Google’s year-end Zeitgeist, or “spirit of the times,” continues to impress with its far-reaching grasp on what we searched for and talked about over the course of the year that was 2013. The search giant calls it their “most global Zeitgeist to date” as it includes over 1,000 top 10 lists spanning 72 countries. Their “Here’s to 2013” retrospective video highlights the people, places, and moments that captured the world’s attention throughout the year. Of all the lists the one you’re most likely to want to see first is the top 10 global searches of 2013. Falling in line with years past, the list includes celebrity/world leader deaths, hot technology, and a viral video to boot.:
- Nelson Mandela
- Paul Walker
- iPhone 5s
- Cory Monteith
- Harlem Shake
- Boston Marathon
- Royal Baby
- Samsung Galaxy s4
- PlayStation 4
- North Korea
Head over to the Zeitgeist homepage to explore the myriad trending lists. There, for the first time, you’ll also find an interactive Trends Globe that allows you to play around with a 3D global map showcasing the top search trends of the year by day in cities around the world. Like I said, impressive stuff here.
Jump after the break to see how Twitter and Facebook are celebrating the big two-oh-one-three.
500 million tweets. 230 million active users. Twitter grew exponentially this year in terms of sheer usage and the company has managed again to compile all its data in a presentable manner on its 2013 Year on Twitter portal. Tweets are organized in five categories this year, each with subsections: #2013 (you can give the most popular trends by month), #news (breaking news, government and politics, science and exploration, human interest), #entertainment (music, TV, movies, pop culture), #sports (subsections include the various professional sports leagues), and #showcase (these include tweets hand-picked by selected Twitter publishing partners). The Golden Tweet section returns (it’s inside the #2013 category) and it includes the year’s most retweeted tweets; Glee actress Lea Michele saying goodbye to co-star and boyfriend Cory Monteith, Paul Walker’s account confirming the Fast & Furious actor’s death, and One Direction’s Niall Horan turning 20 are among the tweets most shared in 2013. A short video highlighting the year in hashtags is above.
This year Facebook has taken a page out of Google’s playbook to create one captivating retrospective video that’s both touching and inspiring. “Regardless of where we are, we are all connected,” the video displays after presenting a montage of events happening all around the world shared by Facebook’s user base.
For the second year in a row the social network let’s users celebrate the year on a more personal level by compiling the biggest moments from your own year, including life events and highlighted posts. See your “year in review” by clicking here. And again, like Google and Twitter, Facebook gives you another way to explore the year that came and went with Facebook Stories, a portal highlighting the most talking about topics around the world and near you.