{Radio} What’s everyone looking for in 2021?
Q. What does a face mask, a vaccination certificate, gnocchi and the NBA all have in common?
A. They are Australia’s most Googled search terms in 2021
This week in our regular segment MMM radio’s Anthony Tilli and I take a voyeuristic look at the year that’s passed through the eyes of Australia’s top google search terms, to explore what was and may still be important to Australian’s.
This year’s lists include:
How to:
- Get vaccination certificate
- Tie a tie
- Deliver uber eats
- Buy dogecoin
- Watch Olympics Australia
- Book covid vaccine
- Watch euro 2021 in Australia
- Link Medicare to mygov
- Book Pfizer vaccine
- Enter million-dollar vax
How to make:
- A face mask
- Candles
- Playdough
- A paper plane
- A chatterbox
- A website
- Slime without glue
- A paper boat
- Fake blood
- Oxygen
Recipes:
- Gnocchi
- Guacamole
- Curried sausages
- Anzac biscuits
- Negroni
- Lamb shanks
- Brussel sprouts
- Minestrone soup
- Rocky road
- Tzatziki
Top Overall Searches:
- NBA
- AFL
- Australia vs India
- NRL
- Euro 2021
- Wimbledon
- Olympic Medal tally
- Covid NSW
- Coinspot
- Prince Phillip
Listen now (5 minutes 4 seconds):
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What did 2021 search patterns reveal about collective psychology?
Enormous and simultaneous appetite for escape, reconnection, and practical coping. Searches for travel, family reunion, and social events alongside searches for mental health resources, relationship guidance, and financial stability tools. The pandemic compressed a decade of deferred life events into one year of anticipation — the search signals reflected that compression.
Q: How do search patterns work as foresight signals?
Search data is a real-time window into what people are actively uncertain about, worried by, or seeking. It is qualitatively different from survey data because it captures genuine intent rather than socially mediated response. When millions of people search for the same thing in a short window, that is a signal worth taking seriously.
Q: What did the 2021 signals suggest about where society was heading?
A genuine reorientation of priorities — work, housing, relationships, and purpose all received elevated scrutiny. The ‘YOLO’ economy (you only live once spending and career decisions) was one manifestation. The Great Resignation was another. The common thread was a recalibration that was genuine and persistent, not a temporary reaction.
Q: Can Morris Misel help our organisation read and respond to cultural signals?
Yes. Reading cultural signals and translating them into strategic relevance is one of the core services Morris provides through keynotes and advisory work. Book at morrismisel.com.
Q. What does a face mask, a vaccination certificate, gnocchi and the NBA all have in common? A. They are Australia’s most Googled search terms in 2021 This week in our regular segment MMM radio’s Anthony Tilli and I take a voyeuristic look at the year that’s passed through the ey.
When signals like What’s everyone looking for emerge, organisations that engage early have the advantage of choosing their response rather than reacting to events. That gap between those who prepared and those who did not is where competitive positioning is actually made or lost.
The most important question is not whether What’s everyone looking for will matter, but how quickly it will matter in your specific context. Leaders benefit most from mapping the ripple effects early — not just the direct impact but the second and third-order consequences that arrive later and hit harder. That is the practical work of foresight.
