The kākāpō is the only flightless parrot, and one of the rarest birds in the entire world. Only 148 of them remain, all on tiny islands off the coast of New Zealand. Here on these remote windswept sanctuaries, a dedicated team of rangers and researchers works around the clock to keep the world's last kākāpō safe from predators and help restore the species to its ancestral home.
These pristine preserves have always been off-limits to visitors, but starting today we're giving everyone a ticket inside. Now with Google Maps Street View and Google Earth, you can virtually step into the home of the kākāpō and explore prehistoric New Zealand just as it was millions of years before the first boat ever landed on its shores. Immerse yourself even further with a special video from David Attenborough and the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
The kākāpō recovery team monitors each bird in the field and conducts regular health checks and other scientific analysis.
Until land mammals were introduced by human settlers, New Zealand had none at all. In their absence, a variety of birds evolved over millions of years to fill the ecological niches that their mammalian counterparts would usually occupy. Kākāpō took on a similar role to rabbits and other burrowing mammals — they are nocturnal, herbivorous, well-camouflaged, and have a keen sense of smell. Most critically, they lost their ability to fly and instead took on other adaptations that allowed them to become one of the most common birds in New Zealand up until several hundred years ago.
The arrival of new predators (like rats and stoats) devastated the kākāpō and their populations fell dramatically. In 1894, the naturalist Richard Henry pioneered the approach of relocating kākāpō to predator-free offshore islands, but his efforts were stymied by the expansion of invasive predators to these islands as well. Numerous other relocation and conservation attempts followed for the next century, but kākāpō numbers continued to fall. By 1995, only 51 kākāpō survived, all on offshore islands.
In 1996, a new kākāpō recovery plan was put into action, and since then the population has recovered to more than 150 birds. Today's conservation strategy includes supplemental feeding and nest monitoring during breeding season, as well as the tracking and monitoring of every living kākāpō. Ongoing scientific research also helps ensure the continued success of the recovery effort. For example, the kākāpō recently became the first species to have a complete genome sequencing done for every single living individual — this will be critical to maintaining genetic diversity with such a severely constrained population.
The rugged conditions on the kākāpō islands made this one of the most challenging Street View projects ever conducted in New Zealand.
Although we don't have a time machine to take you back to prehistoric New Zealand, these carefully-maintained island sanctuaries are the next best thing. To give you a tour, we airlifted the Street View Trekker to two of these islands — Whenua Hou and Anchor Island — and explored the forests where kākāpō still thrive. Now you can explore both of these preserves in Street View and get a different kind of bird's eye view.
It's currently conservation week in New Zealand, and around the entire world it's the Year of the Bird. We can't imagine a better time to share this story with you! And if you fall in love with these plucky little parrots, remember that you don't need to be a ranger on a windswept southern isle to help out - there are plenty of ways that you can help save native birds in every corner of the globe. So wherever you are, spread your wings and join us in Google Earth and Street View to explore the ancient forests of the kākāpō.
Posted by Stafford Marquardt, Product Manager, Google Maps Street View
The wait is over! Starting today, YouTube Music is available to everyone in New Zealand, Australia, the U.S, Mexico and South Korea* in addition to 12 new countries including Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Now fans around the world can find more of the music they love and effortlessly discover new favourites. YouTube Music is a new music streaming service built on top of all the music on YouTube that you can’t find anywhere else - personalised and all simply organised in one new app and web player. Here’s how it all comes together:
Recommendations built for you. A home screen that dynamically adapts to provide recommendations based on the artists and songs you’ve played before, where you are and what you’re doing. Chilling at the beach with friends? Need some motivation? The right music is right here, built just for you.
Thousands of playlists across any genre, mood or activity. Try The Happiest Pop for brighter tunes on a cloudy day, the Pop Hotlist for the biggest hits around the world or Distrito Latino for Latin pop hits of the moment.
Smart search so we’ll find the song, even if you can’t remember what it’s called. “That space-themed Spice Girls song in the desert.” Here you go. You can also search by lyrics (even if they’re wrong). It’s “Hold me closer, Tony Danza”, right?
