April 22, 2015

What does Google's autocomplete say about Philadelphia?

Safety is at the forefront of Googlers' minds

By Michael Tanenbaum
PhillyVoice Staff

Google/for PhillyVoice

Google's autocomplete function can give us insight into what locals and tourists want to know about Philadelphia.

Last month, the dawn of the very addictive Google Feud catapulted the search engine's autocomplete function back into popular consciousness.

The collective curiosity of the Web-surfing public can be hilarious, damning, terrifying, helpful and idiotic all at once with the same search criteria, creating a word storm of need-to-know trivia that perfectly suits the game it inspired.

On the heels of recent explorations in New York City, Seattle and Washington, D.C., the folks over at Curbed Philly decided to look into what's on people's minds when they Google Philadelphia, Philly and its various neighborhoods.

The common thread? Bearing in mind that autocomplete results are not always identical, people are most worried about the city's safety.

For example, "Is Philly" returns the following results:

- Is Philly the greenest city in America?

- Is Philly schools open tomorrow? (Well, is they?)

- Is Philly airport closed?

- Is Philly safe?

Make it "Is Philly really" and you get:

- Is Philadelphia really that bad?

- Is Philadelphia really always sunny?

- Is Philadelphia really that dangerous?

For each of the following neighborhoods: Northern Liberties, Point Breeze, West Philly and Rittenhouse, the first autocompleted result phrases a question about safety.

The website Neighborhood Scout, which provides enterprise-grade data for every neighborhood and city in the United States, gives Philadelphia a score of 10 out of 100 based on an analysis of its crime rates. That means the city is safer than just 10 percent of the cities in the U.S., with residents facing a 1 in 91 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime, according to the site. So, Googlers may be justified in their concerns.

Type in "When did Philadelphia," and the final result betrays that awful moment when an 8-and-a-half-year-old digital native, becoming fully conscious of the existence of history, discovers that the Eagles have not yet won a Super Bowl. Type in "Will Chip Kelly," and the first result is "leave the Eagles," followed by "draft Mariota." Type in "Does Sam Bradford," and you get "still play football."

Lastly, "Why do Philadelphians" brings up, among other questions, "say wooder." And, of course, Wikipedia would have a page dedicated to Philadelphia English, where an explanation of the phonemic incidence can be found.