Official Blog
Insights from Googlers into our products, technology, and the Google culture
Through the Google lens: Search trends February 13-19
February 20, 2015
What we learned this week on search: New England’s stuck in a winter wonderland, Cindy Crawford doesn’t need makeup to look better than the rest of us and Lady Gaga’s caught in a good romance. Read on to learn the details.
Baby, it’s (still) cold outside
What better way to start your morning than with seven feet of snow? That’s what the lucky people of New England are saying (or not saying) as they endure the wrath of the aptly named
Thundersnow
. This type of storm occurs when a thunderstorm features snow instead of rain, and is just the latest storm in a record-breaking month of winter weather. The phenomena led to 20,000+ searches, which might have at least a little to do with The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore’s on-air
celebration
when the storm hit. Whatever makes you happy, Jim.
A date with destiny
All eyes will be on the Academy Awards this Sunday, and people are prepping for their Oscar parties turning to the Internet to find out who’s up for
Best Actor
and
Best Actress
. But the highlight of the event is the Best Picture Category, which many consider to be a tight race this year. The favorites are
Boyhood
and
Birdman
, but if searches this past month determined the winner, it would be Wes Anderson's
The Grand Budapest Hotel
.
And if we’re talking about a night out with the stars, does anyone know where
Cindy Crawford
is? This past week,
unretouched
photos of the American supermodel appeared online and, well—she still looked stunning. The photo went viral and drummed up a
discussion
on the media’s portrayal of female beauty.
Last call is in...
The party didn’t stop at midnight this past Tuesday as people started their Mardi Gras/
Fat Tuesday
celebrations. Searches for the holiday
spiked
on February 17, and there was an increase in searches for New Orleans delicacies
beignets
and King Cake. On the other side of the world, many people in Asia welcomed the Year of the Goat (or
sheep...or ram
...whichever you prefer) as they rang in the
Lunar New Year
with
style
, not to mention topping the charts with more than 2 million searches.
Sparks are flying
Lady Gaga electrified search this week when she announced that she’s switching her Poker Face for a wedding veil to marry boyfriend
Taylor Kinney
. Fans of the pop queen took to the web to find photos of her
heart-shaped
engagement ring and new fiancé, causing searches for Kinney to hit an
all-time
high. Doesn’t sound like a bad romance to us.
Speaking of electricity, this past Wednesday our doodle marked the 270th birthday of the godfather of all Energizer Bunnies,
Alessandro Volta
, the inventor of the first electrical battery. Searches for “
Who is Alessandro Volta
” and the “
voltaic pile
” hit highs, ensuring that the great inventor will be remembered for years to come.
Tip of the week
Don’t have time to watch the three-hour-long Academy Awards this weekend? Just search for the Oscars in the Google App and you’ll find the latest info on what just happened, from acceptance speeches to behind-the-scenes moments.
Posted by Jenise Araujo, Communications Associate, who searched for [mother monster] and [doogie howser takes the oscars]
Labels
accessibility
39
acquisition
26
ads
131
Africa
19
Android
59
apps
417
April 1
4
Asia
39
books + book search
48
commerce
12
computing history
7
crisis response
32
culture
11
developers
120
diversity
32
doodles
65
education and research
144
entrepreneurs at Google
14
Europe
46
faster web
16
free expression
61
google.org
69
googleplus
50
googlers and culture
203
green
101
Latin America
18
maps and earth
192
mobile
125
online safety
19
open source
19
photos
37
policy and issues
139
politics
69
privacy
66
recruiting and hiring
32
scholarships
31
search
502
search quality
24
search trends
118
security
36
small business
31
user experience and usability
41
youtube and video
140
Archive
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2009
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2007
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2006
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2005
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2004
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Feed
Follow @google
Follow
Give us feedback in our
Product Forums
.
Follow
