Pacquiao, 'jejemon' top Filipino searches on Google in 2010

MANILA, Philippines - World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and pop culture phenomenon “jejemon” topped online searches by Filipinos on Google in 2010, according to the annual 2010 Yearend Zeitgeist released by Google recently.

Google’s annual zeitgeist offers a unique perspective on the year’s major events and hottest trends based on global searches, as well as searches conducted on Google.com.ph.

“This year’s zeitgeist for the Philippines highlights the triumphs of many Filipinos, from the success of the 2010 automated elections to Manny Pacquiao’s back-to-back victories with Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito. As expected, the Filipino champion boxer is the top online newsmaker, followed by Venus Raj and Benigno Aquino III, who shared the victories of being crowned fourth runner-up in the Miss Universe 2010 pageant and being elected the Philippine president, respectively,” Google said in the zeitgeist.

However, it is the uniquely Filipino urban slang “jejemon,” which became a trend in the mobile and online world around middle of the year, that is the most searched term in Google for the year. 

As expected, search volume on the result of the first automated elections was high, making it the top news issue for 2010.

But the topics and terms that really dominated the searches were from entertainment, sports and lifestyle, with a healthy dose of queries on gadgets, gaming, and technology tools for learning.

Terms included in the top 10 searches were lyrics for Charice’s song “Pyramid,” Facebook emoticons, singing sensation Justin Bieber, mobile phone game “Plants vs Zombies,” the US teen musical “Glee,” blogsite Tumblr, multi-player adventure game Crossfire, and Google Chrome download.

Pinoys, as usual, showed their passion for celebrities and personalities. Aside from Pacquiao, Aquino, and Raj, Filipino celebrities mostly searched included Jason Ivler, presidential candidate Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro, Sen. Manny Villar, and controversial TV hosts Willie Revillame and Kris Aquino.

Meanwhile, most-searched local artists include Charice, Sarah Geronimo, Anne Curtis, Jovit Baldovino, Mocha Uson, Francis Magalona, Elmo Magalona, Lea Salonga, Up Dharma Down, Carol Banawa, and Urbandub.

In movies, the remake of the 1988 comedy film “Petrang Kabayo,” which stars Vice Ganda, drove local interest, according to Google. Other local movies that drove Filipinos to search online were “Sa Yo Lamang,” “In Your Eyes,” “Paano na Kaya,” “I Do,” “In My Life,” “Noy the Movie,” “Watawat,” “Dayo,” “Panday,” and “Tambayan ng Bayan.”

The most-searched local TV shows, on the other hand, were the usual mix of entertainment and sports offerings — “Agua Bendita,” “Pilipinas Got Talent,” “MYX Philippines,” “PBB Teen Clash,” UAAP Season 73, PBA, PBB Double Up, “ASAP XV,” “Wowowee,” and Rubi.

If online searches were any indication that many Filipinos are taking to travel more, the sites and island destinations of Cebu were the top-searched travel destination in the Philippines.

Sports, according to Google, also became a very popular hook for local tourism, with Filipinos scouring the Web for search results related to Camarines Sur, which hosts the Camsur Watersports Complex where tourists can wakeboard and wakeskate.

“Perennial favorite Boracay again tops the list but perhaps for an additional reason this time: data from Google Insights for Search this year show that searches for Boracay peaked in March, coincidentally the same time that actress Anne Curtis experienced a wardrobe malfunction on the beach during the Sunday noontime show ASAP,” Google said.

Other most-searched local travel destinations also include Bohol, Puerto Galera, Camarines Sur, Davao, Anawangin Cove, Puerto Princesa, Batangas, and Villa Escudero. Meanwhile, urban hangouts SM Cinema, Enchanted Kingdom, Club Manila East, Manila Ocean Park, Robinsons Movieworld, Greenhills Shopping Center, Araneta Coliseum, Mall Of Asia, Greenhills, and Resorts World Manila also fascinated local searchers.

On the technology side, Apple’s tablet computer, the iPad, which was launched in May in the United States but has yet to be made available locally, topped the searches.

However, what dominated the technology searches were smartphone brands with integrated social networking capabilities as Nokia C3, HTC Desire, iPhone 4, Nokia 2690, Nokia 5233, Nokia C6, Nokia C8, Samsung Champ, Samsung Galaxy, and Samsung Wave.

As a tool for learning Filipino students showed that geography is a key subject for learning, with “mapa” as the fastest-rising homework-related term. This was followed by searches for “Ekonomiks,” “Tula,” “Lipunan,” “Pabula,” “Kasaysayan,” “Panghalip,” “Epiko,” “Likas na Yaman,” and “Jose Rizal.”

Google Insights for Search, a publicly available tool at www.google.com.ph/insights/search, provides deeper insights into the year’s significant issues and events.