I think this is inevitable. When news of Osama being killed by US forces, people will naturally go to their favorite search engine to find out more details. Yahoo! has registered nearly 27,000% spike in the Osama keywork searches. More details from Yahoo! after the break.
Singaporeans Searched For Osama Bin Laden’s Biography, Wives and Videos on Yahoo! Searches
Searches spiked nearly 27,000% for Osama; Singaporean males mostly interested in the news
With Osama Bin Laden’s sudden death announcement on May 2nd, Yahoo! Search Trends witnessed a tremendous spike in the searches for Osama Bin Laden’s news among the Singaporeans.
Singapore observed a 27,000% increase for searches on the name ‘Osama Bin Laden’ and users even looked for detailed information by visiting the Wikipedia. The searches in Singapore were similar to that of other Southeast Asian countries, with people searching for Osama’s biography, wives and video. However, Singaporeans seemed interested in Abbottabad, a popular summer destination in Pakistan where Osama hid in a guarded compound and was later killed. Further, Singaporeans seemed keen on President Obama’s announcement with regards to the death of Osama. A curiosity about the death of Osama prevailed among Singaporeans.
Of the total searches, 56% of searches in Singapore for ‘Osama Bin Laden’ were made by male users. Around 42% of searches for ‘Osama’ were made by users between the ages of 30 and 44 regardless of gender. Another 27% of searches came from those aged 18 to 29, while around 18% of searches were made by users 17 years old and below, who were perhaps too young to remember exact details of the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks in the US.
In Indonesia, searches on Yahoo! related to Osama Bin Laden spiked nearly 140,350%, also making him the most-searched person of the day. Of all the Yahoo! Searches related to Osama Bin Laden, Indonesia ranked the highest on searches related to Osama in comparison to the rest of Southeast Asia.
Similar to Singapore searches, Yahoo! Search Trends witnessed Indonesians look for Osama’s biography and photo. Apart from specific searches on his life, Indonesian users looked out for graphical imagery of Osama with searches on videos and images observing a significant spike. Users wanted to know how Osama looked like after a decade of hiding. In Indonesia, 64% of searches for ‘Osama Bin Laden’ were made by male users. Of this, 18% of searches for ‘Osama Bin laden’ were made by users between 35 – 44 and 34% by users 18 years old and below.
In Malaysia, 55% of searches for the keyword ‘Osama Bin laden’ was made by male users. 37% of searches were made by users between 21 and 29 years old and 25% by users 18 years old and below. While users in Malaysia sought most info like SEA users, they sought specific details relating to his family and the nitty-gritty around his death.
In other Southeast Asian countries such as Philippines, besides searches on confirmation of his death, we saw searches spiking for Osama’s biography and wife. Searches on Yahoo! for “Usama bin laden” also spiked off the charts in the Philippines. Yesterday’s events also caused a surge of questions around the September 11 attacks, Al Qaeda and World Trade Centre. This was probably an inevitable component of the searches as people got reminded of the attacks and other issues related to it. Interestingly, Yahoo! Search Trends also witnessed a surge in searches related to President Obama and his speech about Osama’s death, showcasing that there is interest in how these events will affect his approval rating.
In Vietnam, sentiments remained the same as that of other SEA countries with Vietnamese too focusing on news, images and details about the death.
In the US, searches on Sunday for Osama bin Laden spiked nearly 100,00% on Yahoo!, also making him the most-searched person of the day. Nearly 1 in 5 searches for “Osama Bin Laden” are by teenagers, many of who grew up during the war on terrorism. 25% of searches overall for Osama came from those under 24. However, teens ages 13-17 were seeking more information as they made up 66% of searches for “who is Osama Bin Laden?”
In addition, the former President was not forgotten. A few looked up “George W. Bush” (466% fewer searches than for “barack obama”) and even the phrase “bush mission accomplished.” People are very curious for details about Pakistan. Searches on Sunday for “Pakistan map” spiked 2,594% and searches for “Pakistan news” spiked 610% on Yahoo!. News of Osama bin Laden’s death seems to have caused a spike for conspiracy theories (up 114% Sunday on Yahoo!) as well as a resurgence of searches for “9/11 conspiracy theories.”
What is Yahoo! Search Data?
People power: We sift through billions of Yahoo! searches to uncover trends, burning questions, popular personalities and hot ideas. Yahoo! has been extremely successful in sifting through searches for trend-spotting, historical insight, forecasting projections, and big-picture analysis.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
- What exactly is a search and why are they useful?: A keyword(s) or term(s) that people enter in the Search box.
- How do you determine meaning from a search? Searches at its face are neutral. Motivation and intent cannot be defined, but analyzing a billion (or so) searches can give a sketch portrait of a culture in motion. Search insight can operate like an instant poll into what people’s interests are at a given moment—and unlike a poll which offers a constrained or directed parameters, searches spring spontaneously from people want to know.
- What does spiking and off the charts mean? A “spiking” search refers to terms with the greatest percentage increase in searches from one period of time to the next (usually day, week or month). Significant increases don’t necessarily mean a huge overall interest in a subject, but reveals an accelerated interest in popularity. Something that’s “off the chart” refers to a term that had no meaningful number of searches in the previous time period.
- How are rankings determined? Rankings, unless otherwise noted, are based on the total number of searches.
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