Ad-free listening, downloads and more. Get YouTube Music Premium to listen ad-free, in the background and on-the-go with downloads. Plus, your Offline Mixtape automatically downloads songs you love just in case you forgot to. For a limited time, get three months free of YouTube Music Premium, ($12.99 per month after, $19.99 per month for a Family Plan)*.
YouTube Premium also launches today Starting today, YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red) will be available in 17 countries, providing members with the benefits of Music Premium, plus ad-free, background, and downloads across all of YouTube. YouTube Premium members also get access to the full slate of YouTube Originals shows and movies including the hit series Cobra Kai, Impulse, F2 Finding Football and The Sidemen Show. For a limited time, get three months free of YouTube Premium here, ($15.99 per month after, $23.99 per month for a Family Plan)*. Current YouTube Red and Google Play Music members (including family plans) in New Zealand, Australia, the U.S., and Mexico will automatically receive access to YouTube Premium at their current price. Google Play Music subscribers in all other countries will automatically receive access to YouTube Music Premium at their current price as it becomes available there. Nothing is changing with Google Play Music - you'll still be able to access all of your purchased music, uploads and playlists in Google Play Music just like always. Try YouTube Music and YouTube Premium Get the new YouTube Music from the Play Store and App Store today or check out the brand new web player at music.youtube.com. You can sign up for YouTube Premium at youtube.com/premium. *YouTube Music Premium is $12.99 per month and YouTube Premium is $15.99 per month for individual memberships in New Zealand. Pricing and Family Plan availability varies by country. Only first-time YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium, YouTube Red and Google Play subscribers are eligible for free trials. South Korea will only offer YouTube Premium at the current price of YouTube Red.
Industry has long been talking about the need for STEM skills in our future workforce, and increasingly we’re seeing that a core competency in computational thinking is critical for the jobs of the future. To equip teachers with the skills needed to both inspire and prepare students for this future we are delighted to announce our 2018 Google Educator Professional Development Grant recipients.
Google’s Educator PD Grants (formerly CS4HS) program has been running in Australia and New Zealand since 2011, and in that time has trained over 12,000 teachers. The program aims to equip teachers through practical professional development workshops, giving them the skills and resources they need to confidently teach computational thinking and computer science concepts in new and exciting ways.
A recipient of our 2017 program Mahsa Mohaghegh from Auckland University of Technology’s workshop was held in November 2017 and included hands-on activities for teachers to engage in. Attendee Barry Hook, a Computer Science teacher, who has attended several workshops shared that the hands on activities offered, along with the opportunity to connect with peers are the key to building confidence and skills in teachers to deliver the digital technologies curriculum.
“The major thing we have here [in NZ] is a curriculum which defines what we have to do, but not how we do it. Without having conversations outside of your normal confidence area, you just can’t expand your experience," said Barry. "Until today, I’d never thought of using the Internet of Things. Suddenly, I have a purpose for which I can use some of my robotics resources. It suddenly introduces a twist, and it’s that twist which will make the kids find it more interesting; students which are currently losing interest will now have something to excite them again.”
New Zealand Educators at the Auckland University of Technology CS4HS 2017 Workshop
Conferences and workshops like these connect like-minded educators, and has allowed Barry to “open up conversations or ways and approaches which I would not have had the opportunity to observe in my own development online”. Discussing his PD exposure, he said, “I basically rely upon these Google conferences as my sole source of non-self-directed professional development.”
We’re excited to announce the following 2018 CS Educator Grants Awardees, which will continue to motivate and inspire educators like Roxy and Peter around Australia and New Zealand.
Last week we announced the new YouTube Music. Today, we’re excited to start rolling out early access of the new YouTube Music in the U.S., Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. To be the first to know when it’s available for you, head to music.youtube.com/coming-soon.
Here are six reasons we think you’re gonna like it:
It’s ALL here. Not just music videos, but official albums, singles, remixes, live performances, covers and hard-to-find music you can only get on YouTube.
Recommendations built for you. A home screen that dynamically adapts to provide recommendations based on what you’ve played before, where you are and what you’re doing. At the gym workin’ on that fitness? Escaping during your commute? The right music is right here, built just for you.
