Google Shows Growing Threat To Monetary System

The searches people are making in Google show a growing concern about the monetary system.

With the global economy recovering slowly at best, the euro continuing to unravel and uncomfortable and unprecedented measures being taken by governments and central bankers around the world, perhaps a building mistrust is manifesting itself?

Data from Google Trends show growing numbers of people investigating money itself, but crucially growing numbers also searching for the antithesis of our current money system – gold investment.

Both of these trends suggest increasing numbers of people are losing faith with our paper money system, presided over by central bankers, and opting out of the system for something altogether more tangible.

Searching for money
Trends data for terms like "fiat currency," "currency collapse," "gold standard" and "commodity money" show us more and more people looking to swat up on this money stuff.




You find similar results for searches for "fiat money," "dollar collapse," "financial collapse," "economic collapse," as well as around subjects like quantitative easing and QE3.

Even Bernanke’s moniker – "Helicopter Ben" – is being increasingly searched for at times, as it enters the popular consciousness.

Why do we care?
So what? You might say. Growing numbers of folks might search for anything as more people get online.

Maybe, but this area of investigation is not exactly mainstream, common place or sexy.

How often do you talk about "fiat" money with your friends?

I find that even knowing what the term fiat money means, can often tell you a lot about how much someone knows about monetary issues. It’s one of those obscure terms that people in the know seem to use, baffling outsiders until they have it explained to them.

This is a niche, but critically important, subject area that is drawing more searches as people feel the need to know more about money and what it is. This is something to take note of.

Marketers talk about key influencers, thought leaders and early adopters – think of people you know that are always first into the next social, cultural or technological best thing. They are where you sow your brand seeds before later stage adopters follow on behind and bring in the big bucks. Think of those you know who were first online, first to email, first onto YouTube and first using "the Cloud."

If these engaged money searchers are also thought leaders this trend is something even more notable to take note of.

After money searches comes gold investment
As this trend investigating money is in force, search trends around gold investment are also rising.

Gold bullion investment is a way to opt out of the money (nay also financial) system. The antithesis of paper/electronic money that is of man and controlled by central bankers, is gold bullion which is of nature an inherently out of our control/corruption.

The graphs below show this other trend:





You will also find similar trend graphs for related searches in Spanish and Arabic. People worried about their purchasing power and savings, are looking for solutions and gold is being sought as one of them. This is another trend to take note of.

Whatever you think of gold bugs, they are indeed a highly evangelical, dedicated and deeply involved community. If the gold bugs prove to be on the money (excuse the pun) and are also thought leaders within this niche, perhaps this search trend is something even more important to take note of.

Google trends are a great way of keeping up with what people are doing, thinking or are concerned about. Modern financiers use them in the same ways their forebears used to look at sales of influencing books.

Is Google telling us today that the monetary system has serious problems? Tell us what you think in the comments below.