Google Unveiling 'Hot Trends' Today

Google is now getting into the business of trend-spotting, of telling us what's hot and what's not...

The search giant is reportedly today unveiling a new feature named 'Hot Trends' which tracks current top-100 fastest-rising search trends. And the top-100 list would be refreshed several times daily, basis data from millions of Google Web searches conducted up until an hour before each update, Google says.

A combination of two of Google's existing products, Zeitgeist and Trends, 'Hot Trends' will also offer a glimpse into users' Web search habits, although not as dated.

Google says the new feature will provide a sneak-peek into what's hot and not - in ways that even social philosophers could not have imagined.

According to 'Hot Trends' Software Engineer, Amit Patel, there are things happening around us all the time that we are not even aware of, and it is this gap that 'Hot Trends' intends to address.

As it is, Google is privy to a wide range of searches, ranging from the sublime to the mundane, the profound to the plain idiotic.

While Google Zeitgeist is like a retrospective look at what users' had on their minds - say a week or a month or a year back, 'Hot Trends' will give a more contemporary, 'here and now' snapshot of what is on people's minds.

Besides, 'Hot Trends' will add depth by linking to not only related sites, but also to associated Google News stories and blog searches, Google claims. The feature will also allow users go back in time to check top-rising trends on a particular day or at a particular time.

Apart from unveiling 'Hot Trends,' Google is also ramping up its 'Trends' service to help users find not only the top countries or cities that searched for a particular term, but also to see how search habits differ from region to region, spanning a total of 70 countries.

Meanwhile, Google says 'Hot Trends' will look for the hottest trends and not the hottest topics, which experts insist still center around sex and more sex. 'Hot Trends' will effectively screen 'inappropriate language' and 'pornography,' Google maintains.