Thousands of playlists across any genre, mood or activity. Try “Blogged 50” to discover new music or “Indie Under Pressure” to get the heart rate going.
Smart search so we’ll find the song, even if you can’t remember what it’s called. “That rap song with flute”? We got you. You can also search by lyrics (even if they’re wrong). It’s “Starbucks lovers”, right?
The hottest videos. We’ll keep you on top of what’s hot! The hottest videos in the world right now are right there, on their own dedicated Hotlist screen. Today in the U.S., it features Anderson.Paak, Jessie Reyez, and G-Eazy.
No internet? No problem. Paid members can download music and listen ads-free and in the background. Plus, your Offline Mixtape automatically downloads songs you love just in case you forgot to.
To the Google Play Music users out there, nothing will change - you’ll still be able to access and add to all of your purchased music, uploads and playlists in Google Play Music just like always. For additional information on what we announced last week, be sure to check out our blog. We can’t wait for music fans across the globe to get their hands on YouTube Music! If you’re interested in learning more and getting access, head to music.youtube.com/coming-soon. Elias Roman, Product Manager, YouTube Music. Recently played Miranda lambert - Little Red Wagon.
From Beyonce’s livestream at Coachella to landmark videos like “Despacito”, “New Rules” and “This Is America,” more than 1 billion music fans come to YouTube each month to be part of music culture and discover new music. It’s also where over 2 million artists come to share their voices and art with the world. YouTube is where artists and fans connect: creating and discovering a world of music.
But YouTube was made for video, not just music. On Wednesday, May 23 (NZST), we’ll be changing that by introducing YouTube Music, a new music streaming service made for music with the magic of YouTube: making the world of music, including your favourite Kiwi artists, easier to explore and more personalised than ever. The days of jumping back and forth between multiple music apps and YouTube are over. Whether you want to listen, watch or discover, it’s all here.
YouTube Music is a new music streaming service made for music: official songs, albums, thousands of playlists and artist radio plus YouTube’s tremendous catalog of remixes, live performances, covers and music videos that you can’t find anywhere else - all simply organised and personalised. For the first time, all the ways music moves you can be found in one place.
So what is YouTube Music exactly?
A new music streaming service from YouTube
A reimagined mobile app and brand new desktop player that are designed for music.
YouTube Music has thousands of playlists, which also surface local Kiwi artists, the official versions of millions of songs, albums, artist radio and more, in addition to all the music videos people expect from YouTube.
Find more of the music you’re looking for, including from your favourite Kiwi artists
Remixes, covers, live versions as well as deep cuts you can’t find anywhere else – from the biggest artists in the world, your favourite local Kiwi artists, to the freshest voices breaking through.
Effortlessly discover new music and new Kiwi artists
YouTube Music’s personalised home screen dynamically adapts to provide recommendations based on people’s listening history, where they are and what they’re doing. At the airport? We’ll recommend something relaxing before the flight. Entering the gym? We’ll suggest some beats to get the heart-rate going.
Thousands of playlists built to help you discover new music. That means no matter what kind of music you like, where you are, what you’re doing, or what mood you’re in, you can easily find the right playlist for that moment.
While fans can enjoy the new ad-supported version of YouTube Music for free, we’re also launching YouTube Music Premium, a paid membership that gives you background listening, downloads and an ad-free experience for AU$11.99 a month. If you are a subscriber to Google Play Music, good news, you get a YouTube Music Premium membership as part of your subscription each month. And if you use Google Play Music, nothing will change -- you’ll still be able to access all of your purchased music, uploads and playlists in Google Play Music just like always.
To extend the features of YouTube Music Premium beyond the music app, we’re soon introducing YouTube Premium, the new name for our YouTube Red subscription service. YouTube Premium includes ad-free, background and offline across all of YouTube, as well as access to all YouTube Originals including Cobra Kai, Step Up: High Water and Youth & Consequences. YouTube Premium will continue to provide an ad-free experience, background play, and downloads across the millions of videos on YouTube. But because it includes our brand new YouTube Music service, the price will be NZ$15.99 for all new members. If you’re already a YouTube Red (soon to be YouTube Premium) member, don’t worry you’ll still enjoy your current price.
