Definitely worth checking out Google's slick new Think Insights dashboard of marketing resource awesome. Some of it is just snazzily re-packaged existing tools such as Search Trends, Blog Search, and the relatively recent What do you love? which was itself a snazzy re-packaging of existing products. Meta. But it's also got a bevy of tasty stats, facts and trends such as the Five Stages of Travel pictured below, real time stats on daily YouTube views and Blogger posts, a research library categorised by industry and planning tools.

Also I discovered that YouTube has a Trends Dashboard which informs me that Aussies currently can't get enough of MAN STICKS HIS HEAD UP FAT GIRLS ASS!, which is a valuable insight in anyone's language.

Google offers a new Real Time Insights Finder tool that allows to get necessary information on emerging trends in a particular region in just several clicks. It functions in real time and helps to shed light on consumer needs and demands. For example, the most popular video in common among males 25-34 in Italy and the U.S. is the Official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 game trailer.

Google claims it is “trying to iterate and improve,” as said in a blog post, so the company also encourages users to join the open conversation and leave feedback on the service by adding the Think with Google page on Google+ (where it has just introduced Brand Pages) to your circles, or stay tuned for updates by subscribing to its newsletter.

There is also a Research Library on the web site that collects reports and studies of global brands and trends including Advanced Global Mobile Trends, Volvo across Screens, Word of Mouth and the Internet etc. Infographics and supporting videos expand this information.

There are other tools including an entertaining ‘What do you love’ tool that lets you search content in accordance with the word you type in a special search bar.

“Think Insights is forward-thinking and rooted in data. We hope you’ll use it as a one-stop shop for consumer trends, marketing insights and industry research,” explains Laura McClung, Ads Marketing.

Earlier this year, Google launched an online magazine Think Quarterly that explores “what’s happening and why it matters”.