TheNewsGuru

Tag: Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade

  • Valentine’s Day: Google Trends show Nigeria leading in search for love

    Valentine’s Day: Google Trends show Nigeria leading in search for love

    Google on Tuesday released insightful data on the search trends of Nigerians as the topmost in the search related to love, dating, and the special day of Valentine.

    Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications and Public Relations Manager, Google, West Africa said in a statement that the data provided a unique window into the hearts of residents as they sought answers and ideas related to the occasion.

    Kola-Ogunlade said, according to Google trends, Nigerians were actively searching for information and inspiration related to Valentine’s Day and the insights offered a fascinating glimpse into their thoughts and interests.

    According to him, at Google, the goal is to provide the information people are looking for in the moments that matter to them.

    Kola-Ogunlade said: “These trends showcase the crucial role search plays in helping Nigerians find answers to their most pressing questions, especially during special occasions such as Valentine’s Day.

    “It underscores the importance of search in these exciting moments.”

    According to the data, Nigeria is currently the top country searching for love in 2023, and it has been the country searching the most for dating apps worldwide since 2004.

    According to him, the search for “the origin of valentine” has also increased by 200 per cent in the past week.

    He said that the data also showed that searches for valentine messages for boyfriend rose by 300 per cent in the past week, and valentine hair style  rose by 250 per cent over the same period.

    The Communications Manager said that the best dating app in the world also spiked by 250 per cent, while the origin of valentine rose by 200 per cent.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that the best valentine gift for girlfriend both spiked by 120 per cent in the past week.

    According to him, in addition to searching for Valentine’s Day ideas, Nigerians also searched for answers to questions relating to the celebrations.

    He said that the most trending questions on Valentine’s Day over the past week included Is Valentine’s Day for Muslims, When was Valentine’s Day created among others.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that while the list of the most searched questions on dates over the past year included how to ask a girl out on a date, ‘What to do on a first date’, among  others.

    Google Trends is a publicly available tool that displays relative search volume across geographies, time periods and queries that people want to know about.

  • Google highlights Peter Obi, Putin as top trending personalities in first half of 2022

    Google highlights Peter Obi, Putin as top trending personalities in first half of 2022

    Google on Thursday highlighted the top trending personalities, music, movies, high-profile deaths as well as sports that trended in the first half of 2022.

    Mr Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications and Public Relations Manager, Google West Africa said in a statement that the first half of 2020 had been eventful with high-profile deaths, politics, and personalities among others.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that such trends and search were as a results of happenings and events of interest  that caught people’s  attention.

    He said the top three trending people in Nigeria in the first half of the year were Peter Obi, Putin and Bianca Ojukwu .

    The manager said that  Peter Obi is a Nigerian businessman and politician who served as the governor of Anambra  from 2006 to 2014.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that Obi is currently the Labour Party nominee for President of Nigeria in the 2023 presidential election.

    According to him, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President also grabbed the attention of Nigerians in the first six months of 2022 as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine became topical across the globe.

    ‘’Bianca Ojukwu, the widow of late Biafran warlord, Chukuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu also led search interest by Nigerians when she slapped Ebelechukwu, the wife of immediate past governor of Anambra , Chief Willie Obiano.

    ‘’A second famous slap comes in at number five on the list of top trending people, after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in March.

    ‘’AFCON 2022 topped the list of most searched moments between January and June, Senegal beat Egypt in the final match of the African Cup of Nation (AFCON) football competition to emerge winner,’’ he said.

    According to him, the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)  has seen the majority of Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions.

    The communication manager said that staying out of classes for five months was also a top moment that captured the interest of Nigerians online.

    He said that top of the list of notable deaths was the death of popular Nigerian Gospel singer, Osinachi Nwachukwu.

    According to him, she was allegedly killed by her husband in a case of domestic violence.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that the death of another gospel singer, Chinedu Nwadike, was the second most searched death for Nigerians.

    He said the song, Buga, by Kizz Daniel, featuring Tekno was the number one trending song in the period under review.

    The communication  officer said that blood sisters, a Nigerian series on Netflx starring Nancy Isime and Ini Dima-Okojie topped the list of top trending movies and TV Series by Nigerians from January to June 2022.

    Kola-Ogunlad  said that Olu Jacobs, the veteran Nollywood actor who recently celebrated his 80th birthday  led the list of top trending actors in Nigeria while Raheem Sterling’s journey from Manchester City to Chelsea FC led him to be the number one trending sports personality in Nigeria.

    Search trends information is gleaned from data collated by Google based on what Nigerians have been searching for and asking Google.

