The Google 2012 Zeitgeist has revealed that in the last 12 months Ghanaian search trends showed people were more interested in musicians and sport than politics, despite the country going through one of its closest general elections.
Zeitgeist offers insight into the Internet and gives a unique perspective on Ghana’s hottest trends as defined by the searches conducted in 2012.
Google search trends showed music was most popular, especially terms such as ‘Azonto dance’ and ‘Sarkordie’.
Azonto is a popular dance style that was introduced by rapper Sarkodie around 18 months ago.
But more than a year and a half after the dance’s introduction, its prominence in Google search trends suggest the nation is still in love with Azonto.
The death of popular American multiple Grammy Awards winning artist Whitney Houston also resulted in a large number of Google searches, as did the social media death hoax of comedian and actor Eddie Murphy.
These suggest that, in addition to their passion for music and obsession with musicians, Ghanaians empathise with their music idols and are interested in their well-being.
Sports-related terms were also prominent in Google searches from Ghana. In 2012, Ghanaians searched for Usain Bolt, Olympics 2012, Euro 2012 and the Manchester United striker Robin Van Persie.
Tech savvies are abundant, with technology related terms such as Gmail, Whatsapp, Samsung Galaxy S3, Facebook (fb) and Trader prominent.
Analysts believe the citizens of Ghana, more than ever, are using the Internet as a means of communicating with families, friends and other loved ones.
To properly analyse the search terms, Google Zeitgeist explored billions of search queries received by Google.
