Ramadan 2013 was the UAE’s top trending search on internet search giant google this year while the Fast and the Furious star Paul Walker who tragically died in a car crash in California on November 30th was the most searched personality. IPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy S4 were second and third in the list of UAE’s top trending while Mohammed Assaf, the Palestinian who won the second season of Arab idol was the second most trending people.
“There is a marked increase in searching in Arabic across MENA, particularly in Egypt and KSA, indicating an increase in Arabic content. In the UAE, there was a noticeable interest in global events and personalities in addition to technological trends and internet-fueled phenomenon,” a google spokesman told XPRESS.
Controversial Egyptian satirical program, El Bernameg beat Top Gear and the hugely popular Arab idol to become google’s most searched TV show of 2013. Saudi Arabian singer, musician and record producer Rashed Al Majed finished ahead of Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus as the most searched musician of the year. 2013’s highest grosser and American superhero film, Iron Man 3 was the most searched movie while Canadian teen sensation Justin Bieber who came to Dubai earlier this year was the UAE’s most searched celebrity. London, Singapore and Madrid were the UAE’s top three travel destinations while Qamar El Din, a traditional apricot based drink finished as the top searched food and drink item on google this year. Mac, Boss and Next were the most searched fashion label.
While FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi pipped Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and his club-mate Neymar to take the top spot in the most searched athlete on google this year. Neither Arsenal backed by Emirates nor Etihad sponsored Manchester City was the most searched sports team. The honour went to the reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid just ahead of runners-up Barcelona.
These findings are part of the 13th edition of ‘Zeitgeist’ or ‘the spirits of the times’ an annual google affair that involves the exploration of over one trillion search queries through the year. It throws up a unique look at the year that was, regionally and globally, through the eyes of the world wide web.