  • Google upskills alternative young creators

    Google upskills alternative young creators

    Google on Thursday said it has hosted a two-day residency similar to Bootcamp Programme in Nairobi to upskill and celebrate young creators identified as Alternative and Non-mainstream.

    Contrast to mainstream mass media, alternative media tend to be “non-commercial projects that advocate the interests of those excluded from the mainstream”.

    For example, the poor, political and ethnic minorities, labour groups, and other identities.

    Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communication and Public Relations Manager, Google West Africa, said in a statement that the aim of the residency was to amplify the impact of the Alté movement in Africa and the world.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that the Alternative Movement, colloquially known as the ‘Alté Movement’, traces its roots to Lagos, Nigeria, where young Africans embrace the idea of being misfits or non-conformists.

    He said that the movement champions unconventional self-expression in all aspects of life but mainly through music, fashion and visual arts.

    According to him, alternative youth culture is rarely recognised in mainstream media; therefore creators have turned to YouTube to connect with their audiences because there are no barriers of entry.

    “It is exciting to see creators that identify as non-mainstream find community on our platform.

    “This comes just a few days after we announced a call for applications for the YouTube Black Voices Fund for 2023 aimed at elevating marginalised voices.

    “We also want to showcase how products like YouTube and YouTube Shorts and platforms like Google Arts & Culture can help drive the culture forward,’’ he said.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that although the movement started in Nigeria, it had strongly taken root across the continent.

    According to him, recent Google Search trends from across Africa show an increase in `Alté-related searches from 2020.

    He said that the first batch of 25 `creatives’ at the Residency that ran from June 28, until July 30, were from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Botswana, and South Africa.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that in Residency the creatives learn how to better connect with their audiences and move the culture forward through platforms like Google Arts & Culture, YouTube and YouTubeShorts.

    The communication manager said that the creatives would be equipped with entrepreneurial skills on how they can enhance the visibility of their brands.

    Google has also invited Alté creatives that have global brands such as Tshepo The Jeans Makerto give career talks to the young creative entrepreneurs.

  • How Google Maps reviews work

    How Google Maps reviews work

    Google on Wednesday shared information about how reviews worked on Google Maps and also introduced new content policies that safeguarded the process of posting reviews for business profiles.

    Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications and Public Affairs Manager, West Africa, said this in a statement dedicated to keeping reviews on Google Maps authentic and reliable to protect local businesses from fraud and abuse.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that it also made the information helpful for users, saying that local guides had helped millions of people worldwide to discover new places by sharing local knowledge and experiences.

    “They share reviews, photos and knowledge on Google Maps and influence how millions of people navigate and explore the world.

    “Their contributions inform people about what matters to them, make it easier for them to find what they need, and help support small businesses.

    “Google Business Profile is an easy-to-use tool for businesses and organisations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps,’’ he said.

    Kola-Ogunlade said this had helped to customise individual businesses, enabled business owners to tell their stories, verified their businesses and edited their online business information.

    He said that the Maps User Contributed Content Policy was aimed at ensuring that information on Google Maps was reliable, protecting individuals and businesses from policy violations.

    He said that much of the work done to prevent inappropriate content was done behind the scene, saying that today Google was shedding more light on what happened after you hit “post” on a review.

    According to him, with more than one billion people turning to Google Maps every month to navigate and explore, Google aims to make sure the information they see, especially reviews, is reliable for everyone.

    The communications manager said that Google had created the Maps User Contributed Policy to make sure reviews were based on real-world experiences and to keep irrelevant and offensive comments off Google Business Profile.

    “Google will use machine learning models to moderate millions of reviews uploaded using the Google Business Profile tool while its staff would identify the subtle distinction or variation of various expressions of individual posts.

    “Machines identify patterns to determine if content is legitimate.

    “Issues flagged by machines include offensive or off-topic content; any Google account with a history of suspicious behavior; places with uncharacteristic activity such as an abundance of reviews over a short period of time.’’ he said.

    Kola-Ogunlade said it was about a particular place or business or any place that had received recent news or social media coverage that would motivate people to leave fraudulent reviews.

    According to him, businesses detecting policy-violating reviews on their profiles can alert Google via the How to remove reviews from your Business Profile on Google.

    “Individual Map users can report any violation via the Flag and fix inappropriate content portal. This will see the offensive content removed, user accounts suspended or in some instances, litigation being pursued,’’ he said.

    Google Business Profile is an easy-to-use tool for businesses and organisations to manage their online presence across Google including Search and Maps.

    This helps customers, individual businesses and enables business owners to tell their story, verify their businesses and edit their online business information.

