This year, Googlers in the Jewish state were more interested in making money than in making out.
In Israel, “How to make money” topped the list of “How to…” queries typed into the search engine in the past year. The finding, which comes from Google Zeitgeist, the Web search giant’s annual roundup of data from 2012, shows that Israel was the only country among 53 surveyed whose top “How to…” web search was focused on stacking up the Benyamins.
Among the other countries surveyed, the top “How to…” searches had to do with updating or disabling Facebook, finding and attracting someone a mate and learning how to kiss them properly and discovering methods of weight-loss.
Only in Israel (to crib a theme from a Hebrew children’s song sung in many a Zionist summer camp) was the year’s top inquiry about money-making. French Googlers sent “getting rich” to the fourth spot on their nation’s list; in recession-ravaged Spain, “Cómo ganar dinero” showed up at #5, right between “Cómo hacer cupcakes” and “Cómo ser feliz.”
The finding – which I first saw in Quartz — may solidify the anti-Semitic perceptions of some and confirm for others Israel’s reputation as a “Start-Up Nation” of budding entrepreneurs.
For the complete lists – including the rest of Israel’s top ten, which covers varied topics such as picking up women, making babies, divorce, tanning, app-building, quitting smoking, and yes, French kissing – check out Google’s Zeitgeist site.
Happy New Year.
