From Pudsey the dog to Gangnam Style, as 2012 comes to a close Experian Hitwise takes a look back at some of the big events that have trended online this year in the UK.
One Direction – it’s been a huge year for One Direction who broke America this year and have reinvigorated the boyband pop industry. In February 2012 One Direction were the most searched for music act in the UK.
Pudsey the Dog – more popular than any of this year’s X-Factor contestants, Pudsey the dancing dog won the hearts and minds of the British population and went on to win Britain’s Got Talent in May.
Diamond Jubilee – a dismal day of rain couldn’t dampen British spirits as the UK celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, with bunting being the most searched for jubilee item in the build up to the big day.
50 Shades of Grey – the fastest selling book ever written launched a new genre of ‘mummy porn’ onto the market and became one of the most discussed topics on social networks and forums in July.
iPhone 5 launch – although 2012 has arguably been the year of the tablet with the new iPad Mini, Surface, Galaxy Tab 2 and Nexus 7 it was the launch of Apple’s iPhone 5 that caused the biggest stir online, being the most searched for gadget of 2012.
Dark Knight Rises – the third and final instalment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy was the most searched for movie of the year with Skyfall and Taken 2 coming in second and third.
Olympics 2012 – despite widespread scepticism and doubts Seb Coe and the Olympic team delivered a fantastic Games with Jess Ennis, Tom Daley and Usain Bolt being the most searched for stars of the summer.
Red Bull Space Jump – Felix Baumgartner jumped into the history books from outer space. Easily one of the most amazing moments of 2012 and probably the most gripping YouTube video you will ever see.
Gangnam Style – viral video of the year has to go to Gangnam style spawning all manner of imitations and spoofs. The Korean dance video is certainly catchy with 30,000 unique search phrases including the word ‘gangnam’ in 2012.
Onesies – the surprise Christmas gift of the year. Adult baby grows have proved so popular this year they were second only to Lego in terms of overall Christmas gift searches, more searched for than Amazon’s Kindle.
View a larger version of Experian’s graph charting search trends over the year below:
Source: http://www.experian.com/