  • Atiku Abubakar, Osun State election dominate Google Search

    Atiku Abubakar, Osun State election dominate Google Search

    Query for Osun State election dominated Google Search in 2018, according to The Year in Search 2018 results released on Wednesday, which offered an insight into the year’s major moments and top trends based on searches conducted in Nigeria.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Google Search, also referred to as Google Web Search or simply Google, is a web search engine developed by Google LLC.

    It is the most used search engine on the World Wide Web across all platforms, with 92.74% market share as of October 2018, handling more than three billion searches each day.

    Google Trends which was launched in May 2006, allows one to see how popular, search terms and its demography have been over time on the search engine.

    According to Mr Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Anglophone West Africa him, the Osun elections, Alexis Sanchez, Black Panther searches top the 2018 trending list.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that the trend had to do with what people, places, and things were trending around the globe this year, the top trending news moment of the last 12 months and which new music and movies trended to the top and grabbed people’s attention.

    “This year’s most searched news event was the Osun elections, which gripped national attention in September due to alleged incidents of voter intimidation and interference.

    “Manchester United footballer Alexis Sanchez was both the most searched person and the most searched sports person of 2018.

    “Black Panther took number one in the trending movies list, while Fever by Wizkid was the top trending song,” he said.

    Koka-Ogunlade said that the top trending news searches for the year was: Osun elections, Ekiti elections, PDP Presidential Primaries, ASUU Strike, NLC Strike/Minimum Wage, Offa Robbery, Kaduna Crisis, Lagos APC primaries, Royal Wedding and Atiku Running Mate.

    For the top trending people, the Google spokesman listed them as: Alexis Sanchez, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Meghan Markle, Stan Lee, Philippe Coutinho, Atiku Abubakar, Tosyn Bucknor, Avicii, Aisha Abimbola and Sylvester Stallone.

    He said that for the top trending questions are: How to check Jamb result, How to write a Business Plan, Who is leading in Osun Election, How to check BVN, Who is Prince Harry?, Who is the richest musician in Nigeria?, How to write a CV.

    Others he listed are: How to dance Shaku Shaku, Who is Atiku’s running mate? and Who is the president of Croatia?

    The top trending songs are: Fever – Wizkid, Assurance – Davido, Science Student – Olamide, Motigbana – Olamide, Nwa Baby – Davido, One Ticket – Kiss Daniel ft Davido, Gbona – Burna Boy, Manya – Wizkid, Soco – Wizkid and Fia – Davido.

    He listed the top trending movies as: Black Panther, Avengers Infinity War, Acrimony, Venom, Deadpool 2, King of Boys, Wedding Party 2 and Rampage.

    The top trending sports people he said are: Alexis Sanchez, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Philippe Coutinho, Emmanuel Eboue, Fred, Anthony Joashua, Jorginho, Unai Emery, Willian and Didier Drogba.

     

  • Internet Access: Google tasks FG on policies

    Internet Access: Google tasks FG on policies

    Internet search giant, Google on Tuesday called on the Federal Government to formulate policies to deepen internet access by Nigerians.

    Mr Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, the Communication and Public Affairs Manager, Anglophone West Africa of the company, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that the government always played a role in web content development by ensuring citizens had access to internet.

    “For people to find content on the web they need to be online in the first place; we need adequate policies enabling the web search.

    “Sometime ago, the Federal Government launched the broadband plan to enable many Nigerians connect online.

    “Policies like that will really help.

    “Out of about 68 million Nigerians internet users now, how many of them go online to read stories?

    “The web helps us not only to consume information but also to export our own cultural stories,” Kola-Ogunlade said.

    The officer commended Nollywood, the country’s movie industry, for playing a good role in exporting the stories of Nigeria.

    According to him, many YouTube content creators produce their contents based on Nigeria’s cultural heritage and they have been able to attract target audience from all over the world.

    He identified education as a great tool the government could employ to empower people in the area of acquiring digital skills and access to internet.

    “Educating people on digital skills can improve the number of online entrepreneurs in the country.

    “Education is also very important because it can avail people the access to the web.

    “When we (Google) make our intention known to train a million people on digital skills in Africa last year, the Nigeria government was very supportive of it.

    “Many young people have been able to attend the training; the government, through the office of the Vice President, organised some of the training.

    “I won’t be surprised to see Nigeria’s online entrepreneurs from this initiative in the next few years if this training on digital skills is consistent.’’

    The communication officer said that acquiring digital skills could only be driven successfully by the government.

    In April 2016, Google at a news conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, announced its commitment to train one million young Africans in digital skills in the next one year.

    The training was to enable young people, seeking to develop a digital career, become empowered in the area.