Female Actors Lead in Iran's Sept. Internet Trends

Iranian interests covered a vast spectrum of events that were reflected in September’s Internet trends.

Iranian actress, Niloufar Khorram, who starred in the TV series ‘The Mystery of the Shah’, passed away on September 1 at the age of 34 for currently unknown reasons. The news of her demise shocked the country.

The historical TV series directed by Mohammad Reza Varzi focuses on aspects of the life of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last king of Iran leading up to the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Although the series received bad reviews, it was still popular among Iranian households, according to Google’s Trends this week.

The actress’s name was searched most in the central city of Isfahan and followed by Tabriz and Tehran.

Next in search rankings was Eid Qorban (Feast of Sacrifice), which coincided with September 12. The occasion is the Muslim holiday celebrated worldwide each year. It honors the submission of Prophet Abraham (PBUH) to God’s command by willing to sacrifice his son.

The search for the term peaked on September 10, with Tabriz and Shiraz leading the searches.

In third place was the recently launched app and website Taaghche (windowsill in Persian) that enables access to a wide range of e-publications, including books, e-papers and magazines.

As ever, the spread of inquiries remains broad in the country, with Isfahan leading the cities followed by Mashhad and Shiraz.

One possible reason for the nationwide interest in the app might be that it has been introduced on the highly popular TV show, Khandevaneh.

A non-related search term was Sarshomori (Census in Persian) occupied the fourth position in September. The eighth round of National Population and Housing Census was launched on September 24 and will run through November 15.

The two-phase process includes an online registration that is currently underway, which will be followed by a door-to-door census later, 35% of households are expected to register for the census online, according to the Census Bureau. Isfahan was again leading the search queries, followed by Shiraz and Mashhad.

In fifth spot was the name of another actress, Maedeh Tahmasebi. The search for her name observed a 1,000% rise after an episode of Iranian TV show Dor-e Hami (Gathering in Persian) aired on September 21.

The actress and her husband Farhad Ayeesh talked about their marriage, which caused a buzz on social media in September. The top region that searched this term was Semnan, followed by the western city of Hamedan.

The sixth ranking goes to the search term Azmoon (Test). Most searches led to the official website of Islamic Azad University.

The private university has dozens of branches in Iran.

The institution recently conducted an entrance exam and published the results online. The term was searched the most in Tehran.

Again Khandevaneh brought an Iranian actress and TV host into the spotlight. Melika Zarei was invited on the show on September 21. She hosts a well-known children’s TV show and was invited on the occasion of the reopening of schools in Iran. Search for her named jumped 700% in September. Again Isfahan led the search for the name of the actress.

At eighth position was “Iran Language Institute”, one of the oldest foreign language institutions in Iran.

The center has recently started its mid-term exams online. A vast number of students across the country learn foreign languages at ILI. Tehran topped other cities for searches for the website and was followed by Golestan.

The ninth ranking goes to iPhone7. Apple launched the sale of the smartphone on September 7 and the search for the phone observed a noticeable jump inside Iran.

This was followed by the news about the exorbitant price of the phone that ranges from $649 to $849 in the US and is sold in Iran at around $2,200.

The confusion of the price and possible banning of the phone all led to widespread online interest and news related to it. Citizens of Tehran led the search for the term, according to Google Analytics.

Highlight: The release of iPhone7 and its high price in the country brought the spotlight on the smartphone.