wanted to know “who is Ashley Madison?” (spoiler: not a real person) while others asked “What is the dark web?” in an effort to find out more about the anonymous and hidden network where the data was released.

AshleyMadison.width-1024.png

Be careful what you wish for

A new tourist attraction in the U.K. is already living up to its name. “Dismaland,” an art exhibit by the elusive Banksy, and "the U.K.'s most disappointing new visitor attraction,” features a derelict castle with a dirty moatgloomy park attendants, and bizarre works by 50+ artists. After being shrouded in secrecy, the “bemusement park” debuted this week to the tune of 200,000+ searches, and today search interest in Dismaland surpassed that of Disneyland’s. (One of searchers’ top questions: “What does Disney say about Dismaland?”) Unfortunately (or, appropriately, depending on your viewpoint), the park has also had its fair share of troubles already. As its website crashed under the weight of 6 million hits, and hundreds of people lined up outside the resort, many are wondering whether they’re on their way to see a conceptual art work, or already a part of one.

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 14-20

Inspirational women. A surreal theme park. And a third-party candidate we can all get behind. This week had a little of everything—read on for a look at the top topics on Google Search.

Top tabs

Lieutenant Shaye Haver and Lieutenant Kristen Griest are the first women to break a major gender barrier and graduate from the rigorous Army Ranger School this week. The course is known for its tough physical challenges and a high dropout rate, and this was the first year women were admitted. Search interest in Haver and Griest has spiked more than 150X since Tuesday; at today’s graduation, they earned their tabs—and a place in history.

This Presidential campaign is Nuts

The Republican Presidential candidates continue to draw headlines in the long lead-up to the 2016 election. One of the top topics this week? Immigration, after Donald Trump said in an interview that he would overturn the law that grants citizenship to people born in the U.S.—a law better known as the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It didn’t take long for the other candidates to take a stand one way or the other on the “birthright citizenship” issue, while searchers turned to the web to learn more about the Amendment and the ongoing debate. In less political political news, Trump also drew ire this week when he said that supermodel Heidi Klum—a knockout at 42—was “no longer a 10.” More than 200,000 searches—and a smart comeback from Heidi—weren’t far behind.

Meanwhile, there’s a new presidential candidate on the scene in Iowa. A 15-year-old high school sophomore named Brady Olson made quite the splash after he submitted his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission as “Deez Nuts.” Not only is he polling at a not-too-shabby 9 percent against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in North Carolina—Nuts was a trending topic on Twitter and he’s surpassed Clinton in search interest, too.

Cheater, beware

The cheating site Ashley Madison was a top trending term this week, after hackers stole user account and payment information and posted the data online. There were more than 1 million searches for [Ashley Madison] on Tuesday, with more than half a million for [Ashley Madison List] as people tried to find out whether someone they knew had a profile. But questions about the hacking were myriad, and sometimes innocent. Many wanted to know “who is Ashley Madison?” (spoiler: not a real person) while others asked “What is the dark web?” in an effort to find out more about the anonymous and hidden network where the data was released.

Be careful what you wish for

A new tourist attraction in the U.K. is already living up to its name. “Dismaland,” an art exhibit by the elusive Banksy, and "the U.K.'s most disappointing new visitor attraction,” features a derelict castle with a dirty moatgloomy park attendants, and bizarre works by 50+ artists. After being shrouded in secrecy, the “bemusement park” debuted this week to the tune of 200,000+ searches, and today search interest in Dismaland surpassed that of Disneyland’s. (One of searchers’ top questions: “What does Disney say about Dismaland?”) Unfortunately (or, appropriately, depending on your viewpoint), the park has also had its fair share of troubles already. As its website crashed under the weight of 6 million hits, and hundreds of people lined up outside the resort, many are wondering whether they’re on their way to see a conceptual art work, or already a part of one.

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 14-20

Inspirational women. A surreal theme park. And a third-party candidate we can all get behind. This week had a little of everything—read on for a look at the top topics on Google Search.

Top tabs

Lieutenant Shaye Haver and Lieutenant Kristen Griest are the first women to break a major gender barrier and graduate from the rigorous Army Ranger School this week. The course is known for its tough physical challenges and a high dropout rate, and this was the first year women were admitted. Search interest in Haver and Griest has spiked more than 150X since Tuesday; at today’s graduation, they earned their tabs—and a place in history.

This Presidential campaign is Nuts

The Republican Presidential candidates continue to draw headlines in the long lead-up to the 2016 election. One of the top topics this week? Immigration, after Donald Trump said in an interview that he would overturn the law that grants citizenship to people born in the U.S.—a law better known as the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It didn’t take long for the other candidates to take a stand one way or the other on the “birthright citizenship” issue, while searchers turned to the web to learn more about the Amendment and the ongoing debate. In less political political news, Trump also drew ire this week when he said that supermodel Heidi Klum—a knockout at 42—was “no longer a 10.” More than 200,000 searches—and a smart comeback from Heidi—weren’t far behind.

