Friday, December 26, 2014

Google's year in search: what we searched for in 2014

Mary Berry beats Emma Watson and Londoners don’t know how to kiss, Google search data reveals

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In London, Glasgow, Brighton and Leeds, 'how to kiss
In London, Glasgow, Brighton and Leeds, 'how to kiss", was the number one search Photo: Getty Images
Glaswegians and Londoners don’t know how to kiss, Mancunians are keen to learn to crochet and people living in Oxford want to know how to paraphrase, Google search data reveals.
The internet giant has, for the first time, released a city-by-city breakdown of the most popular 'how to' terms entered into its search engine.
In London, Glasgow, Brighton and Leeds, 'how to kiss", was the number one search, suggesting that hormonal teenagers do indeed spend too much time on the internet.
More niche pursuits dominate elsewhere. Mancunians want to learn crocheting and the residents of Cardiff and Liverpool are keen to learn how to draw.
Bristol reveals itself to be the most fitness-conscious location - it's inhabitants want to know how to perform squat-thrusts, or squats, properly. Scholarly Oxford-dwellers, by contrast, asked 'how to paraphrase'.
The terms were published in Google's annual report, the Year in Search, which reveals the most searched-for terms in Britain in 2014.
The full list of city by city how to's are:
London
How to kiss
How to draw
How to meditate
Edinburgh
How to kiss
How to Skype
How to study
Cardiff
How to draw
How to watch
How to plank
Belfast
How to shuffle
How to hypnotize
How to animate
Manchester
How to crochet
How to draw
How to knit
Leeds
How to kiss
How to study
How to Skype
Glasgow
How to kiss
How to draw
How to hypnotize
Birmingham
How to draw
How to kiss
How to sleep
Newcastle
How to kiss
How to draw
How to wallpaper
Liverpool
How to kiss
How to draw
How to plaster
Bristol
How to squat
How to hack
How to hack
Brighton
How to kiss
How to draw
How to plank
Nottingham
How to kiss
How to hypnotize
How to spell
Cambridge
How to massage
How to shuffle
How to decorate
Oxford
How to paraphrase
How to draw
How to crochet

Germany's victory over Argentina in World Cup final GETTY IMAGES
It was a year dominated by sport according to the top trending searches from Google.
The top trending search for 2014 was World Cup 2014, which Germany won.
The iPhone 6 and the death of Peaches Geldof feature in the top 3.
The full list of top trending searches is:
World Cup 2014
iPhone 6
Peaches Geldof
Robin Williams
Rik Mayall
Flappy Bird
Ebola
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Grand National 2014
Jennifer Lawrence

Rita Ora takes part in the Ice Bucket Challenge on the streets of New York (REX)
In 2014 in the UK, the ice bucket challenge stormed social media and convinced many people to pour cold water over themselves for a good cause.
So it is not no wonder that ALS, the charity associated with the ice bucket challenge, ranked number 2 in the top news stories searched for on Google.
The number one news story was the Ebola virus. This Ebola epidemic is the largest in history, affecting multiple countries in West Africa. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was first reported in March 2014, and has rapidly become the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976.
In fact, the current epidemic sweeping across the region has now killed more than all other known Ebola outbreaks combined.
The top news stories were:
Linked to the top news stories was the results of what we asked Google about.
News stories like Ebola and ALS came in the top two.
But there were some honourable mentions of love at the number three slot, fracking and twerking.
Here is the list of what is...?

A woman poses next to a mural called Art Buff created by street artist Banksy which appeared in Folkestone, Kent (PA)
The never ending question of who is Banksy? took top spot in the questions section.
2014 was a year of mystery for Banksy in 2014. Earlier this year Banksy announced a new work on his website, with no clues to its location,prompting fans to search for the work.
The work was the first brand new piece to officially appear on the Bristol artist's website since his New York 'residency' in October.
Banksy's pieces, nearly always painted on public property, have been known to make hundreds of thousands of pounds when sold at auction.
Where is...?
Where is Honduras
Where is Uruguay
Where is Sochi
Where is Gleneagles
Where is Estonia
Where is Algeria
Where is Broadmoor
Where is Brazil
Where is Ecuador
Where is Palestine
The sudden death of Peaches Geldof was big news in 2014.
It topped the Google list of 'losses in 2014', as the 25-year-olds death stunned the nation.
The journalist was discovered by husband Thomas Cohen in a spare room, where she lay on a bed with one leg dangling on the floor.
We used Google to reflect on the passing of Robin Williams, Rik Mayall and Lynda Bellingham
The full list is:
Mary Berry has sneaked into the most searched female celebs.
The Great British Bake Off star ranks at number 9 just ahead of Emma Watson
Beyonce
Jennifer Lawrence
Katy Perry
Ariana Grande
Taylor Swift
Katie Price
Nicki Minaj
Selena Gomez
Mary Berry
Emma Watson
The rising female celebs are:
Ariana Grande
Kylie Minogue
Kim Kardashian
Zoella
Sia
Kylie Jenner
Mary Berry
Pixie Lott
Mel B
Lorde