Starting Wednesday (NZST), we're rolling out the new YouTube Music experience in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea*. It will expand more broadly in the coming weeks. We’ll also soon be launching in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. If you want to know when the new YouTube Music is available in your country, head to music.youtube.com/coming-soon and let us know you’re interested.
*South Korea will only offer the YouTube Premium membership, not YouTube Music Premium.
Posted by Elias Roman, Product Manager - YouTube Music, recently listened to In Due Time by Outkast
Since launching YouTube Red in 2015, we’ve been thrilled with how people are enjoying the service, whether it’s downloading videos for a flight, binging the first season of Cobra Kai, or listening to the wide breadth of ad-free music. As part of ongoing enhancements to the member experience, today we’re excited to announce that YouTube Red is becoming YouTube Premium!
The new YouTube Premium includes:
The new YouTube Music: ad-free, with background listening and downloads
More, bigger original series and movies
Ad-free, background play, and downloads across YouTube
It’s all coming soon to even more countries.
YouTube Music
The new YouTube Music is a music streaming service that combines music listening with the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalised than ever. YouTube Music includes a reimagined mobile app and brand new desktop player that are designed for music.
YouTube Premium unlocks the full YouTube Music experience: ad-free music, background listening, and downloads.
YouTube Originals
With YouTube Premium, you’ll get access to the full slate of YouTube Originals, including recent hits like the Karate Kid-inspired series, Cobra Kai, the dance drama, Step Up: High Water, and upcoming series like the sci-fi thriller, Impulse, and Liza Koshy's Liza on Demand.
More new Originals from around the globe are on the way—featuring comedies, dramas, reality series and action adventure shows from the U.K., Germany, France, Mexico, and more.
Ad-free, background play, and downloads across YouTube
YouTube Premium will continue to provide an ad-free experience, background play, and downloads across the millions of videos on YouTube, which simultaneously supports our incredible creators and artists.
Pricing and Availability
YouTube Premium rolls out soon in existing markets: the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and South Korea*. It’s also coming soon to new markets: Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. We look forward to more expansion throughout 2018 and beyond.
YouTube Premium will be available for NZ$15.99 per month or you can unlock the full experience of the new YouTube Music by itself with Music Premium for NZ$12.99 per month.
When YouTube Premium launches, YouTube Red members will automatically receive access at their current price. In countries where YouTube Red is currently available, a new member can also secure this price ($12.99 in New Zealand) by joining now at youtube.com/red.**
*South Korea will only offer YouTube Premium at the current price of YouTube Red. **If that price changes in the future, we will give plenty of notice.
Last year, we outlined Google’s commitment to comply with Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), across all of the services we provide in the European Union. We’ve been working on our compliance efforts for over eighteen months, and ahead of the new law coming into effect, here’s an update on some of the key steps we've taken.
Improved user transparency We’re updating our current Privacy Policy to make it easier to understand what information we collect, and why we collect it. We’ve improved the navigation and organization of the policy to make it easier to find what you’re looking for; explained our practices in more detail and with clearer language; and added more detail about the options you have to manage, export, and delete data from our services. The policy now also includes explanatory videos and illustrations, because a visual description can be easier to understand than text alone. And we've made it easier to jump to your privacy settings directly from the policy, helping you make choices about your privacy.
Although we’re taking these steps to make our Privacy Policy easier to understand, it’s important to note that nothing is changing about your current settings or how your information is processed. You’ll continue to have granular control over the data you share with us when you use our services, but with clearer explanations. The updated policy is already available to read and we’ll be emailing all of our users about it individually.
Improved user controls Every day, nearly 20 million people around the globe visit My Account, our central hub that brings together all the different ways you can review your Google security, privacy and ad settings. As part of our GDPR compliance efforts, we’ve improved both the controls and the clarity of information in My Account so that people are better informed about how and why their data is collected. Within My Account, you can:
Use Activity Controls to choose what activity is saved to your Google Account. We provide simple on/off switches to control Location History, Web and App Activity, YouTube Search History and more, across all devices that are signed in to your account.
