Baru-baru ini, raksasa mesin pencari Google merilis daftar istilah yang paling banyak dicari orang per negara sepanjang tahun ini.
Di kawasan Asia, daftar itu memotret perbedaan mindset yang diwakili dengan kata-kata yang dicari selain mungkin tercermin juga pembatasan web dan tingkat kebebasan pers negara-negara yang dilaporkan. Tentu, Tiongkok dikecualikan dalam laporan Google karena layanan Google diblok di sana.
Di Indonesia, kata kuncil 'batu akik' menempati posisi pertama kata kunci terpopuler di mesin pencari, disusul oleh aplikasi 'Go-Jek' dan 'kue cubit' di posisi kedua dan ketiga.
Membludaknya minat masyarakat pada batu akik sebenarnya dimulai sekitar pertengahan tahun 2014 lalu. Saat itu, beberapa pejabat, termasuk mantan presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono turut mempopulerkan batu akik. Demam batu akik mulai menemukan momentumnya ketika pada Agustus 2014 lalu tersiar kabar menghebohkan mengenai penemuan lahan sebaran batu-batu hias di sebuah lahan kosong di kawasan Cilandak, Jakarta Selatan. Sejak itu, mesin pencari Google merekam pencarian kata kunci terkait batu akik, mulai dari definisi, beragam jenis, hingga desain aksesoris terkini yang menggunakan batu akik. Bahkan, terangkum cukup banyak juga sematan isu mistis dalam pencarian kata kunci batu akik, utamanya mengenai dugaan kandungan energi tak kasat mata di dalamnya.
Aplikasi ojek daring Gojek juga menjadi populer seiring dengan popularitas pemakaian aplikasi tersebut oleh masyarakat, sedangkan pencarian 'kue cubit' memang anomali karena sepertinya tidak ada rekam di media sosial ataupun media terkait hal itu.
Sementara, negara tetangga Singapura merekam kemarahan terhadap asap kiriman dari Indonesia dan meninggalnya perdana menteri Singapura Lee Kuan Yew dalam daftar mesin pencari Google.
Unik melihat di daftar pencarian milik negara Vietnam yang menggarisbawahi betapa sentimentalnya orang Vietnam karena ada tiga judul lagu cinta di daftar pertama mereka, sedangkan Thailand mendaftar video musik atau program televisi populer.
Sementara itu, ISIS menempati daftar pertama di Jepang setelah dua tawanan Jepang dibunuh di Siria, sedangkan orang Korea lebih memburu informasi mengenai MERS.
Berikut daftar 10 besar kata kunci yang paling banyak dicari beberapa negara di Asia, sebagaimana dilaporkan oleh Bloomberg.
Indonesia
* Batu Akik
* GO-JEK
* Kue Cubit
* Angeline
* Olga Syahputra
* Dubsmash
* Fast Furious 7
* Tragedi Mina
* Goyang Dumang
* Piala Presiden
Malaysia
* HRMIS 2 - version two of Malaysia's Human Resource Management Information System
* BR1M 2015 - cash handout from the government for those in need
* How-Old.net
* Maharaja Lawak Mega - a contest between comedians
* Fast Furious 7
* Hati Perempuan - TV drama
* 1 USD to MYR - following the slide of the ringgit
* Whatsapp Web - the chat app on a desktop
* GST - Malaysia introduced a sales and service tax
* Bersih 4.0 - protest movement
Singapura
* PSI Singapore - air quality following haze
* Lee Kuan Yew - death of Singapore's first prime minister
* SEA Games - Singapore hosted this regional athletics event
* WhatsApp Web
* iPhone 6s
* Amos Yee - prosecuted blogger
* MERS - the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
* QZ8501 - crashed AirAsia flight
* Lee Wei Ling - Lee Kuan Yew's daughter
* Lee Hsien Loong - Lee Kuan Yew's son and Prime Minister of Singapore
Vietnam
* Vợ Người Ta - a song about a young man crying over his ex- girlfriend's wedding
