'Nua Mek 2' tops Google searches so far this year
According to Google Zeitgeist, the top ten searches for the week of January 5-11 were the TV series "Nua Mek 2" and "Power of Passion", this year's Children's Day motto, the phrase "difficult year", CU TEP, Channel 3, the Revenue Department, www.Pantip.co
Channel 3’s political parody “Nua Mek 2” tops the list because it was abruptly pulled off the air two episodes ahead of schedule without any formal announcement. Rumours of the show’s demise have been spreading due to its politically charged plot.
TV series “Power of Passion” came in second as it has replaced “Nua Mek 2”. The production team is reportedly under great pressure from fans and also faces a tight production schedule.
This year’s National Children’s Day motto, “Uphold Discipline, Enhance Knowledge and Bring Thailand towards Asean”, came in third.
The phrase “difficult year” came in fourth because according to Chinese horoscope, 2013 is the year of the snake and is deemed to be difficult for people born in the year of the pig, tiger, snake or monkey. Apparently prayers said to a Chinese deity is believed to ease or minimise bad luck.
CU TEP, an English-language proficiency test set by the Chulalongkorn University came in fifth. The test measures an individual’s ability to use English for academic purposes in terms of reading, writing, listening and speaking and is necessary for higher-education in some institutes.
A search for Channel 3 came in sixth, as hackers posted a large message on its website demanding that “Nua Mek 2” be reviewed. This issue apparently also affected the value of Bangkok Entertainment Company shares.
The Revenue Department came in seventh, possibly because every Thai with a regular income has to submit tax returns between the months of January and March. The department’s online channel has helped cut down on time and hassle for taxpayers dramatically.
The popular Thai-language forum, Pantip.com, came in No 8 after it introduced a new look since it was launched 10 years ago.
“Khun Nai Ho”, a romantic-comedy starring Araya “Chompoo” Hargate, came in No 9 in the search engine. Chompoo made her stage debut earlier this year with “Reya: the Musical”.
Asean came in 10th as Surin Pitsuwan stepped down as secretary-general and handed the reins to Vietnam’s Le Luong Minh. In his last speech, Surin advised the grouping to “forge a new strategic equilibrium to balance the superpowers in the region”.
