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Zeitgeist 2009: the collective consciousness
December 1, 2009
Curiosity — it's why we search the web. Whether searching for the latest news, a popular holiday gift, a website you've heard about, the latest singing sensation, or the trailer to a blockbuster film, you come to Google with something on your mind. And since 2001, we've been releasing our annual Zeitgeist — our view into the spirit of the times — which includes the fastest-rising Google searches (those that had the greatest surge in the past year) and most popular (those that are consistently searched in large volume, like [weather]). By exploring 2009's popular and fastest rising search terms, we're able to share a glimpse into what's been on the mind of the global community this year.
So what has captivated the minds of searchers around the world this year? As millions of fans said goodbye to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson led the list of our
top 10 fastest rising queries across the globe
. And a new star was born, too — quirky pop singer Lady Gaga became a search sensation the world over. In addition to appearing on many regional fastest-rising search term lists, from the
Czech Republic
to
Switzerland
and
Kenya
to the
United Kingdom
, Lady Gaga also landed in the #7 spot on the global fastest rising list.
This year's Zeitgeist also confirms that the social web is alive and well. In a sweeping confirmation of the web's ability to connect us, both Facebook and the Spanish social-networking site Tuenti appeared on the fastest rising searches at #2 and #3 respectively. Twitter also made our global list for the first time at #4 — undoubtedly propelled by celebrity tweeters from Ashton Kutcher to Miley Cyrus.
With the global community closely watching the swine flu epidemic, [schweinegrippe], [gripe porcina], [豬流感], [h1n1], [świńskiej grypy] and [sikainfluenssa] were heavily queried the world over. In fact, in the U.S., swine flu was searched even more than another major event of the year: the inauguration of President Obama.
In the U.S., 2009 also saw many people express their thrifty consciousness in response to the sour economy. The most popular
made by hand
searches including everything from baby food (#2) to laundry detergent (#6). And as more and more turned to comfort foods and recipes to make at home, [chili] became the most popular recipe searched for across the country.
It's because of curious searchers like you, and the billions of searches you do throughout the year, that our annual Zeitgeist has become an insightful look into a global mindset. So please check out our
Zeitgeist site
, which showcases many of these interesting trends across various categories and countries, and more about how we create the lists. We're already anticipating what trends we will see in 2010!
Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP Search Products & User Experience
Labels
accessibility
41
acquisition
26
ads
131
Africa
19
Android
58
apps
419
April 1
4
Asia
39
books + book search
48
commerce
12
computing history
7
crisis response
33
culture
12
developers
120
diversity
35
doodles
68
education and research
144
entrepreneurs at Google
14
Europe
46
faster web
16
free expression
61
google.org
73
googleplus
50
googlers and culture
202
green
102
Latin America
18
maps and earth
194
mobile
124
online safety
19
open source
19
photos
39
policy and issues
139
politics
71
privacy
66
recruiting and hiring
32
scholarships
31
search
505
search quality
24
search trends
118
security
36
small business
31
user experience and usability
41
youtube and video
140
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