* Âm Thầm Bên Em - a love song about a gangster who tries to change his ways to regain the love of his girlfriend
* Không Phải Dạng Vừa Đâu - a song by popular singer Son Tung MTP about expressing his feelings
* How-Old.net
* Fast Furious 7
* Khuôn Mặt Đáng Thương - a song about a young man expressing sorrow over his ex-girlfriend's love life
* Em Của Quá Khứ - ballad about a man waiting for the return of his high school sweetheart
* Cười Xuyên Việt - television show searching for new comedians
* Cô Dâu 8 Tuổi - an Indian TV series about a girl forced to get married at the age of eight
* Chàng Trai Năm Ấy - a romantic comedy based on the autobiography of late singer Wanbi Tuan Anh
Jepang
* イスラム 国 - Islamic State
* 台風 - typhoon
* ラグビー - rugby, following Japan's victory over New Zealand
* マイナンバー - my number, used for social security and tax purposes
* 後藤健二 - Kenji Goto, the Japanese journalist killed by Islamic State
* 川島 なお美 - Naomi Kawashima - TV performer who died of cancer
* 北斗晶 - Akira Hokuto - female wrestler who went public with breast cancer diagnosis
* スプラトゥーン - Splatoon, a Nintendo game
* Windows 10
* iPhone 6s
Filipina
* AIDub - nickname for massively successful skit on afternoon television about lovers who have not met
* Pope Francis
* Maine Mendoza - female star of Eat Bulaga! TV show
* FIBA Asia 2015
* Dubsmash - lip-syncing app
* Alden Richards - male star of Eat Bulaga!
* Fifty Shades of Grey
* APEC Summit
* Paris attacks
* COMELEC - electoral committee of the Philippines
Hong Kong
* iPhone 6s
* How-Old.net - a Microsoft tool to guess your age from a photo
* Helen To Yu-ung - a travel writer and TV host being criticised for being too materialistic
* Wu Zetian - star of Chinese TV drama The Empress of China
* Our Times - a Taiwanese movie
* HKTV - television network run by Ricky Wong Wai-Kay, whose application for a free-to-air license was rejected
* The Greed of Man - Popular drama series from 1992, re-aired this year
* Captain of Destiny - sci-fi TV drama criticized for poor special effects
* Rashomon - Cantopop by Hong Kong singers Kay Tse and Juno Mak
* Minions - the movie
Korea
* 메르스 - MERS, after it was reported Korea had its first case
* 나무 위키 - NamuWiki, a Korean Wikipedia
* 워터파크 몰카 - a hidden camera in a water park arrests
* 킹스맨 - the movie Kingsman
* 베테랑 - the movie Veteran
* 이태임 - Lee Tae-im, South Korean actress
* 암살 - Assassination, a TV drama
* 간신 - The Treacherous, TV drama
* 장성우 - Jang Sung-Woo, baseball player
* 스물 - the movie Twenty
Thailand
* เชือกวิเศษ - Magic Rope, a music video by Labanoon
* รักนะเป็ดโง่ - Ugly Duckling, a popular TV series
* เพื่อนเฮี้ยนโรงเรียนหลอน - Thirteen Terrors, drama about the adventures of high school students
* ทิ้งไว้กลางทาง - Leave Me Along The Way, a music video by Potato
* สุดแค้นแสนรัก - Extreme Love, a soap opera
* สงครามนางงาม - Beauty Queens' War, reality TV show
* เพลงขัดใจ - Offend, a music video from COLOURPiTCH
* ข้าบดินทร์ - Kha Badin - prime time soap opera
* แอบรักออนไลน์ - Secret Love Online - TV soap
* ตัดพ้อ - Complain, music video
Taiwan
* 颱風 - typhoon
* 我的少女時代 - movie from China
* 威力彩 - lottery
* 世 界12強棒球錦標賽 - World Baseball Championship
* 寬宏售票 - a ticketing platform
* 武媚娘傳奇 - movie telling the tale of a classic Chinese legend
* How-Old.net
* 玩命關頭7 - Fast and Furious 7
* 江蕙 - Jody Chiang, Taiwanese pop singer, who announced her retirement this year
* iPhone 6s
Top Global
* Lamar Odom
* Jurassic World
* American Sniper
* Caitlyn Jenner
* Ronda Rousey
* Paris
* Agar.io
* Chris Kyle
* Fallout 4
* Straight Outta Compton