Reuters went to the "Google Trends" website and matched certain emotionally charged ideas, products and personal names with the countries that most often searched for them. The statistics cover a period from 2004 to the present.

The results are interesting in a voyeuristic sort of way. But more to the point, even if we assume (foolishly, of course) that internet users aren't individually spied upon, these statistics give just a hint of the cultural data available to any organization that monitors the internet night and day. If anyone were trying to sway global opinion on an irrational basis—perish the thought!—and have an instant measure of the results, I believe they would be useful.

Of course the people who use the search engines don't represent the populations as a whole. In most countries we're seeing the activity of only the more educated up-and-comers.

I thought I'd arrange the Reuters results in a table—

Some of the findings seem obvious, at least after the fact:

"Sex" would naturally be most sought after in those countries getting the least.

The Filipinos are all about "love," though the word may have different meanings in different countries.

"Gay" is big in countries where they're trying to figure out how, while "homosexual" is big in countries where they're just trying to find out what it is. Chile seems to have a lot of both types.

Mexicans either already know—or don't care—about burritos.

But who'd have thought Australia would come first in "car bomb"? In addition to "car bomb," the Axis of English—the US, UK, Australia and now Canada—reveal a fascination for Botox, Iraq, marijuana and Tom Cruise. This may bear further thought.

Finally, I'm ashamed to admit that I do not know what a "Dolly Buster" is. Is it a sex toy?

Related post
Totalitarian Plan of the Day (10/18/07)

Related websites
Google Trends
Zeitgeist

Tags: * internet search engine web surveillance SIGINT COMINT ELINT intelligence humor