Meanwhile, there’s a new presidential candidate on the scene in Iowa. A 15-year-old high school sophomore named Brady Olson made quite the splash after he submitted his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission as “Deez Nuts.” Not only is he polling at a not-too-shabby 9 percent against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in North Carolina—Nuts was a trending topic on Twitter and he’s surpassed Clinton in search interest, too.

ClintonVsDeezNuts.width-1024.png

Cheater, beware

The cheating site Ashley Madison was a top trending term this week, after hackers stole user account and payment information and posted the data online. There were more than 1 million searches for [Ashley Madison] on Tuesday, with more than half a million for [Ashley Madison List] as people tried to find out whether someone they knew had a profile. But questions about the hacking were myriad, and sometimes innocent. Many wanted to know “who is Ashley Madison?” (spoiler: not a real person) while others asked “What is the dark web?” in an effort to find out more about the anonymous and hidden network where the data was released.

AshleyMadison.width-1024.png

Be careful what you wish for

A new tourist attraction in the U.K. is already living up to its name. “Dismaland,” an art exhibit by the elusive Banksy, and "the U.K.'s most disappointing new visitor attraction,” features a derelict castle with a dirty moatgloomy park attendants, and bizarre works by 50+ artists. After being shrouded in secrecy, the “bemusement park” debuted this week to the tune of 200,000+ searches, and today search interest in Dismaland surpassed that of Disneyland’s. (One of searchers’ top questions: “What does Disney say about Dismaland?”) Unfortunately (or, appropriately, depending on your viewpoint), the park has also had its fair share of troubles already. As its website crashed under the weight of 6 million hits, and hundreds of people lined up outside the resort, many are wondering whether they’re on their way to see a conceptual art work, or already a part of one.

Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 14-20

Inspirational women. A surreal theme park. And a third-party candidate we can all get behind. This week had a little of everything—read on for a look at the top topics on Google Search.

Top tabs

Lieutenant Shaye Haver and Lieutenant Kristen Griest are the first women to break a major gender barrier and graduate from the rigorous Army Ranger School this week. The course is known for its tough physical challenges and a high dropout rate, and this was the first year women were admitted. Search interest in Haver and Griest has spiked more than 150X since Tuesday; at today’s graduation, they earned their tabs—and a place in history.

This Presidential campaign is Nuts

The Republican Presidential candidates continue to draw headlines in the long lead-up to the 2016 election. One of the top topics this week? Immigration, after Donald Trump said in an interview that he would overturn the law that grants citizenship to people born in the U.S.—a law better known as the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It didn’t take long for the other candidates to take a stand one way or the other on the “birthright citizenship” issue, while searchers turned to the web to learn more about the Amendment and the ongoing debate. In less political political news, Trump also drew ire this week when he said that supermodel Heidi Klum—a knockout at 42—was “no longer a 10.” More than 200,000 searches—and a smart comeback from Heidi—weren’t far behind.

Meanwhile, there’s a new presidential candidate on the scene in Iowa. A 15-year-old high school sophomore named Brady Olson made quite the splash after he submitted his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission as “Deez Nuts.” Not only is he polling at a not-too-shabby 9 percent against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in North Carolina—Nuts was a trending topic on Twitter and he’s surpassed Clinton in search interest, too.

ClintonVsDeezNuts.width-1024.png

Cheater, beware

The cheating site Ashley Madison was a top trending term this week, after hackers stole user account and payment information and posted the data online. There were more than 1 million searches for [Ashley Madison] on Tuesday, with more than half a million for [Ashley Madison List] as people tried to find out whether someone they knew had a profile. But questions about the hacking were myriad, and sometimes innocent. Many wanted to know “who is Ashley Madison?” (spoiler: not a real person) while others asked “What is the dark web?” in an effort to find out more about the anonymous and hidden network where the data was released.

AshleyMadison.width-1024.png

Be careful what you wish for

A new tourist attraction in the U.K. is already living up to its name. “Dismaland,” an art exhibit by the elusive Banksy, and "the U.K.'s most disappointing new visitor attraction,” features a derelict castle with a dirty moatgloomy park attendants, and bizarre works by 50+ artists. After being shrouded in secrecy, the “bemusement park” debuted this week to the tune of 200,000+ searches, and today search interest in Dismaland surpassed that of Disneyland’s. (One of searchers’ top questions: “What does Disney say about Dismaland?”) Unfortunately (or, appropriately, depending on your viewpoint), the park has also had its fair share of troubles already. As its website crashed under the weight of 6 million hits, and hundreds of people lined up outside the resort, many are wondering whether they’re on their way to see a conceptual art work, or already a part of one.