Actor Dumi Masilela tops SA Google search

CELEBRITIES, major events, neighbourhood businesses and creamed spinach recipes – these were some of the top trending searches South Africans asked search engine Google in 2017.

In a year characterised by heavy political exposés, economic woes, rising unemployment and crime, South Africans were more interested in celebrity gossip and locating the nearest fast food joint.

Google’s list focused on six topics including trending personalities, trending questions, top “near me” searches, top TV shows, searched recipes and the overall top trending searches.

Top of the list was actor Dumi Masilela, who died after a hijacking in Johannesburg in August. This was followed by Zimbabwe, after Robert Mugabe was replaced as president, and in third place was Cyclone Dineo which hit parts of South Africa early this year.

Other personalities who were searched for included actor Joe Mafela and rugby legend Joost van der Westhuizen as well as the box-office Mayweather v McGregor fight.

And although the infamous Guptas, who have been implicated in state capture allegations, were in the news and dominated most conversations, they surprisingly did not feature in any of the trending searches.

This year’s trending searches show growing interest in local celebrities and events, with seven of the top 10 trending search terms being local, in contrast to fewer than half last year.

The head of communications at Google South Africa, Mich Atagans, said South Africans increasingly searched for businesses in their neighbourhoods, highlighting the importance of these often small businesses being online and easy to find.

Some of these searches included “a pharmacy near me, dentists near me, KFC near me, jobs hiring near me and a hardware store”.

And South Africans also asked: What is Dineo? What is Bitcoin? What role can the private sector play in poverty alleviation? And how can one lose belly fat?

Environmental issues such as Hurricane Irma and Cyclone Dineo were also among top searches as well as recipes for creamed spinach, prawn curry, oxtail and halaal meals.

Google said it processed more than 40 000 search queries every second, translating to more than a billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide.

Elsewhere around the globe, people were interested in how to help cities and countries hit by natural disasters, including Mexico, and also how to make “protest signs”.

American actress Meghan Markle, who is to become a member of the British royal family when she marries Prince Harry next year, topped the list of searches and so did film producer Harvey Weinstein, who is facing sexual abuse allegations.

PICTURE: AP Britain’s Prince Harry and his fiancée, Meghan Markle, are to tie the knot next year.