Aidan and I explored Google’s “Rhythm of Food” project, which analyzes search trends relating to food on Google from 2004-2016.

What is the goal of the project?

The goal of this project is to determine how we search for food. According to Google, “Together, we explore the hidden patterns in Google search trend data. This project sheds light on the many facets of food seasonality, as seen through the lens of search interest in the United States over the last twelve years.”

Which academic fields (i.e history) do you see the project in conversation with?

Sociology, anthropology, history, environmental science

Does the site make an argument? If so, what?

There are trends in what people eat that change based on season, month, year, and location

What are the components? (i.e essay, interactive map, etc)

Data visualization, circular bar graphs

Which methods are used?

They used Google trends data over a 12 year span (2004-2016), looking at recipes, dishes, and foods that users searched for, and compiled this information into

Who is the target audience? (i.e. specialists? a broader public?)

The graphs used to display the data are very interactive, and appeal to a broad audience, this could range from a curious web user to a food scholar.

What kinds of data is being used? Is the data available for broader use? Would you want it to be?

Google analytics search data was used to create this project, however the exact data set is not available for broader use. If I were a food scholar, it would be awesome if this data was publicly available, but personally it doesn’t matter much that it is not.

Is the project open source/ open access?

This project is not open source.

Who made the website? What are their relationships to the institution?

Google News Lab and Truth&Beauty made this website, using data from Google’s search engine.