Focus on Kenya: Former NBA Player, Lamar Odom and Tanzania Polls Lead Google’s October Search Trends

Google Search Trends that show search patterns for a particular period indicate that former professional basketball player and reality TV star, Lamar Odom, drew the highest amount of online traffic in the month of October in Kenya.

The 35-year-old former L.A Lakers power forward emerged the number one trending search following his admission to Desert View Hospital in Las Vegas after he was found unresponsive in a brothel in Crystal, Nevada last month. Odom is married to reality TV star Khloe Kardashian.

The recently concluded Tanzanian elections were the second trending search for the month of October. Tanzania's ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) candidate John Magufuli, won the presidential election with 58% of the vote compared to his closest rival Edward Lowassa, a former prime minister and CCM party member, turned opposition chief - who garnered 40% of the vote.

Halloween, a yearly celebration observed on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day was the third trending search for the month of October. Google celebrated the day by releasing a Halloween-themed game as its doodle, which prompted people to find out more about the spookiest day of the year.

Jurgen Klopp, who currently manages English Football Club, Liverpool, was the fourth trending search in the month of October. Jurgen drove traffic online as football fans sought to find out more about him after Liverpool confirmed his appointment as their new manager to replace Brendan Rodgers.

Other search terms that trended in October are: The Lewa Marathon; The Imperial Bank after it became the second bank placed under statutory management by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) after learning that “unsafe and unsound business conditions to transact business” existed in the bank; Bro Ocholla who became a trending search after a mobile screenshot image bearing an explicit message, allegedly posted to a prayer group, leaked online; Inooro TV, a 24-hour Kikuyu language channel after it was formally launched last month and British singer and songwriter, Adele, whose latest song “Hello” sold a record 1.1 million digital songs - a week after its release.

The “What is” question category was primarily driven by curious Kenyans - who went online to find out the answers to some of their burning questions. What is alcoholics anonymous topped this list, as Kenyans went online to gather more information on the organisation that seeks to help alcoholics achieve sobriety; What is haven? - as they wanted to find out the meaning of the word which means “a place of safety”; What is FGM? - as people went online to learn more about Female Genital Mutilation. The practice, which involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia was outlawed in Kenya in 2011, but the practice is still carried out in some communities; What is 2go? - as users turned to Google search to find out more about the free mobile messaging application, and What is rigging? - as they went online to learn more about the system of ropes, cables, or chains employed to support a ship's masts. With regards to elections, ‘rigging’ refers to the act of dishonestly organizing an election to get a particular result. Other queries under this category included: What is lol?; What is diabetes?; What is phonology?; What is cardio and What is industrialization?

In the ‘How to’ category, the dominant trending search, ‘How to meditate’ featured as the number one search. This shows the growing interest in mediation practices in the country. How to massage was second. Kenyans also searched for How to bake, How to conceive, How to study, How to detox, How to breastfeed, How to Swim, How to draw and How to rap.

Focus on Kenya

Monday 9 November 2015

Former NBA Player, Lamar Odom and Tanzania Polls Lead Google’s October Search Trends

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