View or delete data—including search history, location history, browsing history—from our services using My Activity. To make it easier to browse your past online activity, we have given you tools to search by topic, date, and product. You can permanently delete specific activities, entire days or weeks of activity that you don’t want associated with your account.
Take a Security Checkup or Privacy Checkup to reassure yourself that your account is secure, and that your privacy settings work for you. We’ve recently added an option that allows you to subscribe to more frequent prompts to take the Privacy Checkup.
Manage or mute the ads you see on Google, on websites and in apps using the recently upgraded Ads Settings tool and Mute This Ad control. We have provided more information about how and why certain ads are personalized, and will also be further simplifying the look and feel of these tools in the coming months.
Get a clear overview of all the Google products that you use—and the data associated with them—via Google Dashboard. We’ve recently made the Dashboard more mobile-friendly so it's now easy to use across different devices.
Improved data portability Since its launch in 2011, people around the world have used our Download Your Data tool to export data from products like Google Photos, Drive, Calendar, Google Play Music and Gmail, either to their own computer, or to storage services like OneDrive, Dropbox and Box. We are further improving and expanding this feature, adding more Google services, including more contextual data controls, and creating a new setting that helps people schedule regular downloads.
While we’ve enabled people to download data from our services for many years, the GDPR encourages companies to enable direct service-to-service data transfers where feasible, for example from Google Photos to another photo service. To support that aim, we've recently initiated the Data Transfer Project on GitHub, providing early-stage open source code that will, in time, be of use to any developer wanting to offer seamless transfer of data from one service directly into an alternative (or vice versa).
Parental consent and improved tools for children online. Under the new rules, companies must get consent from parents to process their children’s data in certain circumstances. To obtain that consent and to make sure that parents and children have the tools to manage their online experiences, we’re rolling out Family Link–already available in various countries around the world–throughout the EU.
Through Family Link, parents can create a Google Account for their child and are required to provide consent for certain processing of their child’s data. Family Link also allows parents to set certain digital ground rules on their child’s Android device– like approving or blocking apps, keeping an eye on screen time, or remotely locking their child’s device. We plan to evolve Family Link’s functionality over time, working closely with parents and advocacy groups.
Helping our business customers and partners The GDPR places new obligations on Google, but also on any business providing services to people in the EU. That includes our partners around the globe: advertisers, publishers, developers and cloud customers. We’ve been working with them to prepare for May 25th, consulting with regulators, civil society groups, academics, industry groups and others.
For our advertising partners, we’ve clarified how our advertising policies will change when the GDPR takes effect. We already ask publishers to get consent from their users for the use of our ad tech on their sites and apps under existing legislation, but we’ve now updated that requirement in line with GDPR guidance. We’re also working closely with our publisher partners to provide a range of tools to help them gather user consent, and have built a solution for publishers that want to show non-personalized ads, using only contextual information.
For our Google Cloud customers, we’ve updated our data processing terms for G Suite and Google Cloud Platform and provided detailed information to customers about our approach to data portability, data incident notifications, secure infrastructure and third party audits and certifications, among other features. For more information, visit the Google Cloud blog.
Strengthening our privacy compliance program Over the last decade, Google has built a strong global privacy compliance program, taking advice from regulators around the world. Across the company, we have dedicated teams of engineers and compliance experts who work in full-time privacy roles, ensuring that no Google product launches without a comprehensive privacy review. We’ve now further improved our privacy program, enhancing our product launch review processes, and more comprehensively documenting our processing of data, in line with the accountability requirements of the GDPR.
This is a snapshot of things we’ve done to date to be ready for May 25, 2018. But our commitment to compliance with the GDPR, and the rights it gives people, will continue long beyond this date. As we evolve our products over time, we’ll continue to improve our Privacy Program and the protections we offer to users. Our ambition is to have the highest possible standards of data security and privacy, and to put our users and partners in control.
Posted by William Malcolm, Director, Privacy Legal, EMEA
At Google, we think everyone should be able to express themselves online, so we want make conversations more inclusive. Sometimes the labels we use to describe ourselves and our loved ones can be used to harass people online - but technology can help.
