Google Search Suggestions is still an under-used social research tool.
In 2014, I typed “how do I convert to”. In India the top suggestions were “hinduism”, “christianity”, “islam”, then “judaism”. In Australia, it was “islam”, “judaism”, “catholicism”, and “pdf” 🙂
Checking this across countries is hard. So I automated it at https://tools.s-anand.net/googlesuggest/. It’s not perfect. Your IP influences results. But it’s a good approximation.
For example, “how do I convert to” shows:
Religious conversions dominate across countries, to Islam, Catholicism, Judaism (in that order). Everyone’s looking for a new life path.
But tech conversions to PDF, MP4, Excel, and eSIMs trump the meaning of life in South Africa, Pakistan and Nigeria.
UK & Ireland searches for “convert to Catholicism UK” and “Judaism in the UK,”. Why settle for generic spirituality?
Canada and the US convert tons to cubic yards or Roth IRAs. Finance, faith and file formats mix.
The Philippines wants memes. Laughter is the best spiritual conversion.
India adds vector images to the mix. Let’s convert the soul and graphics while multitasking!
Try out some of the common questions: “how to”, “why is”, “how can I”, “what is the”, etc. and you’ll find some interesting stories. For example:
what is the: Nigerians repeatedly ask “what is the time in” various countries like the USA, Brazil, and Germany.how can I: Singaporeans ask “how can I keep from singing?which is the: Irish and Americans ask “which is the gay ear?can I: Australians and New Zealanders ask “can I pet that dawg?why is: Almost everyone wants to know “why is my poop green/black?
We don’t usually think of digital exhaust like this as data, but it can be pretty rich source.
