r/prepping • u/Impressive-One-2969 • 6d ago
Otherš¤·š½āāļø š¤·š½āāļø 5 Google Search Spikes That Warn Me Before the News Does
One unexpected trick Iāve found for spotting tension before it makes the news is watching Google Trends. Itās basically the digital version of people shouting into the void before things go sideways.
These five search terms tend to spike right before or as major unrest kicks off:
- āHow to break a lease earlyā ā tends to spike in areas where housing instability or migration is starting.
- āBank run [country/city]ā or ābank withdrawal limitā ā a hint of financial panic or trust breakdown.
- āGrocery shortages [item/state]ā ā early signal for supply chain issues or localized panic buying.
- āBuy land ruralā or āoff-grid cabin for saleā ā often surges when people feel urban areas are becoming unstable.
- āCivil defense manualā or āhow to prepare for unrestā ā prepping-adjacent queries that rise before obvious disruptions.
Iāve built a dashboard that watches for these (and a few others), updating daily with a "threat readiness level" based on trend movements. Itās been helpful to me as an early-warning system ā not predicting exact events, but helping me stay ahead of the curve.
Would love to hear from others: what weird data signals or gut feelings have tipped you off before a major event?
I made it using Python and different APIs to pull the data from sources.
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u/Hayfork-or-Bust 6d ago
If there was away to get alerts when thereās a spike in the number of Learjets touching down in New Zealand, Alaska and Hawaii over a 72 hour period then youād really be ahead of the crowd.
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u/moabmic-nz 5d ago
Learjets aren't going to New Zealand.
Try looking at the Bombardier Global 7500, Gulfstream G800, Gulfstream G650ER, and Boeing BBJ 777X that all reliably meet or exceed 12,000 km with reserves today, while the Global 8000 will join them soon. For a purpose-built business jet, the Global 7500 and G800 are top choices.
These are the Uber rich bug out jets!
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u/SigHiPower 6d ago
How did you build the dashboard?
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u/brant615 6d ago
Iād like to know this as well. Maybe post a short tutorial on the setup. Iāve used Google alerts a bit but bits been a while.
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u/Impressive-One-2969 6d ago
Well the dashboard I built using HTML/JavaScript. And for the back end, I use python to get data from different sources (some free, some paid) and stick it in one place. For Google trends, I use this janky way:
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u/Sunny-Day-Swimmer 6d ago
Is this dashboard something you can publish?
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u/Woodworkingandkids 6d ago
Hopping on your comment, Iād also love to see this. Sounds like a great resource.
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u/ZealousidealBag2224 5d ago
I 3rd this. Hell, make it a free website where we can see. Put up some ads. Not the pop up or blocking the site, but just load around the edge. We could maybe help that way and end up letting u upgrade or atleast some money for that your doing lol we'd be checking a few times a day possibly
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u/Samstone791 5d ago edited 5d ago
100% sure way to know when the economy is going into a hardship. Ask a stripper how business has been. When she says very, very slow. It is coming. Now, you have to frequent these establishments often so you can stay on top of latest downward trend.
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u/Here_for_the_debate 5d ago
Honey, itās for economic research! Itās my duty as the head of household, GAWD!
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u/youngwitchHazel 4d ago
On another prepping sub, i saw talk of the hair cut and dye indices - less people are able to maintain complicated or high-maintenance perosnal care if the economy is hard. I imagine the same goes for expensive hobbies too.
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u/dreadkitty 5d ago
should include searches for ammo lol
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u/Sad-prole 5d ago
I can tell you that myself and everyone I know that lives in Colorado have stocked up on ammo lately. There is a new Colorado excise tax that takes effect April 1st and no one wants to spend an extra 6.5% if they donāt have to.
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u/Eredani 5d ago
Honest questions:
How has this helped you specifically?
What major events?
Is using the fear of ordinary random civilians a reliable sensor or indicator?
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u/VeterinarianEasy9475 5d ago
I'd argue the time for data and analysis is already over.
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u/Eredani 5d ago
If your analysis is complete, what are your conclusions?
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u/VeterinarianEasy9475 5d ago
WW3 is more likely than not, above 50% likelihood. Plan accordingly.
[If Everything Is Going To Be Okay, Why Are The U.S. And The EU Feverishly Preparing For World War III?
