Google Asia Pacific Blog: December 2015

Asia’s Year in Search: What we searched for in 2015

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

From dubsmashes to gemstones, here’s a look at the memes and trends that gripped Asia this year in Google's 2015 Year in Search lists.

Apps and Tech
Homegrown Asian apps are on the rise. One of the biggest hits this year was Indonesia’s [GoJek], on-demand scooters to help commuters get around in Indonesia’s notorious traffic jams. Meanwhile, the inexorable rise of e-commerce in India continues as [Flipkart], and [Snapdeal] make it to India’s top ten searches, showing that the online shopping craze is as strong as ever.

But what people really love to do is play games on their phones. While [Agar.io] was the big viral app of the year globally, [Dubsmash] was unquestionably Asia’s big meme generator. Searches for the lip-syncing video app trended in the Philippines and Indonesia—no surprise there when you look at how celebrities and influencers have been using it, including the popular Governor of Jakarta, known affectionately as Ahok (check out his Dubmash). In India, Bollywood stars like Sonam Kapoor invited fans to submit Dubsmash renditions of her hit song “Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.” Lip sync battles with pop stars on late night TV shows may be viral sensations in the West, but here in Asia, we prefer to do it ourselves.

Pop culture
Speaking of dubs, [Aldub] was the top term in the Philippines. The “dub” in this case actually stands for Yaya Dub, the lead female character on hit Filipino show Eat Bulaga played by “dubsmash queen” Maine Mendoza (check out her YouTube channel if you need any proof of her smashing talent). The “Al” is for Alden, her love interest. Their much-anticipated meeting and the accompanying hashtag #AlDubEBTamangPanahon (translation: AlDub, in the right time) drew more than 41 million tweets, smashing the previous Twitter record held by Brazil's defeat to Germany in last year’s world cup, according to the BBC. Watch out: when Pinoys catch on to a trend, it’s sure to become a social media phenomenon.

Local films normally rank high up in Asia’s lists, but this year we saw a surprising crossover: the British comedy caper Kingsman starring Colin Firth was the top trending film in Korea this year. As this BI article explains: “The film opened in South Korea in mid-February and has since earned $40 million, making it the film’s highest-grossing market abroad (behind the UK and Australia).” What could account for this success? The film’s storyline of the wealthy elite getting their comeuppance resonated after the “nutrage” incident embroiled the country. Korean Englishman, a British YouTube star who speaks fluent Korean, presents his own humorous take on the film here:

News and Events

Across the world, hostage crises and Paris emerged as top keywords. But Japan really stands out for this since it hadn't searched for those topics until two Japanese hostages were killed. [Islamic State] and the murdered journalist [Kenji Goto] were high up on Japan’s top searched terms of the year. Rugby gave the Japanese a reason to celebrate though, as the country’s underdog team defeated rugby giants New Zealand in the astonishing opener of the Rugby World Cup.

And in Korea, Japan, and Singapore, an epidemic that prompted recurring nightmares of 2003’s SARS scare, [MERS] or Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome was a top search term. This year’s record-settingly bad levels of haze meant that [PSI] was the top term in Singapore.

Economy
Speaking of recurring nightmares, [1 USD to MYR] trended in Malaysia when Malaysians were worried that a slide in the ringgit’s value against the dollar would trigger a 1998-style economic meltdown.

But Indonesians apparently started parking their money elsewhere: [batu akik], or precious gemstones was the top trending term in Indonesia this year. The soaring prices of these gemstones has led to online searches on Google as well as offline searches—people have been found to be digging for them in urban parks. A healthy trade in these stones, thought to possess supernatural qualities, even increased Bali’s forex earnings. Is this Indonesia’s modern day tulip mania?

Go to Google.com/2015 to explore the rest of the 2015 Year in Search stories and top trending charts from the rest of Asia and around the world.

Posted by Joyce Hau, Communications Manager, Google Asia Pacific

Google for India: Past, Present, and Future

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Cross-posted from the Google India Blog

In the eleven years since Google Search first came to in India, we’ve done everything we can to make our products more useful and relevant for all Indians. Search in 2003 started in English but we quickly added Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi and Tamil. We’ve made Voice Search work in Hindi and even recognize Indian accents in English. When we couldn’t get enough data to build a comprehensive map of India for Google Maps, two Indian engineers built Google Map Maker to get the world’s help in crowdsourcing one.

