Search Habits Die Hard

Yesterday Google released its annual Zeitgeist survey results for 2011, charting the top UK search trends of the year. The survey results include top searches for consumer electronics/gadgets, fastest rising films and sporting events, and unsurprisingly most searched bargain websites, perhaps a reflection of the state of the current economy.

As someone who keeps up with popular culture, there were no real surprises to me in the results, with The Royal Wedding topping the ‘Fastest Rising Search’ list and celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Charlie Sheen making appearances in most-searched-for results after their public goings-on this year.

They do however reveal some quite interesting search engine habits. For example the apparent increase in people who turn to Google as an immediate news source is demonstrated by Ryan Dunn being the fastest rising in 2011, no doubt as a result of his tragic death earlier this year triggered by drink driving. However, Kate Middleton, arguably the most talked about and high profile lady in the UK currently, rolls into 8^th place.

It is encouraging to see the ‘What is’ list topped by ‘What is AV?’ highlighting that the population are making use of the internet to get to grips with some more intricate issues.

I also noticed how quickly ‘reality’ stars gain their five minutes of fame with YouTube sensation Rebecca Black shooting into 3^rd place in the ‘Fastest Rising People’ list. However, it’s also seen to be working the other way with has-beens such as Heidi Montag, Joe McElderry and Alexandra Burke taking spots on the ‘Fastest Falling People’ list.

Some of the more interesting inclusions in today’s results include ‘How to snog’ ‘What is scampi’, and ‘What are piles’, proving that there are no limits as to what the UK public will search for. There was also a glimmer of promise for the education sector when ‘How to revise’ topped the ‘How to’ list.

There have been mixed reaction to the results and whilst I agree none of it is exactly groundbreaking stuff, it demonstrates well the cultural shift in the UK and to some extent the train of thought of the population.

So on that note, who’s got predictions for 2012?

How Much Better Can You Eat?

I naively offered the opinion many years ago that the investigations of the News of the World’s Mazher Mahmood, scourge of celebrities everywhere, would have a certain shelf-life. Surely, there would come a point when the modus operandi of Mazher and his cohorts would become so obvious to the ‘victims’ that he would be unable to continue operating his stings. Apparently not.

The weekend’s revelation that, to use Bernard Ingham’s happy phrase, a semi-detached member of the Royal Family, was offering cash for access demonstrates that Mazher is still the King of celebrity entrapment.

The really puzzling thing though, for me, is why celebrities keep putting themselves in this position. Is there not some sort of internal alarm bell that goes off when a gentleman of Middle Eastern or Asiatic origin offers them huge amounts of money in a hotel room in order to do something dodgy? Is it that all reason and common sense goes out of the window when people are offered piles of money?

There is a brilliant exchange from one of my favourite films, Chinatown, when private investigator Jake Gittes asks the already obscenely rich Noah Cross why he is bothering to drive down land prices by restricting water supplies in the Los Angeles valley in order to snap them up for a pittance. “Why are you doing it? How much better can you eat? What could you buy that you can't already afford?” asks Gittes.

I’d like answers to some of those questions from Mazher’s victims.

What Price Fame?

So, was it all just a sham? Or has five years conducting their relationship under the scorching rays of the media spotlight finally taken its toll? Yes, I’m talking about the recent announcement that Katie Price, AKA page three stunna Jordan, is finally calling time on her marriage to Peter Andre – he of the waxed chest, washboard abs and questionable musical ability.

In the post-match analysis, no doubt every man and his dog will be speculating as to the real reason behind the perma-tanned pair’s parting of ways. But regardless of the conclusion you come to, one fact is undeniable – they understood how to work the media like no other celebrity couple out there. Forget Posh & Becks and their tasteful (read cringeworthy) fashion shoots and increasingly desperate attempts to get us to take them seriously, Katie and Peter courted the media unashamedly from Day One – and they got it down to a fine art. What’s more, their warts-and- all, comi-tragic approach to celebrity has made them an outrageous amount of money in a very short space of time.

Which is why their request that the media “respect their families’ privacy at this difficult time” is a little hard to swallow. Surely the Price family’s privacy was irreparably compromised the moment they chose to invite an entire tv crew into their home to document their every cross word and happy moment? For a couple whose fortune has been amassed almost entirely through selling the mundane minutiae of their private lives to an eager public – be it through the pages of Hello or via their eponymous tv series – they are being uncharacteristically tight-lipped.

Katie, Peter, a word to the wise: don’t bite the hand that feeds you. You owe your very existence to the media machine and the fans that have followed your every move since that first fumble in the jungle – so be careful what you wish for. It might just come true.