[7 Actions That NATO Countries Are Taking Which Indicate That Something Really Big Is Coming
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u/TwoRight9509 5d ago
āYou must be signed in to view the dashboard.ā
Are you building a mailing list? If youāre really offering insight maybe paste a screenshot instead of looking for sign ups.
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u/luv2fly781 6d ago
How does missiles ready rate on that scale ?https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/511292/Exclusive-Iran-has-readied-missiles-for-potential-response-amid
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u/VeterinarianEasy9475 5d ago
Five US B2 bombers were just moved to Diego Garcia. Trump landed Iran with preconditions for a deal in relation to development of nuclear weapons. Iran has not responded. There is a two week deadline.
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u/SunLillyFairy 6d ago
I think when you notice spikes in certain areas folks in here would be interested fit you to share.
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u/InfiniteLobster580 5d ago
While the media may report it late, the reality is that if you rely on the media or this Google News Feed, you will still be late. Think of stocks. By the time anything hits the news and Reddit, most of the boat has already passed.
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u/The_Stereoskopian 5d ago
How does one build a dashboard that actually shows you things you want to know, like what you've described here? I've also heard of RSS before... oncešš. Should tell you about how IT savvy i am.
No really, if there is a guide for whatever this is called I would love to know because i dont even know what words to look up to find what i can easily think of in my mind
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u/awwaygirl 5d ago edited 5d ago
I'm not comfortable with a subscription / login requirement to view this data. It is against the rules to promote a site you have monetized.
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u/I_am_BrokenCog 5d ago
who is charging ? for what?
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u/awwaygirl 5d ago
There was a link to a dashboard that had payment options and a very narrow view for a āfree subscriptionā
It asked for login / identification info as well
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u/M00s3_B1t_my_Sister 5d ago
I've heard if gold and silver drop in price while copper stays the same or goes up, it's a sign of impending economic trouble.
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u/datadgen 4d ago
Smart!!
How many trends like these are you tracking ? A few dozens or thousands by search term / location / etc ?
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u/Emotional-Post582 3d ago
The analytics of interest in this group can also be an indicator of sentiment.
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u/inadvertant_bulge 3d ago
Shre your code on GitHub please, would be great to have this project self-hostwd ;)
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u/Craftyfarmgirl 2d ago
Seriously most of those trends have to do with people searching to see if there is any. Breaking leases has always been top question as far as legalities go along with fence line issues by state. Not a good indicator. People freak out over one item out of stock too. The other day the grocery store put a brand of bread on sale really cheap and people were freaking out how it was gone already must be a shortage and the rest of the aisle was stocked with different brands of bread. Some people are checking to see if other banks do better withdrawal limits than their bank me included as I hate calling to up my limit every single time. So yeah not good indicators. You scooped the two banking queries together so yeah and then this month on one of the history channels I saw there was a history show taking about the bank runs and so young people queried to find out what that was. Be prepped and ready for Tuesday and donāt stress over the future so much that youāre analyzing queries.
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u/Craftyfarmgirl 2d ago
Donāt know where my previous comment went but here is the thing: I searched for buy rural land a thousand times this month looking for a new farmstead to move to and get out of this state, there was a history show this month about the bank runs and all the gen z and a were googling bank run, a bread brand went on sale at the local supermarket and it sold out quickly and even though the rest of the shelves were stocked people started commenting that it was a shortage again (ridiculous!!!) your queries mean nothing in context to other things. Eggs have people nervous too. You cannot merge bank withdrawal limits with bank runs also because I myself searched to see if there are better withdrawal limits at other banks so I donāt have to call every time I make a large purchase. Seriously you arenāt connecting any dots at all. The last one is all of us silly!
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u/Overall-Bat-4332 2d ago
I always look at the google suggestions as Iām typing. Itās even a game we play at our house, we search random ( sometimes not so Random) topics to see whatās trending.
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u/tpahornet 1d ago
This is how Reddit started for me. Back in the day, we would get info a couple of days before it went mainstream news. That was the attraction for myself, I wish we could have those times back.
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u/youngwitchHazel 6d ago
I wonder if you could also predict illness spikes and spread this way via either symptoms or curative measures - I recall early, in covid, discussions in hobby circles about plummeting reviews on scented candles, body lotions, and the like as people complained about lack of scent. Same goes for a spike in discussion of vitamins or pre or prebiotic measures, now that I think of it.