Google India started with five employees in 2004 and since then has grown to be amongst the largest Google employee bases outside of U.S. with close to 1700 employees. And as smartphones have brought millions more online, Indians have become some of the most enthusiastic Google users. Using products like Gmail, Translate and Android, India is second only to the U.S. in total number of mobile Search queries.

But this is just the beginning. Today at our “Google for India” press event, we announced that we plan to ramp up our engineering presence in India, including a major expansion to our Hyderabad campus. Our goal is to bring all Indians online — regardless of income, region, age, gender, or language — and as they come online, we want to make the Internet more relevant and useful for their needs. There are three areas we’re focusing on to help do that.

CEO Sundar Pichai onstage at "Google for India"

First, we are working to improve Indians’ access to the Internet. Today we announced that Mumbai Central will be the first station to come online in our program with Indian Railways and Railtel to offer free RailWire Wifi inside railway stations. By the end of 2016, 100 more stations will be operational, connecting more than 10 million people who pass through every day. We are also expanding our program with Tata Trusts to connect women in rural India through a fleet of Internet bikes. We’ve hit 1,000 villages so far, and now we are adding resources with the hope of reaching 300,000 villages nationwide within three years.

Second, we are adapting our products to work better for Indians on 2G connections. “Lighter” Search results and web pages automatically load faster when you’re on limited bandwidth—helping not just users on slow connections but publishers who see a 50% increase in traffic. Our Data Saver mode on the Chrome mobile browser removes images when we detect you’re using a slow connection. We’re also making our products work when there’s no connection at all. Google Maps now allows real-time navigation and searches without a data connection. YouTube’s offline mode—launched first in India—helps people watch videos without Internet access, and a new feature rolling out next year that will improve buffering when videos are paused.

Third, we want to empower Indians to build great things for India, whether it’s an app, service, business or even a video. We’re launching a program to train two million new Android developers over the next three years by working closely with more than 30 universities across the country in partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation. This comes on top of a recent promise to give 1,000 of today’s best and brightest Indian startups $20,000 in credits to run their business on Google Cloud Platform. And the Chromebit, a small device that turns a monitor into a computer, will be available in India starting in January — a tool to boost computing in the education sector. We’re also teaching Indian content creators how to make even better videos at the YouTube Space Mumbai, which opened earlier this month.

Today’s announcements are just our latest steps in our journey to bring all Indians online and make the Internet more relevant and useful for their needs. There are still nearly a billion people in India who don’t have access to the Internet. So like we have from the first day we started providing Search in India, we will keep innovating and working hard to help people improve their lives through technology.

Posted by Caesar Sengupta, Vice President, Chrome and Android

#YouTubeRewind 2015: Asia’s top memes, spoofs, and songs

Thursday, December 10, 2015

As we wind up the year, we look back at what captured audiences across Asia Pacific in 2015. This year, local YouTube creators dominated the trending lists in each country, showing that local creativity and culturally relevant videos are still what prompt viewers to press play. From wacky musical numbers to heartwarming stories of homecoming, here’s a glimpse at what had Asia glued to their smartphones this year.

Kids

Korea: [Pororo Sing Along Collection S2] Pororo Songs for Children

Pororo the Little Penguin is one of Korea’s beloved animated characters — so much so that he’s even earned the nickname “Pororo the President.” This 40-minute compilation of songs features Pororo and his friends singing 14 tracks and has kept millions of kids entertained.

Australia: Peppa Pig - 9 Episode Compilation 2! by theofficialpeppa

Popular kids’ animation Peppa Pig took the top spot this year in Australia’s trending videos list, proving how popular kids’ content is Down Under, as we saw during the recent launch of the YouTube Kids app there.

Parody songs

Vietnam: [Mì Gõ Đặc Biệt] Parody MV Vợ Người Ta - Phan Mạnh Quỳnh by Ghiền Mì Gõ

Remade from a popular song depicting a young man crying over his ex-girlfriend’s wedding, this Vietnamese creator spiced up the story of Vợ Người Ta with creative twists on characters — less dramatic and a bit more hilarious. It’s more addictive than you think: as of writing, the video Vợ Người Ta racked up watch times equivalent to 128 years.