Benedict Cumberbatch after reading letters at Hay Festival 2014 (Jay Williams)
Benedict Cumberbatch held a steady fourth spot behind Harry Styles in the most searched male celebs category.
Mr Cumberbatch has enjoyed a meteoric rise to become one of Britain's most popular actors combining BBC dramas and Hollywood block busters.
His breakthrough TV role came playing Physicist Steven Hawking, in 2004 film Hawking. Later his role as detective Sherlock Holmes in Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss's hugely popular BBC television series, adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories that really brought him into the public eye.
The full list is:
Ed Sheeran
Jay Z
Harry Styles
Benedict Cumberbatch
David Beckham
Pharrell Williams
Zac Efron
Robbie Williams
Justin Timberlake
George Clooney

Steph and Dom Meet Nigel Farage, Channel 4
Nigel Farage makes it into the top 5 of the rising male celebs list.
The Ukip leader has certainly had a whirlwind year and he beat off stiff competition here to claim the number 5 spot.
Most recently he took on Russell Brand on Question time and got interviewed by Steph and Dom of Goggle box fame.
David Beckham's son Brooklyn also makes it onto the list.
Pharrell Williams
Benedict Cumberbatch
George Clooney
Jay Z
Nigel Farage
Zac Efron
Rory Mcilroy
Jon Snow
Brooklyn Beckham
Tom Hiddleston
The top 10 searched diets are:
Clean 9 Diet
Ultima Diet
Perricone Diet
Atkins Diet
80/20 Diet
Green Coffee Diet
Exante Diet
4 3 Diet
Sugar Detox Diet
Clean Eating Diet
2014 was the year of superhero movies, with Transformers 4, Captain America 2, Thor, Robocop, Iron Man and Superman- Man Of Steel dominating our movie searches.
Transformers 4
American Hustle
The Lego Movie
22 Jump Street
Dallas Buyers Club
Inbetweeners 2
Gone Girl
Captain Phillips
The Hunger Games
Despicable Me
We still loved holidaying in traditional locations like Paris, New York and Amsterdam, but in 2014 we became more interested in Italy, Iceland and Portugal.

Mary Berry (left), Paul Hollywood and winner Nancy Birtwhistle, 60, who has been crowned champion of this year's Great British Bake Off (BBC)
Although Mary Berry ranked in the most searched females, we are still searching for recipes of burgers, over shortbread and gingerbread.
It's has arguably been the Great British Bake Off's most successful year, with the cooking programme achieving record viewing figures for the BBC.
The show has not been without drama, as "bingate" saw one contestant leave the programme after apparently putting another's baked alaska in the bin.
The recipes we are searching for are:
While the cake recipes we are searching for are:
Chocolate Cake
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Banana Cake
Carrot Cake
Sponge Cake
Red Velvet
Fairy Cake
Rainbow Cake
Victoria Sponge
Cake Pops
The top Premier League teams being typed into Google are:
Liverpool
Manchester United
Arsenal
Hull
Chelsea
Sunderland
Burnley
Southampton
Manchester City
Everton
We still aspired to high-end fashion brands and supermarkets , but interest in the value stores and sites like New Look, Aldi, Gumtree and Primark showed that finances were still key in our minds.
Businesses
Rightmove
Gumtree
Next
Tesco
Asda
John Lewis
Natwest
Halifax
Santander
Marks and Spencer
Fashion Brands
New Look
Warehouse
River Island
Topshop
Zara
Coast
H&M
Ted Baker
Mango
Ralph Lauren
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