There’s a whole world of interest when you combine psychology, technology, current events, and just boredome. What am I talking about? Searching on Google. I just find it fascinating to think that there are millions of people in search of something that has caught their interest and yet they all converge on a limited number of topics. To watch this happen, head over to Google Trends.
Along the right, you’ll find some navigation options to let you dig into the content. The default is Hot Searches.
So, what is hot in Canada on this Sunday afternoon as I put the finishing touches on this post?
That should be enough to get you started. Dig further.
Top charts categorize the searches by topic. Scroll up and down to see the various topics. Can you predict what people would be searching for in each? Could students? This could be the catalyst for digging into the current events of the day.
Everyone likes a good visualization, don’t they? This could be the ultimate screen saver! Drag out a grid from the top left corner for the number of searches that your mind can handle a visual representation of at any time. Warning – this is really addictive!
Actually, grabbing a screenshot with most of the terms on display is the difficult part!
Finally, explore the searching. Where in the world are people searching for various topics? I think this would be a fascinating discussion and display for researching current events. Now, given the exciting football game last night between the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders, the whole world must be a buzz with discussion.
Well, maybe there is room for growth for the CFL.
Could we use this to track down displaced Alouette fans?
Trends is interesting. Play around with it, exploring terms and features. I’ll bet that you can find all kinds of uses – entertainment and educational – to analyze just what’s going on in the world!
- Watch Live streaming Montreal Alouettes v Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL tv
- Watch Montreal Alouettes vs Saskatchewan Roughriders Live Stream
- QB Anthony Calvillo injured in Alouettes-Roughriders game
- Calvillo hurt in Alouettes-Roughriders game
- CFL: Calvillo suffers possible concussion vs. Roughriders
- Anthony Calvillo injured in Alouettes’ loss to Roughriders
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.