Received the press release on Yahoo!’s 2010 Year in Review, the annual list of the biggest personalities, trends and milestones as recorded on Yahoo! Singapore. More after the break.
Yahoo!’s Year in Review Recaps A Year of Milestones that brought Singapore to the World’s Attention
SINGAPORE, 2 December, 2010 – Yahoo! today announced its 2010 Year in Review, an annual list of the top Searches and trends on Yahoo! Singapore over the course of the year. 2010’s list clearly demonstrated that this was a landmark year for Singapore marked by major events which put the city-state on the world stage, as well as less celebratory scandals and tragedy.
Overall top searches for Singapore in 2010:
1. Jack Neo
2. Sentosa
3. World Cup 2010
4. Madam Kwa Geok Choo
5. Youth Olympic Games
6. Silviu Ionescu
7. Vivian Dawson
8. iPad
9. HDB Resale
10. Katy Perry
Yahoo!’s much-anticipated Year in Review is a distinct way to look back at the top stories and topics of the year from the Yahoo! network, which accounts of billions of consumer searches. Given Yahoo!’s reach on the Web, the aggregated visitor activity is a barometer for Singaporeans’ interests in 2010.
This year, Singaporeans’ love for celebrity scandal was evident as people went on Yahoo! to find out the latest on the alleged extramarital affairs of prominent local comedian and filmmaker Jack Neo, making him the most popular Search term on Yahoo!. Reports that Neo, regarded as a one of the Singapore film industry’s pioneers, had up to 11 extramarital affairs, rocked the conservative entertainment circle and made this one of the most sensational and closely-followed topics this year.
The Year in Review also recalled a year of significant achievements for Singapore, as Southeast Asia’s first luxury Integrated resort, Resorts World at Sentosa, opened its doors in January 2010. The tourism appeal of Sentosa, which was the second most searched term on Yahoo! Singapore, was thus greatly boosted on a global level. As the host of the extremely successful inaugural Youth Olympic Games in August, Singapore also received the acclaim of the international sporting community. Singaporeans demonstrated their keen interest in the event and its developments online, from the athletes to volunteers’ welfare, making the YOG the fifth most searched term on Yahoo! Singapore.
On a less celebratory note, Singaporeans also mourned the passing of Madam Kwa Geok Choo, lifetime companion and trusted advisor to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Madam Kwa, the fourth most popular search on Yahoo! Singapore, was widely respected for having been the consummate political wife and playing a key role in the founding of modern Singapore. Local Internet users also followed the tragic hit-and-run accident involving Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu which left one Singaporean dead and two seriously injured, making him the sixth most popular search term.
Top celebrity searches for Singapore in 2010:
1. Selina Jen
2. Shinee
3. Jamie Yeo
4. Emma Watson
5. Corrine May
6. Lady Gaga
7. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
8. Vivian Dawson
9. Jay Chou
10. Quan Yifeng
The most popular celebrity-related queries on Yahoo! Singapore focused on the leading ladies of both local and international pop culture. The top-searched Selina Jen, one-third of Taiwanese pop group S.H.E., was the focus of much attention after her romantic engagement was followed by a tragic accident in which she suffered third-degree burns when explosives on a TV drama set went off prematurely. Local television personalities Jamie Yeo and Quan Yifeng also made the top 10 list after their respective divorces. Yeo announced her engagement to her new man months after her high-profile divorce from radio DJ Glenn Ong, and also revealed that she was expecting shortly after. It was also a controversial year for Quan who had to contend with a taxi driver’s accusations of assault, rumours that she was in a sex video, and speculation when she was spotted with a young man after her divorce.
In the US and across APAC, online activity was also dominated by pop culture’s leading ladies, gadgets starting with “I,” and soccer. Soccer turned out to be a burning topic both in Singapore and abroad. Apart from the usual searches on players and teams, many users were keen to find out more about the unlikely celebrities in the spotlight, including Paul the octopus and local star Mani the Parakeet. Paul turned out to be the most popular World Cup personality on Yahoo! this year.
Frequent natural disasters including the eruption of Mount Merapi and a deadly tsunami in Western Indonesia also meant that terms related to typhoons, earthquakes and tsunamis were amongst the most popular searches across APAC. People turned to Yahoo! to observe the effects of these disasters, to search for answers on the calamities’ impact, and for information relating to the environment. With several important political elections taking place in Asia in 2010, keywords such as “local election” and “election results” were also top-searched words.
To find out more about the Yahoo! 2010 Year in Review and other top searches, go to http://yearinreview.yahoo.com or search for “2010 Year in Review” on Yahoo.com.sg.
# # #
About the Yahoo! Year in Review Methodology
To develop the Yahoo! Year in Review, our editors analyze Search queries based on a number of factors, including absolute volume and growth versus previous periods, to see which themes and trends bubble to the surface. Individual users and their Search queries always remain anonymous.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) is an innovative technology company that operates the largest digital media, content, and communications business in the world. Yahoo! keeps more than half a billion consumers worldwide connected to what matters to them most, and delivers powerful audience solutions to advertisers through its unique combination of Science + Art + Scale. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.com or the company’s blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).
Yahoo! is the trademark and/or registered trademark of Yahoo! Inc.
All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.