2004 Google Zeitgeist

December 26, 2004 10:27 PM

The Year in Searches...for the second year in a row, Britney Spears is the top searched for term on Google. Google releases their 2004 year-end zeitgeist. Rounding out the top five are Paris hilton, Christina Aguilera, Pamela Anderson, and 'chat.'
posted by menace303 (46 comments total)

Alright, I'll have a go.

Bubblehead, ultrabubblehead, skank, bigboobs littleboobs bigboobs and "What's Up?"

I feel sad for humanity.
posted by fenriq at 10:54 PM on December 26, 2004

Goes to show you that whatever advances Google is making in web search technology, it's still primarily being used by men (young and old, presumably) as a tool for masturbation.
posted by Flem Snopes at 10:55 PM on December 26, 2004

undeniable proof that we are getting very boring... there aren't any real surprises in here, I'm afraid.
posted by blindsam at 10:57 PM on December 26, 2004

google neither speaks nor conceals, but gives signs.
posted by ori at 11:27 PM on December 26, 2004

I guess its either a sign of my age or extreme hipness that I had no fucking clue who Orlando Bloom was until viewing those results. Even now, I'm not sure what he's famous for. I'll wager I'm just an old crank.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 11:31 PM on December 26, 2004

tablet pcs #1 for tech toys on froogle? thought those would be still too expensive for the weak processing power to track that high.
posted by juv3nal at 11:53 PM on December 26, 2004

Goes to show you that whatever advances Google is making in web search technology, it's still primarily being used by men (young and old, presumably) as a tool for masturbation.

Actually, those first three lists look pretty close to the searching habits of my friend's (9 and 13 year old) kids (a boy and a girl), in plain view of everybody. Which is either more or less disturbing.

You decide…
posted by al_fresco at 12:32 AM on December 27, 2004

I love the year-end google stats. Thanks for the heads-up, menace
posted by falconred at 12:48 AM on December 27, 2004

#1 search for "tech stuff" is wallpaper? Holy crap! I live in a lame world.......
posted by Eekacat at 2:47 AM on December 27, 2004

What's fascinating is the world zeitgeist, and the increasing globalization of the Internet.

Note how David Beckham is one of the most searched male celebrities, and yet I doubt that the USA has gained some sudden interest in footballers or British celebrities outside of the royal family.

That, and the phenomenon of Google becoming more and more accepted as an internet cornerstone, it's interesting indeed.

Note that the #10 search in China is nba. Think Yao Ming might be just a little popular over there?
posted by Saydur at 2:47 AM on December 27, 2004

George W. Bush is the #1 public figure. So I guess Time was right.
posted by Eideteker at 3:55 AM on December 27, 2004

Warms my heart (a little) to see le Tour De France make the 'sports' list.
posted by fixedgear at 4:02 AM on December 27, 2004

I wonder why they stopped showing browser statistics in June, just when the combined marketshare of IE5 and IE6 started falling for the first time.
posted by c3o at 4:24 AM on December 27, 2004

Popular Country Queries
1) France
...
4) Iraq

I'm not that surprised (though a little saddened) that the country we're fighting in isn't number one in the search results, but I am very surprised that France is number one. Is the net a hot bed of francophilia?
posted by ciderwoman at 5:19 AM on December 27, 2004

Note "Tour de France" is the second most popular sport topic... Not sure if that had an effect. Otherwise, France remains the world's most popular tourist destination (though it's only 4th for Americans).

AOL's list of top searches is mind-numbingly similar. Yahoo's is slightly different (wrestling! NASCAR!). Their daily Buzz Index is pretty cool, by the way.

As al_fresco notes, this mostly shows kids have taken hold of the mouse and keyboard, and they're not letting go. If we could see the uncensored top list, perhaps there'd be more evidence of the older male presence on the Internet.

What I'm worried about: where's Jesus? Where's God?

Not to introduce politics into this (well, ok, but just a teeny bit, OK?)...

Possible answers: 1) People aren't searching for God, they've already found him. 2) Red America barely has electricity, let alone the Internet. 3) Anything remotely controversial is censored from the lists. 4) Top-ten lists are, and always will be, BS. 5) Americans are in reality more secular than polls and a recent election seem to indicate.
posted by Turtle at 6:14 AM on December 27, 2004

Oh, and what Saydur said about the international component of some ot these lists.

Anyone know where you can just get a raw top-100, or top-1000 list? Preferably uncensored.
posted by Turtle at 6:18 AM on December 27, 2004

Guys sure do like to masturbate.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 6:43 AM on December 27, 2004

I just read the google blog for the first time after clicking through this link and found this entry amusing.
posted by Recockulous at 6:51 AM on December 27, 2004

I guess its either a sign of my age or extreme hipness that I had no fucking clue who Orlando Bloom was

I think orlando bloom was the actor who played the hobbit, but maybe searchers were just mixing up their joyce and woolf, and were really searching for great early 20th c. english lit... that's my fantasy, anyway.

