2013 in Google Search: Philippines’ top searches unveiled

Tweet

Google Philippines released its annual year-end Zeitgeist, a collection of the top search queries by Filipinos on google.com.ph. Leading 2013’s top searches is Hollywood actor Paul Walker, who was killed in a car crash on November 30. Walker, 40, is best known for his role as law enforcement official Brian O'Conner in the The Fast and the Furious franchise.

The overall searches list is also dominated by much-anticipated smartphones launched this year, controversial celebrities, and a beauty pageant that crowned yet another Filipina, among others.

Paul Walker' most searched; 'Typhoon Haiyan' 2nd in global trending events

Walker, who attended his charity event for the Typhoon Yolanda victims before the tragic crash, also topped the local lists for most searched news, newsmaker, and people. The deaths of Glee actor Cory Monteith and former South African president Nelson Mandela also figured prominently in the lists.

This year’s news list shows that Pinoys remain avid followers of competitions. Miss Universe, FIBA Asia, UAAP Season 76, and Wimbledon all took spots alongside political events such as the mid-term elections in May, State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July, and the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam issue. Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan), one of the strongest typhoons to make landfall, makes it to the list as netizens ramp up searches for news and updates. 

In food, juice recipes claimed the top spot in the most searched recipes list, followed by a string of desserts and meat recipes. International House of Pancakes (IHOP), which opened their first branch in the country early this year got the number one spot in the most searched restaurant list, overtaking other popular food choices equally brimming with customers such as J.CO Donuts and Vikings.

Other categories in this year’s local year-end Zeitgeist include local destinations, fashion brands, smartphones, apps, movies, music, TV shows, Korean personalities, dog breeds, and health and lifestyle.

In addition to showcasing what people were curious about in the Philippines, Google Zeitgeist tools also offer insight into which topics captured the world’s attention in 2013. Top search terms from over fifty countries appear on our Google Zeitgeist webpage, googlezeitgeist.com—from most-searched travel destinations in Brazil, to trending Australian celebrities, to most-searched Egyptian Olympians, to top tech gadgets in Japan and everything in between.

The Philippines also made a mark in the global search traffic with Typhoon Haiyan ranking second in the most trending event this year. This list is capped by Boston Marathon, which made the news in April due to bombings that killed three and injured close to 300.

To see more information about Google Zeitgeist across the globe, use interactive data visualizations and to watch the annual video, visit googlezeitgeist.com

“Zeitgeist is a tool in discovering the pulse of the people through searches made on Google. With the growing percentage of population going online, Zeitgeist becomes reflective of the issues and topics we’re interested in. This year’s lists speak a lot about our concern for national achievement and progress, while at the same time our curiosity in pop culture issues,” said Gail Tan, Google Philippines Country Communications Manager.

