The global Zeitgeist

Google's users are intrinsically curious. Why else would you search? And, since we at Google are pretty curious ourselves, we wondered which of our users' queries might be truly global and which may be unique to certain cultures. This is why, for the first time, our annual Year-End Zeitgeist features search data from more than 30 countries.

So, what do we in this global village have in common? Mainly a strong interest in socializing and politics. Social networks comprised four out of the top 10 global fastest-rising queries, while the U.S. election held everyone's interest around the globe. Republican VP candidate, Sarah Palin, may have lost in the election, but she was the #1 fastest-rising query on our global list (Obama was #6).

On the other hand, cultural differences still abound. Russians elected Dmitri Medvedev as their president, but a couple of popular musical acts got more attention from Google searchers. And in Poland, the 5th fastest-rising term was "Jozin z Bazin," an old 1978 Czech song that roughly translates to, "Joe of the Swamp." The song became a sensation on YouTube, and the comedian who originally performed it is touring again!

It's because of our inquisitive users that our annual Zeitgeist list is a true reflection of the times, with the billions of Google searches conducted every year lending us insight into our global society.

Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP Search Products & User Experience