Eight ways Trends data told the story of 2016
As we near the end of 2016, we wanted to reflect on the ways Google Trends data has been used this year. When the year began, real-time Google Trends data was still new, and now it’s become part of the news universe, helping the world explore and follow real news events and moments as they happen.
So here’s a look back at a few of the pieces of data journalism that used Google Trends to tell the story of 2016, from elections to reality TV (and back again).
1. County level data
For the first time in an election cycle, we had county-level data available in the United States — meaning we could tell much more granular and local stories. Previously data was only available at either the state or city level — this time county data was part of our Trends election hub (we are working on getting more granular data around the world too).
One example of this data in use is from CNN, which wanted to examine political searches in key counties (identified by the network’s election expert John King) to see what people living in those counties searched for around the big issues of the election campaign. Additionally, USA Today used county level data to detail the interests of rural Iowa before the vote.
2. Follow the Olympic torch
The Rio Olympics were the first real-time Trends Olympics: not only could we follow the athletes competing in realtime, but with the Google Olympics data hub, we could also see how they compared in search. The Olympic torch interactive, built for the News Lab by Unicorn, traced the route of the torch itself as it was carried across Brazil — and highlightedthe key questions being asked by Brazilians about the torch in each of the local stops.
3. Electionland
On November 8, 2016, as Americans went to the polls, more than 650 journalism students, 450 journalists, 250 media organizations, two nonprofits and seven technology companies came together to work on Electionland. Electionland was a collaborative reporting initiative to provide insights into what took place at polls across the country. We created the Electionland Google Trends map with Pitch Interactive to visualize where in the country people were searching for voting-related issues like long wait times, inactive voter status, and voter intimiation.. You can read more about how we did it here.
4. Frightgeist
With Frightgeist, we went on a hunt to find the most popular Halloween costumes of 2016. Pulling from the top 500 costume searches in the United States, Frightgeist used Google Trends to tell people what costumes were trending around them and help them find one sure to turn heads.
5. Investigating Cologne
On New Year’s Eve 2015 a series of attacks targeted at women celebrating in Cologne, Germany led to a national debate about public safety and and the countries’ migration policy. Zeit Magazin and Zeit Online produced this in-depth investigation of exactly what has happened, including a look at how the events had affected search in its immediate aftermath.
6. Brexit debate
In June 2016, the UK’s decision to leave the European Union saw Trends data feature in a national debate hosted at YouTube’s studios in London. The Telegraph’s EU Debate with the Huffington Post has 140 million views.
7. From soccer to politics: understanding popular opinion
Sky Sports used Trends data to see which football players were most searched on Transfer deadline day in the UK.
Peston on Sunday regularly uses Trends data to ask major politicians — including the former Prime Minister David Cameron — the questions Britons are searching for or to look at how the big issues have changed in search.
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here used Trends data to see how the UK reality show’s twists and turns were being searched for.
8. France election debates
2016 was just the start of the election frenzy — 2017 will be another year of elections, with major votes taking place in France and Germany. Le Figaro in France used our horserace to show searches for each candidate in the recent Conservative primary votes during debates.
This is a small (and very eclectic) sample of the ways that real-time Trends data was used in 2016 — and it’s just scratching the surface of what’s possible. What will 2017 bring?
Simon Rogers is data editor at the Google News Lab and the director of the data journalism awards. If you want to work with us in 2017, email newslabtrends@