Indonesia: SYAHRINI STICKER PARODI (edhozell + ekagustiwana) #parodisyahrini

Local YouTuber and comedian Edho Zell collaborated with musician Eka Gustiwana to create a video that went viral, clocking over 3.2 million views. Edho and Eka tapped into the country’s unabashed love of celebrity parody, and combined it with Indonesians’ favorite activity: chatting online with friends to create a song inspired by stickers.

India: AIB : Every Bollywood Party Song feat. Irrfan

Comedy kings AIB team up with Bollywood legend Irrfan Khan to send up archetypical Bollywood party songs (that often lack context in the film itself) — and the result is oh so catchy.

Eye-catching ads

Malaysia: Home - #lundangtonewcastle

Boy meets girl, over long distance: Malaysian Airlines made a heartwarming love story about a U.K.-born Malaysian boy who falls in love with a girl in Malaysia, based on real interviews with real people.

Philippines: For Our #1 Lolas | NIDO FORTIGROW | Nestlé PH

Get ready for a tear-jerker as this Nestlé ad reminds us of where sassy women get their strength from: their #1 lolas, aka grandmas.

New Zealand: Men In Black Safety Defenders #AirNZSafetyVideo

Air New Zealand does it again: their safety videos are already the stuff of legends. This time their viral video had stars from the All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team, rapping in-flight safety tips to the “Men in Black” theme song.

Performances

Japan: Egusplosion - エグスプロージョンチャンネル

In this video, dance team Egusplosion comically explains a historical event called the “Honnoji Incident.” Their catchy rap tune and quirky dance moves have captured the hearts of Japanese students who’ve had to prepare for history exams. Check out the live version they did at the recent YouTube FanFest with Japanese YouTube star Hikakin. Egusplosion saw four more of their videos in this year’s top ten trending list for Japan.

Thailand: The Voice Thailand - หนอยแน่ - กลับไม่ได้ ไปไม่ถึง

Music-obsessed Thailand watched a lot of videos from hit talent-spotting show The Voice—this video “Noi Nae” alone was watched over 10 million times.

Unique tunes

Hong Kong: BOMBA - 音樂故事

Hong Kong creators and filmmaking collective BOMBA dominated Hong Kong’s trending video lists this year with six out of ten of the city’s most popular videos. Their modern musical, 音樂故事 or Music Story, strings together classic lines from Cantopop hits over the past few years to tell the story of an unrequited love. Real enthusiasts should try to take this on karaoke-style.

Taiwan: 驚喜合唱民歌四十 Flash Mob Chorus at Ban Qiao Rail Station

A musical horde descends upon one of Taiwan’s busiest rail stations to sing some of Taiwan’s iconic “Campus Ballads,” a genre of music popular among Taiwanese from the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. No doubt this video prompted many memories — and singalongs — for Taiwanese viewers everywhere.

Singapore: Unbelievable - I so stunned like vegetable (Spouse For House 2 MV)

So popular that “stunned like vegetable” became a new Singlish phrase, this song was created to promote Mediacorp Channel 5’s sitcom Spouse For House. Singaporeans grooved so much to the humorous — and dare we say it — unbelievable lyrics and dance moves that this video shot to the top of the trending charts. Walau-eh!

These are just some of the top YouTube hits from 2015 in Asia Pacific. Check out our YouTube Rewind channel for more of this year’s favorite videos from around the world, including a mashup of the top videos on YouTube — this time, featuring a look back at ten years’ worth of YouTube moments. You can also visit google.com/2015 next week for Google's annual look at the people, places and events that captured the world's attention.

Posted by Gautam Anand, Director of Operations and Content, YouTube Asia Pacific who recently watched “YouTube Rewind: Now Watch Me 2015”

Heading to Indonesia for the holidays?

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Say a stress-free “Selamat Datang” to your Indonesian holiday with the new Indoor Maps. Find your way around Bali’s new Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, the Lombok International Airport, or the National Museum of Indonesia without having to locate a directory or asking someone. Like a concierge in the palm of your hand, you’ll be able to find your way faster than you can say “I need a holiday!”

See how Indoor Maps can help you find your way through the 60 venues available across 13 cities in Indonesia here. Happy holidays!

Posted by Nikhil Vaishnavi, Google Maps Product Manager

#IfIHadSpace? India asked for it, and got it — YouTube Space Mumbai now open

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Musicians Aakash Gandhi and Ash King stumble upon
a magical doorway to YouTube Space Mumbai

Lights, camera—action!