TOP OVERALL SEARCHES 1. Paul Walker 2. Samsung Galaxy S4 3. Movies 2013 4. Onehitcf        5. Camera 360   6. PAL Express 7. Neri Naig       8. Miss Universe 2013 9. EB Babe Yosh 10. iPhone 5s	NEWS 1. Paul Walker death 2. Miss Universe 2013 3. Pork barrel    4. FIBA Asia 2013 5. Election results 2013 6. SONA 2013   7. UAAP Season 76 8. Typhoon Yolanda 9. Wimbledon 2013 10. Nelson Mandela death	NEWSMAKERS 1. Paul Walker 2. Cory Monteith 3. Ariella Arida 4. Pope Francis 5. Megan Young 6. Devina Dediva 7. Nancy Binay 8. Janet Napoles 9. Gilas Pilipinas 10. Nelson Mandela	PEOPLE 1. Paul Walker   2. Neri Naig       3. EB Babe Yosh 4. Cory Monteith 5. Wally Bayola 6. Ariella Arida   7. Kevin Ware    8. Pope Francis 9. Chito Miranda 10. Megan Young
LOCAL CELEBRITIES 1. Neri Naig 2. EB Babe Yosh 3. Wally Bayola 4. Ariella Arida 5. Chito Miranda 6. Megan Young 7. Freddie Aguilar girlfriend 8. Totoy Brown 9. Krista Miller 10. Alyssa Quijano	TV SHOWS 1. The Voice Philippines 2. Got to Believe 3. Queen and I 4. Missing You 5. Juan dela Cruz 6. Maria Mercedes 7. Wowowillie 8. The Innocent Man 9. The Heirs 10. ANTM Cycle 20	MOVIES 1. Pacific Rim 2. Despicable Me 2 3. World War Z 4. Insidious 2 5. Warm Bodies 6. Beautiful Creatures 7. After Earth 8. Silver Linings Playbook 9. Pitch Perfect 10. The Croods	MUSIC 1. Harlem Shake 2. Gentleman 3. Titanium 4. Lord Patawad 5. Magkabilang Mundo 6. Gwiyomi 7. Chinito 8. Heart Attack 9. Wrecking Ball 10. Daylight
LYRICS 1. Titanium 2. Lord Patawad 3. Magkabilang Mundo 4. Gwiyomi 5. Chinito 6. Heart Attack 7. Daylight 8. Buko 9. Treasure 10. Diamonds	KOREAN PERSONALITIES 1. Choi Minho 2. Yoo In Na 3. Lee Hyun Woo 4. Ji Hyun Woo 5. Chanyeol 6. Jang Keun Suk 7. Yoo Seung Ho 8. Kim Jong Un 9. Song Joong Ki 10. Shin Won Ho	K-POP GROUPS 1. EXO 2. Shinee 3. Girls Generation 4. Tasty 5. Infinite 6. CNBlue 7. B.A.P 8. B1A4 9. 2PM 10. Super Junior	SMARTPHONES 1. Samsung Galaxy S4 2. iPhone 5s 3. Sony Xperia Z 4. Samsung Galaxy Grand 5. iPhone 6 6. Galaxy Note 3 7. Samsung S3 Mini 8. Nexus 5 9. HTC One 10. Starmobile Knight
TABLETS 1. iPad mini 2 2. iPad Air 3. Galaxy Tab 3 4. Samsung Note 8 5. Skyworth tablet 6. Acer tablet 7. iView tablet 8. iPad 4 9. iPad mini 10. Cherry Mobile tablet	APPS 1. Camera 360 2. Running Fred 3. WeChat 4. 4pics1word 5. Moment Cam 6. Line 7. Logo Quiz Philippines 8. Viber for Android 9. Candy Crush 10. Google Keep	PC GAMES 1. Chrono Tales 2. NBA 2K14 3. Pockie Saints 4. Assault Fire 5. Scarlet Blade 6. DotA 7. Cat Mario 8. Minecraft 9. NBA 2K13 10. Pirate King International	FASHION BRANDS 1. G-Shock 2. Casio watches 3. Lacoste bags 4. Keds Philippines 5. Louis Vuitton bags 6. Tory Burch bags 7. Skechers 8. Nike shoes 9. Onitsuka Tiger 10. Vans Philippines
LOCAL DESTINATIONS 1. Sky Ranch Tagaytay 2. Movenpick Resort Cebu 3. Tubbataha Reef 4. Pico de Loro 5. Tugawe Cove Resort 6. Potipot Island 7. Amana Waterpark 8. Misibis Bay 9. Nuvali 10. Laiya resorts	RESTAURANTS 1. IHOP 2. Slappy Cakes 3. Vikings SM North 4. Tous les Jours 5. J.CO Donuts 6. KFC 7. Amber's 8. McDonald's 9. Jollibee 10. SumoSam	RECIPES 1. Juice recipes 2. Chocolate cupcake 3. Chicken recipes 4. Chopsuey 5. Pork recipes 6. Breakfast recipes 7. French macarons 8. Cookies 9. Beef steak 10. Cupcake	HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE 1. Garcinia cambogia 2. BMI calculator 3. Diet meal plan 4. Zumba 5. Whey protein 6. GM diet 7. Yoga 8. Plank 9. Intermittent fasting 10. Insanity workout
MEDICAL SEARCHES 1. Malnutrition 2. Pneumonia symptoms 3. Symptoms of HIV 4. Acid reflux 5. Anti rabies vaccine 6. Dengue symptoms 7. Pregnancy stages 8. Amoxicillin 9. Symptoms of tuberculosis 10. Skin allergy	DOG BREEDS 1. Tibetan Mastiff 2. Corgi 3. Pomeranian 4. Golden Retriever 5. Siberian Husky 6. Shih Tzu 7. Pug 8. Rottweiler 9. Dachshund 10. Shar Pei	GLOBAL TRENDING QUERIES 1. Nelson Mandela 2. Paul Walker 3. iPhone 5s 4. Cory Monteith 5. Harlem Shake 6. Boston Marathon 7. Royal Baby 8. Samsung Galaxy 4s 9. PlayStation 4 10. North Korea	GLOBAL TRENDING EVENTS 1. Boston Marathon 2. Typhoon Haiyan 3. Government Shutdown 4. 2014 FIFA World Cup 5. Chinese New Year 6. Australian Open 7. Eurovision Song Contest 8. Wimbledon 9. Syria Conflict 10. EuroBasket