Given Auckland Pride is one of the first pride parades in the world every year, today we’re kicking off Project Respect to help make conversations more inclusive. We are asking members of the LGBTIQ+ community and their supporters to write a statement about themselves, or someone they love and respect, to help reclaim positive identity labels.
Project Respect invites people to write a statement about themselves or LGBTQI+ people that they love and respect, to help reclaim positive identity labels.
These statements will then go into an open source data set, which coders, developers and technologists all over the world can use to help teach machine learning models how the LGBTIQ+ community speak about themselves.
One of those machine learning algorithms is called “Perspective”. It’s a tool we’ve been developing that can be used to highlight the toxicity of a comment to you, while you’re writing it. That gives you, as the writer, an opportunity to reflect, reconsider and edit your comment, making conversations more inclusive.
Perspective is an early-stage technology that uses machine learning to help identify toxic comments.
And while Project Respect began in Sydney, it’s also being rolled out at Pride in Auckland and other parts of the world, meaning the data we gather will represent the LGBTIQ+ community on a global scale.
What statement am I contributing to Project Respect? “I am so proud and happy to be a gay Kiwi man. As gay people, I feel we can really live the life and be the people we want to be. I wouldn't want it any other way.”
And at Google, we encourage people to bring their whole selves to work wherever they are - including in our New Zealand offices - and we are committed to cultivating a work environment where Googlers can be themselves and thrive.
We also want our employees to have the same inclusive experience outside of the office, and for LGBTIQ+ communities to be safe and to be accepted wherever they are, both in the real world, and online.
Don’t forget to share your statement here, and help make conversations more inclusive.
As the 2018 school year kicks off we’re counting down some of last year’s education highlights
Bag packed, pencils labelled and lunchbox ready… As students start returning to school this week, we’re taking a look back at five of the top Google for Education moments from 2017 in Australia and New Zealand.
In New Zealand, we worked with the government to implement the digital technologies curriculum and hosted a ceremony for recent graduates of Manaiakalani Digital Teaching Academy - a program which provides new teachers with a year of teaching and training in a full immersion digital environment.
Online safety is front and centre for students, parents and teachers and we supported partners to develop online wellbeing programs for young people, including Project Rockit TV; a series of short videos addressing issues such as bullying and online behaviour. Kiwi students also had access to an online cyber bullying quiz to gain their digital license with the launch of the program in New Zealand, while the Generation Next seminar series and accompanying YouTube channel provided resources to empower students as ambassadors for mental health and wellbeing within their schools.
Schools told us that they wanted to learn more about Google’s education tools, so we visited classrooms from Bendigo to Rotorua during the Google Reimagining Education with Technology tour across 12 locations. Thousands of educators shared and learned together at Education On Air and EduTECH.
Last but not least, Chromebooks arrived in more classrooms, helping students access learning opportunities and supporting innovative teaching approaches. In New Zealand, Chromebooks were named as the number one selling education device in schools, while in Australia, all secondary students across Canberra Public Schools will receive a Chromebook, starting in Term 1 2018. Globally, more than 25 million students are using Chromebooks and over 30 million teachers and students use Google Classroom.
We’re always inspired by the great work that educators and students do - both inside and outside of the classroom - and we look forward to supporting innovation in education in 2018 and beyond.
There goes the school bell!
Posted by Suan Yeo, Head of Education, Google Australia and New ZealandPosted by Suan Yeo, Head of Education, Google Australia and New Zealand
Kiwis searched for slime, sport and spaghetti bolognese in 2017
2017 was an action-packed year for New Zealand. We won the America’s Cup. We elected a new government. We kept a close eye on world news and events, but found time to try new things at home. We lost some truly amazing people, but celebrated the true heroes among us. To see the year off in style, here’s a wrap of the top trending* searches brought Kiwis together in Search.
On top of the world
New Zealand’s victory in the America's Cup in Bermuda put the country back on top of the yachting world, and put the tournament high on our trending search list this year. True to form, we also spent a lot of time checking out other major sporting events like the Lion’s Tour and the Melbourne Cup. The highly addictive fidget spinner came in at number three, spinning its way into our hearts, hands and searches for much of the year.