Back in August we announced that we were partnering with renowned film school Whistling Woods International (WWI) to open YouTube Space Mumbai. We asked Indians: what would you do #IfIHadSpace? People responded overwhelmingly on social media with sci fi shorts, action films, and of course, many, many music videos. Now, we are finally ready to unveil the Space, opening the doors to India’s YouTube creators and nurturing the next wave of entertainment talent for Bollywood and beyond.

Check out this musical number by YouTube creator, pianist and composer 88 Keys to Euphoria’s Aakash Gandhi, together with his collaborators Ash King and Shashaa Tirupati which was released today on YouTube to coincide with the Space's opening. It was shot entirely on campus and is the first official production of the Space.

YouTube’s new home for creators in Mumbai is a 1400 square foot space within WWI’s sprawling production complex, which includes a 400 square foot studio, a lounge and workshop space for creators to relax and socialize in, and an edit bay with two machines that are capable of 4K editing. There will also be a small office for our staff on campus, to interact not only with YouTube creators, but with the students at Whistling Woods. In addition, YouTube creators will have access to Whistling Woods’ sound stages and post-production facilities, including two fully-equipped professional studios over 3000 square feet each.

The creators’ lounge at YouTube Space Mumbai

The doors are about to open...

With Subhash Ghai (center), founder and Chairman of Whistling Woods International, at today's opening of the Space

At the YouTube Space, creators can learn from industry experts and attend workshops to hone their YouTube know-how and production skills. They'll be able to book use of the YouTube Space after they have taken an initial orientation class called “Unlock the Space.” Stay informed about the latest goings on at YouTube Space Mumbai at www.youtube.com/space, by following us on Twitter @youtubespacemum, or sign up for our newsletter here.

Posted by David Macdonald, Head of YouTube Spaces, Asia Pacific, who recently watched TVF’s Rajasthani Cowboys.

A whole new world for silk carpets, (hand)made in China

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

As part of our series of interviews with people across Asia-Pacific who use the Internet to create, connect, and grow, we asked Jianli Han how online tools helped grow his handmade silk carpets business, the Henan Yilong Carpet Company, into China’s largest exporter of handmade silk carpets.

How did you get into the carpet business?
Fresh out of university in the eighties, I was assigned a job in a state-owned enterprise in Nanyang, Henan province. The wife of a fellow worker was Uyghur and she excelled at weaving woolen carpets. Henan province was short of wool but had a long tradition of silk-making, so she tried to weave carpets with silk for personal use.

One year, I took one of her silk carpets to the Canton Fair, where I’d been assigned to work. I had put it in the corner, but on the first day of the fair, a businessman from Kuwait immediately picked it up for quite a tidy sum of money. It was then that I realized that silk products from Henan might be a promising business opportunity, and so I launched into it with the help of my fellow workers.

30 years later, we’re producing over 60,000 square metres of hand-knotted carpets every year, which is enough to cover 8 soccer pitches. Smaller carpets take several months, but larger pieces can take up to a year to make.

Why did you decide to sell carpets online?
Participating in overseas trade fairs was expensive. On top of registration fees, I had to ship several carpets and then send a number of colleagues to staff A booth. So I started looking for other ways to promote my business. In 2007, a friend told me about Google’s tools and products and showed me how to use them. After that, I decided to switch my investment from trade fairs to Google. On Google, you can be open and sell 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can easily get 100 times the customers online than you can from a trade fair.

You have a mobile-optimized website, but do people actually buy carpets on their phones?
In fact 80% of our buyers come via mobile search and the vast majority of them come from outside China. A hand-knotted silk carpet is something special, so people searching for them generally know quite a bit about what they’re looking for. Our website includes a lot of information about our products, making it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for — even a high price tag doesn’t discourages them. Also, mobile payments have enabled transactions to take place anywhere and everywhere.

Do you have any tips for other businesses wanting to use the Internet to grow?
User experience is the top priority. Your site should be optimized for mobile to guarantee a favorable customer experience when they make a purchase online. Apart from that I’d say it’s important to keep an open mind and be prepared to try to new things.