Zeitgeist Explained

Google reveals the Internet "Zeitgeist" (German for "the spirit of the times") through an exploration of the billions of search queries we receive each year. In addition to the Year-end Zeitgeist, which highlights the top trends of 2013, we also have several tools that give insight into global, regional, past, and present search trends. Google Zeitgeist tools can never be used to identify individual users because we rely on anonymized, aggregated counts of how often certain search queries occur over time. These tools are available year-round for you to play with, explore, and learn from: www.google.com.ph/insights/search

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

"The Prayer" for Yolanda Victims

Tweet

OPM ARTISTS RECORD "THE PRAYER" FOR YOLANDA VICTIMS

As a way of giving thanks to all the countries that helped us, we offer to them "The "Prayer".

Taking inspiration from the award-winning Loboc Children's Choir, several OPM artists have come together to record a song for survivors of recent disasters.

In its official YouTube account, Universal Records uploaded a five-minute clip showing the children’s choir with various local singers as they performed the inspirational song “The Prayer.”

Universal Records said it asked the help of Filipino artists “to lend their voices, to represent our country, and show the world that the Philippines has one voice, one prayer -- that we work together to help our countrymen rebuild their lives brick by brick.”

The record label said the song will be used to raise funds through downloads.

“The proceeds will go to the helpPH campaign, a project by the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF). It is a non-profit organization made up of major companies from the private sector and leading NGOs,” it said.

"The Prayer" can now be downloaded via www.spinnr.ph.

Below is the list of singers who lent their voices to help the victims of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake and super typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas.

Gary Valenciano 

Martin Nievera 

Kuh Ledesma 

Ogie Alcasid 

Regine Velasquez-Alcasid

Zsa Zsa Padilla 

Lani Misalucha 

Noel Cabangon 

Christian Bautista 

Billy Crawford 

Anne Curtis 

Rachelle Ann Go 

Erik Santos 

Richard Poon 

Yeng Constantino 

Angeline Quinto

Karylle 

Jayr

Nikki Gil 

Kris Lawrence

Iya Villania

Nyoy Volante

Sabrina

Shirley Vy (Tacloban survivor)

The Loboc Children's Choir of Bohol

To download "The Prayer" visit www.spinnr.ph.

On October 15, 2013, an earthquake with the energy equivalent to "32 Hiroshima bombs" devastated the Visayas, and parts of Mindanao and southern Luzon.

