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Celeb gossip and deaths get Irish people ‘googling’
CELEBRITY GOSSIP, THE weather, the Eurovision and, quite morbidly, deaths of famous people are what got us “googling” this summer.
According to Google’s own Insights for Search tool, Irish people have been consumed by the Ryan Giggs and Imogen Thomas scandal lately as searches for their names skyrocketed throughout April, May and June.
Charlie Sheen and Cheryl Cole earned themselves mentions in the fastest rising searches over the past few months but maybe for the wrong reasons. Sheen’s very public drugs meltdown and Cole’s demise from her position as the UK’s ‘People’s Princess’ to American flop had people frantically trawling the internet.
Aside from the juicy gossip from the A-listers, some wannabes also made the list this summer. The cast of reality TV show Geordie Shore featured as people looked for more details on Jay, Holly and the rest of the gang.
Morbid
The research showed the Irish up as quite a morbid bunch as searches for famous people who passed away during the spring and summer months.
Ryan Dunn of Jackass made the list in June after his death, while former finance minister Brian Lenihan was “searched for” 300 per cent more in June than in the previous month. He passed away on 10 June this year following an 18-month battle with cancer.
Most recently, “Amy Winehouse dead” was one of the fastest growing searches on the Google engine.
The death of Osama bin Laden in May also stood out among the popular searches in the month.
What’s another year?
Ireland’s seemingly ever-lasting love of the Eurovision continued this year as the appearance of ‘Azerbaijan’ on the list reveals.
People were keen to find out more about the country which beat out Jedward in this year’s song contest.
All’s fair in love and sport
It has been a busy few months for Irish sport and this was reflected in people’s ‘googling’ habits.
Both Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy shot up the search lists as they claimed Major wins at the British and US Opens.
Caroline Wozniacki, the world’s number one female tennis player was a popular search this month but not because of her sporting exploits. Her links to Rory McIlroy following the US Open champion’s split with childhood sweetheart Holly had people’s chins wagging and fingers typing.
Nicholas Roche’s exploits during the Tour de France has also seen a massive 1,400 per cent increase in searches for the prestigious cycling competition.
Wet, wet, wet
June saw “weather forecast” and “weather Dublin storm” soar into the popular searches list as people tried to cope with one of the wettest June’s on record.
Festival goers planning their trip to Punchestown for the 2011 Oxegen festival also searched online for weather reports and updates.
Summer soundtrack
Looking at YouTube traffic, the soundtrack for the summer is a close call between Rebecca Black’s new song ‘My Moment’ and Jennifer Lopez’s ‘On the Floor’.
Harry Potter dominated the film world this summer and it was no different for internet users. However, Irish hit The Guard, has stunned the box office with massive takes.
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Azerbaijan Celeb Gossip Charlie Sheen Cheryl Cole Chin Wag Deaths Eurovision Gary Moore Geordie Shore Google Googling Morbid On the Floor Oxegen Rebecca Black Weather YouTube