Performing Arts take center stage on the Cultural Institute

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Have you ever wondered what it’s like backstage at the opera? Or how it might feel to dance under the glare of a concert hall’s spotlight? With a new virtual exhibition of performing arts on the Google Cultural Institute, you can experience all of this with the click of a mouse. And we’re also giving you front row seats to some of the world’s leading performances. So sit back and get comfortable as we dim the lights and take you through a world tour of performing arts…

You can browse performances and everything that goes on on- and off-stage at more than 60 institutions—including the world famous Carnegie Hall, to the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Berliner Philharmoniker. Moving east, I’ve selected some highlights from our partners in Asia-Pacific—the Queensland Performing Arts Center in Australia, the Dilli Gharana and Natural Streets For Performing Arts Foundation in India, Aomori Nebuta Matsuri in Japan, and the National Theatre of Korea, National Gugak Center and Kukkiwon in Korea.

Start with a tour of the Queensland Performing Arts Center and its lovely venues, indoor and out.

Left: QPAC’s Melbourne Street Green is a great place to enjoy free music outdoors on a Friday night; Right: The view of the stage from QPAC’s Concert Hall balcony.

Get lost in a sea of colored lights amidst the floats Aomori Nebuta Matsuri. The lantern floats at this annual Japanese summer festival in Aomori prefecture stand up to 10 meters tall and are made of fragile traditional paper wrapped around a bamboo frame. They depict Japanese gods, mythological and and historical figures.

In Korea, see how the demonstration team of Kukkiwon, the sport’s global headquarters, reinterprets the ancient martial art of taekwondo, presenting it alongside traditional music to create a special performance.

You can also learn about the Dilli Gharana, an ancient form of music from Hindustan in India.

Ustad Chand Khan Sahab giving a lesson to Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan. The portrait at the back is of Shams-e-Maousiqi Ustad Mamman Khan Sahab.

The Google Cultural Institute was founded in 2011 to bring the world’s treasures to anyone with an Internet connection. Starting in partnership with a handful of renowned museums, we’ve since joined forces with 900+ institutions to include historic archives, street art, and 200 wonders of the world. Now you can also visit dozens of the world’s stages together in one place—across mobile, tablet and desktop at g.co/performingarts and on the Google Cultural Institute website.

Posted by Kate Lauterbach, Program Manager, Google Cultural Institute

Feeling the heat Down Under

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

While many parts of the world are rugging up and settling in for the cold winter months, today marks the first day of summer Down Under. Escape the winter chill with us on Street View, where you’ll find Australia’s most loved and well-known beaches ready for you to explore. Sun yourself on Bondi Beach, catch a wave at Bronte, or go for a virtual dip over at Manly with this latest collection of beautiful beach imagery.

Tourist mecca and reality TV star, Bondi is the quintessential Aussie beach. It was quiet the morning we captured this imagery, but on hot days sunseekers from far and wide flock to this popular spot. Home to the world’s first surf life saving club, you might just catch a glimpse of some iconic red togs as you walk past the lifesaver’s tower.

Bondi Beach

Head south along the coastal walk and you’ll come to Bronte Beach. Although the surf can be a bit rough for swimming, Bronte’s grassy picnic area and ocean pool make it a very popular spot with families.

Bronte Beach

Once you’ve splashed around Sydney’s eastern beaches, why not head to the north side of the harbour city and check out Manly and Shelly beaches. Lined with Norfolk Island pines, Manly is a beach for all seasons, drawing swimmers, surfers and tourists alike with its great breaks and long golden stretch of sand.

Manly Beach

Tucked around the corner from the hustle and bustle of Manly is Shelly Beach. Surrounded by a bush walking track and sheltered from the swell by a reef, Shelly is an ideal place to take a quiet swim.

Shelly Beach

If that isn’t quiet enough for you, drive a few hours south to Hyam Beach at Jervis Bay. This popular weekend getaway is surrounded by national parks, and according to the Guinness Book of Records, has the whitest sand in the world!

Hyam Beach

We hope you enjoy your time in the sun as you discover some of the most beautiful spots Down Under on Street View!

Posted by Cynthia Wei, Program Manager Google Street View

Asia Pacific Blog

Asia’s Year in Search: What we searched for in 2015

Google for India: Past, Present, and Future

#YouTubeRewind 2015: Asia’s top memes, spoofs, and songs

Heading to Indonesia for the holidays?

#IfIHadSpace? India asked for it, and got it — YouTube Space Mumbai now open

A whole new world for silk carpets, (hand)made in China

Performing Arts take center stage on the Cultural Institute

Feeling the heat Down Under

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