Google’s annual Zeitgeist takes “an in-depth look at the “spirit of the times” as seen through the billions of searches on Google over the past year.” At least that’s usually the case. This year, Google studied an aggregation of over 1.2 trillion searches that people typed into Google Search. Using sources like Google Trends and internal data tools the company was able compile lists that distinguish the most popular searched terms organized into topics like Images, Athletes, and TV Shows. The top 10 trending Searches worldwide this year were Whitney Houston, Gangnam Style, Hurricane Sandy, iPad 3, Diablo 3, Kate Middleton, Olympics 2012, Amanda Todd, Michael Clarke Duncan, and BBB12. The top 10 trending Events worldwide were Hurricane Sandy, Kate Middleton Pictures Released, Olympics 2012, SOPA Debate, Costa Concordia crash, Presidential Debate, Stratosphere Jump, Penn State Scandal, Trayvon Martin shooting, and Pussy Riots. The top 10 trending Consumer Electronics were iPad 3, Samsung Galaxy S3, iPad Mini, Nexus 7, Galaxy Note 2, Play Station, iPad 4, Microsoft Surface, Kindle Fire, and Nokia Lumia 920. Head over to Google’s Zeitgesit 2012 page to discover and explore trending topics from 55 countries all around the world. In addition to the 838 lists, Google’s created an interactive map that shows where and when some of the most popular terms spiked around the world. Watch Google’s inspirational look back at 2012 in the Zeitgeist video pasted above.
Jump after the break to find out how Twitter and Facebook are celebrating everything that went down in twenty-twelve.
Twitter’s answer to Google’s Zeitgeist is a portal they call 2012 Year on Twitter. Instead of simply just listing the most popular trending topics (which they do), the easily navigable and visually pleasing website organizes the most talked about tweets, images, and new Twitter voices from around the globe. The Golden Tweets section reveals the top tweets that generated the most retweets in the year; they are President Obama’s tweet stating “Four more years” with a touching picture attached of him embracing the First Lady and Justin Bieber saying goodbye to an ill fan. The Pulse of the planet section rounds up some of the major occurrences in 2012 that had people tweeting and retweeting like never before; the Summer Olympics, U.S. election, and MTV Video Music Awards were major topics of discussion. The Only on Twitter section features stories that came to fruition organically on the site; James Cameron’s tweet from 35,755 feet beneath the sea, an image of Hurricane Sandy from the International Space Station, and the live tweets from the launch of Mars rover Curiosity take hold here. In New Voices you’ll discover the celebrities and prominent figures who joined Twitter this year, from the Pope to Pelé to PSY. There’s also a section called Your year on Twitter that hooks you into a third-party site Vizify where you’ll be able to view your most talked about tweets over the course of the last year. Above is a brief video highlighting the year in hashtags.
This year Facebook is all about embracing the year in you by celebrating and highlighting the 20 biggest moments from your own year, including life events, highlighted posts, and your most popular stories. Point your browser to www.facebook.com/yearinreview and you’ll be presented with a custom made page littered with selections from your Timeline that were published in 2012. It’s pretty neat actually; it’s like a walk down virtual memory lane. After viewing it, you also have the option of sharing a link to it with your friends. In similar fashion to Google and Twitter, Facebook too provides a grand look at the year with trending lists highlighting top events, public figures, movies, songs, sports, books, and more. Check it out at Facebook Stories.