Google Zeitgeist

GOOGLE (n., vb.) - Enables users to search the Web, Usenet, and images. Features include PageRank, caching and translation of results, and an option to find similar pages.

ZEITGEIST - (Etymology: German, from Zeit + Geist spirit) the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era

This is the Google Zeitgeist for the week ending March 13, showing the "Top Ten gaining search queries" (not sure what a "gaining search query" is, but you can feel free to enlighten me) published by Google:

1. dana reeve
2. spacecraft










3. pi
4. NCAA
5. sopranos
6. teri hatcher
7. wafah dufour
8. sebastian telfair
9. world baseball classic
10. barry bonds

I learned three new things from reading this list in Advertising Age's first little "Fact Pack" included with our weekly dose of the magazine: the meaning of "zeitgeist", Bin Laden's pop star niece's stage name, and why the heck Sebastian Telfair is a big deal. I think this list is further proof that Google can call itself -- with some hubris, no doubt -- the cultural thermometer of our time. Think about how much it must change, week-to-week...what would it be today? Moses Paltrow-Martin, Julia Roberts, Broadway and scientology?

I also think it's interesting that all of these search terms seem to have to do with entertainment, rather than academic, political or work-related queries. Celebrities, entertainment, sports, media, pop culture have all been pervasive in the internet market, and I think that must be what's bringing about the dot.com revolution. That, and user-generated content like the many individual pages on myspace.com, Friendster and of course, blogs like this one. It's really fun to be riding on the rising wave of blogs at the moment, as media analysts put more and more emphasis on people who want to have some ownership over their interaction with the internet.