Two days later, the Loboc Children's Choir sang, "The Prayer," with the rubble of the hundred year old Loboc Church as their backdrop.

Their performance moved so many people here and abroad. Then, tragedy struck again.

On November 8, Typhoon Yolanda, the most powerful tropical cyclone of the year hit East Samar, Samar and Leyte.

Thousands died. Millions were left hungry, desperate, and homeless.

Relief efforts from the Philippines and the rest of the world are currently helping the victims survive and find temporary homes.

But the bigger challenge is how to help all these people get back to their normal lives.

This is where we took inspiration from the Loboc Children's Choir's performance.

These children may be from Bohol, but their innocent voices represent not just their home province but also earthquake-damaged Cebu, war-stricken Zamboanga, and typhoon-devastated Leyte, Samar, and Iloilo -- all of whom are praying for a miracle to allow them to rebuild their lives.

And so we asked the help of various Filipino artists to lend their voices, to represent our country, and show the world that the Philippines has one voice, one prayer -- that we work together to help our countrymen rebuild their lives brick by brick.

The resulting song will be used to raise funds through downloads. The proceeds will go to the helpPH campaign, a project by the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF). It is a non-profit organization made up of major companies from the private sector and leading NGOs. PDRF, organized in October 2009 after Typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng, and Frank to tap resources for reconstruction efforts during emergencies brought about by calamities, is one of the three identified institutional conduits approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to facilitate cooperation and coordination between the Philippine government and the private sector in formulating and implementing reconstruction strategies. 

Its goal for Cebu, Bohol, Zamboanga and now the areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda is long-term solutions and programs that will bring businesses and jobs back to these areas. They are also planning to look into better designs for houses more suited for a country that gets hit by typhoons and earthquakes. They are focusing on rebuilding the communities which includes: immediate help, provide housing, education by rebuilding school houses, providing economic incentives, and livelihood opportunities.

Chino Roque, the first Filipino Astronaut to travel into space this coming year

Tweet

Daniel Angelo "Chino" Roque, 22-year-old psychology graduate from De La Salle Manila, is the first Filipino Astronaut to travel into space this coming year. 

Roque bested two other Filipinos, Evan Ray Datuin and Ramil Santos in the Axe Apollo Space Academy Competition.

He will travel together with 21 individuals from 60 countries for a 30-minute trip to space in 2014 on-board with XCOR Lync space plane. 

“Right now I’m very happy that a lot of people have been showing me their love and support. I feel so blessed and grateful to all of them,” Roque said in an interview.

The legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin declared Roque the first Filipino astronaut during awarding ceremonies at the Kennedy Space Center.

Roque will join 24 other winners who will fly to space in a Space Expedition Corp. shuttle.

According to space science website Space.com, winners of the AXE promo are expected to ride the XCOR Aerospace Lynx space plane, a shuttle designed for sub-orbital flight.

SM Consortium confident to win light rail single ticketing project

Tweet

SM Consortium, led by SM Investments Corp. with members BDO Capital and Investment Corp., Advanced Card Systems Ltd. and Penta Capital Investment Corp., is confident of a favorable result in the ongoing financial evaluation of the MRT/LRT Automated Fare Collection System Project.

“With no cost to the government to build and modernize the ticketing system and a one-time concession fee of P1,088,000,000 to be paid to the government unconditionally, we believe that our proposal is most advantageous to the government and the riding public,” said Norman T. Pe, senior vice president of Penta Capital.

The Department of Transportation and Communication is now evaluating the proposals of the three bidders – AF Consortium led by BPI, SM Consortium and Comworks Berjaya Consortium – which passed the technical proposal stage. 

“SM, the country’s largest retail chain, will be able to maximize the potential of this innovation through the wide retail acceptance and other applications,” added Denny Wong, chairman of Advanced Card Systems Ltd of Hongkong.

The winning bidder will be announced before Dec. 24 and notice to proceed is expected to be issued in the third week of January 2014.