Google Zeitgeist Malaysia 2009

A Year in Search: Google’s Top Searches of 2009 in Malaysia

• • YouTube sensation Zee Avi led the fastest rising entertainers list while Malaysia’s 2010 F1 team zoomed out first in local sports, ahead of traditional favorites football and badminton

• • Get your face masks out, Malaysia! H1N1 dominated the headlines, proving that health was top-most on Malaysian minds in 2009.

• • The fairer sex dominated the fastest rising newsmakers list as politician Elizabeth Wong, Kelantan royalty Manohara Odelia Pinot and TV3 newscaster Zakiah Anas took the top 3 positions

Kuala Lumpur, December 8, 2009 - Today, Google announced its annual Zeitgeist for Malaysia, a look at 2009 through the collective eyes of Malaysians on the web. The 2009 Year-End Zeitgeist offers a unique perspective on the year’s major events and hottest trends based on global searches, as well as searches conducted on Google.com.my.

The fastest rising searches of 2009 saw Malaysians spending more time online and becoming more Internet savvy as Facebook, Tagged, Twitter, multi-player game Dragonica and online file sharing/storage site 4shared took up five of the 10 spots on the list. Malaysians used both traditional and new media to get their news updates and celebrity gossip, while the late King of Pop and politician Elizabeth Wong proved that whether good or bad, these personalities left their mark on us in 2009. The economic downturn had Malaysians searching online for jobs via Government-run employment website jobsmalaysia.gov.my.

Formula 1 overtook football and badminton as the hottest sport in 2009, with three of the top five spots related to F1 and the upcoming 1Malaysia F1 team taking the podium in fastest-rising sports searches. YouTube star Zee Avi was the fastest rising entertainer, leading a new generation of musicians and artists, while Elizabeth Wong proved her ‘popularity’ again in the newsmakers list. H1N1 showed that health was top-most on Malaysian minds while environmental-related topics and natural disasters took up half of the fastest-rising headlines list. Love ruled the list of hottest song searches in Malay, led by ‘Khatima Cinta’ and ‘Cinta Gila’, while local dishes like ‘kuih tradisional’, ‘biskut raya’ and ‘nasi beriani’ were more popular than western dishes on the list of hottest food searches in Malay.

Check out the lists below to get a better sense of the Malaysian Zeitgeist, or spirit of the times, in 2009!

In addition to telling us what people are curious about in Malaysia, Google Zeitgeist tools also offer insight into which topics were of interest across the globe. Top search terms from over fifty countries appear on our Google Zeitgeist global site — from political candidates in South Africa, to news searches in the United Arab Emirates, to electronic brand searches in Hong Kong. To see more information about Google Zeitgeist across the globe, take a look at the site: www.google.com/zeitgeist2009.

More Malaysians go online for jobs

Malaysia saw a whopping 49% hike in searches for ‘jawatan kosong’ (job vacancies) in 2009 as compared to 2008, no thanks to the economic downturn. With an increase in the number of organizations becoming more internet-savvy and posting job opportunities online, as well as trusted job sites as Jobsmalaysia and Jobstreet, more Malaysians are going online to search for job openings. To check out what else Malaysians are searching for and to compare search volumes across time frames or regions, visit Google Insights for Search at http://www.google.com.my/insights/search/.

Malaysians looking for bargains online

The local public tightened their belts throughout the year as they focused on purchasing essentials and searching for the best possible deals online, from household items and properties to travel and electronics.   For example, the word ’sale’ was searched 21% more in 2009 as compared to 2008.  To check out what else Malaysians are searching for and to compare search volumes across time frames or regions, visit Google Insights for Search at http://www.google.com.my/insights/search/.