Through the Google lens: Search trends April 10-16
To kiss Madonna or not...that was the big question on search this week. Read on to find out more.
Best I ever had?
In the land of music festivals, Coachella is the biggest of them all. With thousands of fans and celebrities swarming to the California desert to party, there’s bound to be a couple of surprises throughout the weekend’s shenanigans. This year, rapper Drake got a little more than he expected when he brought Madonna on stage as a guest performer. The pop singer, never one to shy away from scandal, decided it was entirely appropriate to make out with Drake–on stage, in front of everyone and, apparently, without his consent. The shocking liplock swept the Internet off its feet (mainly because Drake seemed horrified by the experience). Nonetheless, searches for Madonna hit 500,000+ and Drake reached his highest peak in queries so far this year. But everything’s still good between the two: Drake responded to the commotion on Instagram. “Don't misinterpret my shock!!” he wrote in a comment. “I got to make out with the queen Madonna and I feel 100 about that forever.”
We’re willing to bet that pro golfer Jordan Spieth is having the best week of his life after he won the Masters Tournament and became the competition's second youngest winner after Tiger Woods at the age of 21. Spieth took home $1.8 million in prize money and more than a half million searches–sounds like a good day on the greens to us.
I approve this message
Campaign season is back in full force this week. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton revealed America’s worst kept secret, announcing her presidential run with a YouTube video. Meanwhile, the list of contenders for the Republican nomination grows every week—Senator Marco Rubio threw his name into the hat ring as well. Queries for both nominees nearly crossed a million as people turned to the web to find more details about their political positions and track records.
Back in D.C., the latest distraction came in the form of a gyrocopter. In a bid to stir the debate about campaign finance reform, pilot Doug Hughes (illegally) landed a gyroplane on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The stunt is getting people talking about how much money candidates raise and spend during elections and boosting searches for gyrocopters to an all-time high.
Show me the money
Ever thought about working in the credit card business? Maybe you should reconsider your future plans. This week the CEO of Gravity Payments, a credit card processing company, informed his employees that he was raising the minimum salary to $70,000–seriously! CEO Dan Price told the media he made the change as a way to confront income inequality. Buzz for the little-known company skyrocketed since the media caught wind of the announcement, with searches topping more than 100,000.
Tip of the week
Can’t find your phone and starting to feel desperate? If you’re computer is nearby you can now ask Google to find your Android phone from your desktop. Just say, “find my phone” on Voice Search and Google will ring the phone for you. Just make sure you’ve got the latest version of the Google app installed on your device!