Democracy and disasters The General Election led our news searches in 2017, undoubtedly the biggest news moment of the year with almost 80% of enrolled Kiwis turning out to vote (how to vote was also a very popular search term in 2017). We were also preoccupied with wild weather events that wreaked havoc here and abroad, from hurricanes and cyclones to flooding and fires.
Politicians and other public figures Half of our top ten trending Kiwis this year were politicians. New Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern came out at number one, while interest in her partner Clarke Gayford also put him on the list. We also searched for our favourite sports legends, including Peter Burling, Jerome Kaino and the late All Black Sione Lauaki.
Honouring the departed We mourned the loss of some greats this year, too. John Clarke, the Kiwi behind the cultural icon Fred Dagg sadly passed away. Other legends we said goodbye to included Silver Fern and international netball player Tania Dalton, singer-songwriter Tom Petty and actor John Hurt.
How do you make slime, anyway? Our top ‘how to…?’ searches for 2017 show we were completely obsessed with making slime, with four of top ten trending searches related to this sticky endeavour. But just to show we can be serious too, ‘How to vote in NZ’ took the number two spot, while the popularity of ‘how to cook pork belly’ proves we were keen to keep mixing it up in the kitchen. We also asked some pretty eclectic questions, with topics ranging from cryptocurrency to kimchi. And fidget spinners, just for good measure.
Meat makes a comeback Our top recipe searches show our love affair with meat dishes continued in 2017. Beef stroganoff, pulled pork, lamb shanks and spaghetti bolognese all tickled our taste buds throughout the year, joined by other non-meaty favourites like hot cross buns, pikelets, and the perennial Year in Search classic, pancakes!
And that’s just a preview. To dive into the top trending terms of the year, check out New Zealand’s full trending lists*:
Overall searches
Lotto result NZ
America's Cup 2017
Fidget spinner
Election NZ 2017
NZTA road closures
Cyclone Cook
All Blacks vs Lions
Melbourne Cup 2017
North Korea
Daylight savings 2017
News
Election NZ 2017
NZTA road closures
Cyclone Cook
North Korea
Hurricane Irma
Christchurch fire
New Zealand flooding
London fire
UK election
Cyclone Debbie
Global People
Harvey Weinstein
Ed Sheeran
Bruce Springsteen
Pippa Middleton
Kevin Spacey
Gal Gadot
Floyd Mayweather
Jake Paul
David Cassidy
Bruno Mars
Kiwis
Jacinda Ardern
Winston Peters
Bill English
Jerome Kaino
Peter Burling
Jaylene Cook
Clarke Gayford
Sione Lauaki
Metiria Turei
Todd Barclay
Loss
Tom Petty
Chester Bennington
Tania Dalton
Hugh Hefner
Bill Paxton
Carissa Avison
Rich Piana
John Clarke
John Hurt
Dan Vickerman
Sporting events
America's Cup 2017
All Blacks vs Lions
Melbourne Cup 2017
Wimbledon 2017
World Masters Games
Bathurst 2017
Rugby League World Cup
Mayweather vs McGregor
US Open 2017 tennis
Australian Open 2017
How to…?
How to make slime
How to vote in NZ
How to make a fidget spinner
How to make slime without borax
How to make fluffy slime
How to delete Instagram accounts
How to make slime without glue
How to lose weight
How to draw a dragon
How to cook pork belly
What is…?
What is Black Friday 2017
What is typhoid
What is bitcoin
What is kimchi
What is the time
What is a fidget spinner
What is botulism
What is borax
What is a cyclone
What is MSG
Recipes
Hot cross buns
Beef stroganoff
Pikelets
Spaghetti bolognese
Yorkshire pudding
Pancakes
Pulled pork
Slime
Anzac biscuits
Lamb shanks
Posted by Camilla Ibrahim, Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Google Australia and New Zealand * Trending Searches: What was hot in 2017? The "trending" queries are the searches that had the highest spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2017 as compared to 2016.
