These Keywords Were What Filipinos Were Googling in 2010

The year 2010 seems like yesterday, and right now, we’re in the third quarter of 2020. Ten years ago, Filipinos decided to bombard Google with these search keywords, which gave us a little nostalgia. We know this because of a tool called Google Trends, which allows you to look back at your searches as far as 2008.

Top Story: How To Spot Fake Rich People, According to the Truly Rich Lady

1| ‘Jejemon’

In Filipino pop culture, jejemon refers to a person who is considered low-class, unrefined, or uncultured: aka baduy, cheap, corny. It could also refer to a manner of composing text messages, thus: j3J3w0N (jejemon). Google searches for “jejemon’ peaked In 2010, with most searches coming from the Visayas, Mindanao, and Central Luzon. 

2| ‘Venus Raj’

Photo by Wikimedia Commons.

It has been 10 years since Venus Raj was dethroned and reinstalled as Bb. Pilipinas-Universe in 2010. She placed 4th runner up in the Miss Universe pageant in the same year. Raj made the phrase “Major, major” a trending topic after she used it in the question-and-answer portion of the pageant. 

3| ‘Facebook Emoticons’

 

Okay, “emoticons’ make 2010 sound like eons in the past. Don’t let anybody catch you saying “emoticons” when you should be saying “emojis” these days. The year 2010 was a breakthrough year for Facebook when it grew its Filipino user base. At the time, people were transitioning not only from Friendster to Facebook but also from the typed out smileys :-) to the actual emojis we use today. 

4| ‘Jason Ivler’

It has been 10 years since Jason Ivler was arrested and later convicted for murder after a fit of road rage that led to his gunning down a motorist. After shooting Renato Victor Ebarle Jr. at close range, Ivler fled the scene using an SUV with a diplomatic plate. In 2019, the Supreme Court affirmed the guilty conviction of Ivler for the murder of Ebarle. Ivler is the son of Marlene Aguilar, sister of Freddie Aguilar.

5| ‘Pyramid Lyrics’

Searches for “pyramid lyrics” shot up in 2010 after Charice Pempengco debuted the song, which was also her first international single. 

6| ‘Google Chrome Download’

Photo by Wikimedia Commons.

Ah, the beginning of the mass exodus from Internet Explorer to Google Chrome. This search phrase was a meme in itself, whereby users installing Windows for the first time were prompted to use Microsoft’s Explorer, only to use it to download the fastest and most efficient browser at the time, which is Chrome. Chrome was launched in 2008 and dominated browsers by 2010. 

7| ‘Agua Bendita’

Photo by ABS-CBN Entertainment / Wikimedia Commons.

 

Literally, “agua bendita” means “holy water” in Spanish. But Filipinos were using Google to search for Agua Bendita, the fantasy-drama series starring Andi Eigenmann. Eigenmann played the part of twins Agua and Bendita. Agua had a physical deformity but could heal people with her tears. Meanwhile, Bendita was the physically normal twin jealous of her sister. 

8| ‘MYX Philippines’

Photo by Wikimedia Commons.

MYX was a phenomenal success in the local music industry, forcing MTV out of the Philippines in 2010. Its roster of VJs included Lourd de Veyra, Luis Manzano, Geoff Eigenmann, Heart Evangelista, Nikki Gil, Bernard Palanca, and Iya Villania.