Google reveals 2009’s top searches
Tuesday 08 December 2009 | By Heidi Scott, Gosh! Media Copywriter
Internet search giant Google has issued lists of the most popular search terms of the year in what it dubs the 'Zeitgeist' - literally the spirit of the times - for 2009. The results, which Google has been making public since 2001, make fascinating reading, with spikes in search activity reflecting the response of Internet users around the world to breaking news and the general mood of people in recessionary times.
In a post on the Official Google Blog, Marissa Mayer (Vice President, Search Products & User Experience) explains that the data includes both the fastest-rising searches – those that had the greatest surge in 2009 - and the most popular searches – that is, those that are consistently searched in large volume.
Topping the list of fastest-rising global searches on Google was 'michael jackson', with fans across the world browsing on line for information when the King of Pop died back in June. Pipped to the top spot was 'facebook', with the Spanish social-networking site 'tuenti' coming third, ahead of 'twitter' in fourth place. In an eclectic list, 'lady gaga', the bizarre American pop artist, came in seventh.
On Google UK, Michael Jackson just made the top ten, with Jade Goody, the Big Brother star, above him at number 9 and Boyzone singer Stephen Gately taking the top spot. Annoyingly for Google, searches for Microsoft's 'bing' came in at number 2 on Google UK.
Google also publishes the fastest-falling search terms, compared to the previous year. Suffering the cruel blow of appearing in this top ten global list for 2009 are 'heath ledger' at no. 3, 'barack obama' at no. 4 and 'amy winehouse' at no. 5. Fairing only slightly better are 'bebo' at position 8 and 'wii' at number 9.
The lists certainly act as a record of the year's highs and lows, as well as a barometer of the global mood. For example, in her blog post, Google's Marissa Mayer explains how fears over swine flu outstripped interest in Obama's inauguration:
"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."
The global recession also had an effect on searching, with many thrifty Internet users researching homemade recipes for everything from 'chilli' and 'baby food' to 'laundry detergent'.
To see the listings for yourself, visit Google's Zeitgeist site.
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