Hey, are you looking for a Thanksgiving-related conversation starter ahead of your family meet-up?

If so, then you’re in luck, with both Google and Instagram this week posting search insights around some of the most popular foods for the holiday, based on user activity in recent months.

First off, Google has shared a map of the most popular side dishes, based on queries.

No doubt that will spark some degree of contention and debate – but probably not as much as this similar overview from Instagram, based on its own user activity data.

Based on the comments alone, this is a volatile issue, with many in strong disagreement about the findings.

But the stats are what they are – both Instagram and Google are merely presenting the data based on what people in each state are actually searching for. You could debate that there may be different purposes for such searches, and it’s not entirely indicative of popularity. But no matter how you break it down, these likely are the key focus trends in each region. Even if you don’t personally agree.

For marketers, the charts could provide some additional guidance for your last-minute sales and promotions, though functionally, it’s probably not highly valuable in this respect. 

The data could also provide a seasonal poll option or query for your brand accounts in order to spark discussion around the event. But mostly, these are interesting points of note, which provide some insight into emerging food trends. 

You can check out Google Thanksgiving updates here, and the discussion around Instagram’s pie trends display on this post.