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Top Google searches in NYC in 2014

New Yorkers put their own unique spin on Google searches in 2014.

The search giant revealed today the top searches made within the five boroughs in 2014, and the World Cup came in first.

Although the tournament ranked second nationally, Google trends expert LaToya Drake said the energy around the event was different in New York, propelling it to the top.

“It became this collective viewing experience,” Drake said. “Even if you weren’t a soccer fan, you were being left out if you didn’t know the matches.”

Lance A. Strate, professor of communication and media studies at Fordham University, credited the city’s diversity for making the World Cup a top trender. At the same time, he said the No. 2 search topic of 2014, Avonte Oquendo, stressed New York’s camaraderie.

Although the 14-year-old autistic Queens boy ran away from his Long Island City school in the fall of 2013, New Yorkers’ concerns persisted through when his remains were found in January.

“In New York, people are tightly packed together, so there is a sense of involvement that you don’t see in other areas,” he said.

The Google data, which didn’t include New York search trends for December, found that the top “What is” query from in the city was “What is Ebola?” The city had its own case at the end of October when Dr. Craig Spencer was hospitalized with the disease following a humanitarian trip to Africa.

“Once it came to the states, there was a lot of fear,” Drake said. “People were looking for answers.”

Here are the other trends for the Big Apple in 2014:

Top-10 Trending Searches

1. World Cup Schedule

2. Avonte Oquendo

3. Donald Sterling

4. Flappy Bird

5. 2048

6. Missing Plane

7. Oscars 2014

8. True Detective

9. Ebola Symptoms

10. Frozen

 

Top-10 How To … Questions

1. How to harmonize

2. How to focus

3. How to network

4. How to photo shop

5. How to reupholster

6. How to listen

7. How to samba

8. How to cosplay

9. How to declutter

10. How to wow

 

Top-10 What is … Questions

1. What is Ebola?

2. What is tryptophan?

3. What is ISIS?

4. What is Alibaba?

5. What is bitcoin?

6. What is POC?

7. What is squally?

8. What is edamame?

9. What is gamification?

10. What is quantum?

 

Top-10 News and Events

1. World Cup Schedule

2. Missing Plane

3. Oscars 2014

4. Ebola Symptoms

5. Ferguson Missouri

6. Brazil vs. Germany

7. Golden Globes 2014

8. Mayweather vs. Maidana

9. Wimbledon 2014

10. Unemployment Extension