Yeah, law of averages means this stuff is always disappointing. A local NY free paper used to do a 'best of' issue based on reader polls (you filled out and sent in actual forms in the paper, not online) and they would always bitch about how boring the results were. But they asked for it! If there were interesting results, only a few people would know about it. Once everyone knows where to get the best fries, or whatever, it's boring. Although it is especially disappointing to discover that new yorkers think the best fries can be found at mcdonald's...
posted by mdn at 7:23 AM on December 27, 2004

Wasn't Orlando Bloom the elf? I mean, the elf with the bow. I mean, the elf with the bow with the main characters.
posted by effwerd at 7:26 AM on December 27, 2004

it's still primarily being used by men (young and old, presumably) as a tool for masturbation.

This explains Orlando Bloom, Harry Potter, and Eminem?
posted by WolfDaddy at 7:39 AM on December 27, 2004

Orlando Bloom was until viewing those results. Even now, I'm not sure what he's famous for. I'll wager I'm just an old crank.

You men are so selfish! I have to suffer with the exposure to Britney, Christina, Pamela, etc...but I fall in love with the one sexy elf in the world, and you can't be bothered to know his name!

My theory on the numerous hits for Tour de France is that it is far more complicated and confusing then the average race, so many first time viewers were forced to go online to figure out what they were watching.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:42 AM on December 27, 2004

Orlando Bloom played the Chris Cornell character in Pirates of the Carribbean, right?

Black Hole Sun, won't you come, and wash away the raaaain...

WolfDaddy, on preview: yes, of course!
posted by Flem Snopes at 7:47 AM on December 27, 2004

Wasn't Orlando Bloom the elf? I mean, the elf with the bow. I mean, the elf with the bow with the main characters.

oh, the sexy one. Yes, that makes a lot more sense.
posted by mdn at 7:49 AM on December 27, 2004

This explains Orlando Bloom, Harry Potter, and Eminem?

why is there a question mark at the end of this sentence?
posted by mdn at 7:49 AM on December 27, 2004

Hang on -- if Britney Spears is the number one search result all around, how is it on the "Public Figures" list, she ranks fourth underneath Bush? As the number one year-end result, shouldn't she be first on any list her name appears?

I call voter fraud!!! Bush clearly has the results fixed!!
posted by Robot Johnny at 8:44 AM on December 27, 2004

Canadian perspective: I've never liked those comments that imply that the poster is too cool to know about popular culture, as it is akin to bragging about not watching TV. Having said that, I did knew nothing about Inuyasha before reading this.

I was also surprised that Marilyn Manson was the 5th most popular male for Canada. He should do another tour up here!
posted by sleslie at 8:47 AM on December 27, 2004

Ze boyz, zey zure likes ze pretty girls, no?
posted by rushmc at 8:57 AM on December 27, 2004

It is nice to see Spalding Gray in the top five of those that passed.
posted by shotsy at 9:01 AM on December 27, 2004

The number 5 search is 'chat'. Who just types 'chat' into a search engine? Or at least, who does it more than once?
posted by painquale at 9:13 AM on December 27, 2004

The Cubs are #9 in the most popular sports queries. : )
posted by SisterHavana at 9:16 AM on December 27, 2004

Robot Johnny, I was wondering about that, too.

Furthermore, Janet Jackson is number 2 on the Top Public Figures list ahead of Britney Spears, but doesn't show up in the Top 10 Popular Women list?
posted by tuxster at 9:17 AM on December 27, 2004

Check out the international zeitgest. Does anyone else find it bizarre that the number 3 query is France is, in fact, "France"?
posted by diftb at 9:22 AM on December 27, 2004

What I'm worried about: where's Jesus? Where's God?

Not to introduce politics into this (well, ok, but just a teeny bit, OK?)...

I'm a little worried that you equate Jesus and God with politics.
posted by fenriq at 9:28 AM on December 27, 2004

"Wallpaper" seems like a word that crosses tech boundaries, so I'm a bit skeptical of their inclusion of it as the #1 tech search. Unless they consider "wallpaper glue" as tech.
posted by Four Flavors at 9:41 AM on December 27, 2004

Robot Johnny and Tuxster:

The "Public Figures" list comes from Google News searches, while the overall list comes from Google proper. I'm surprised that Spears even pulled that much in the news list.
posted by rafter at 9:56 AM on December 27, 2004

why is there a question mark at the end of this sentence?

Because I thought I was the only guy that jerked off to all three. In secret.
posted by WolfDaddy at 10:04 AM on December 27, 2004

Wallpaper probly also refers to cellphone backgrounds.
posted by signal at 10:08 AM on December 27, 2004

Where's "ringtones"? Wasn't 2004 the year that the nation fell in love with MIDI all over again?
posted by unsupervised at 10:45 AM on December 27, 2004

Should have run Janet Jackson on the Democratic Ticket.
posted by The White Hat at 11:32 AM on December 27, 2004

I have the biggest, saddest frown on my face right now. Curse you, google, for being the mirror on the wall.
posted by kavasa at 12:19 PM on December 27, 2004

> I'm a little worried that you equate Jesus and God with politics.

I don't, but my answers 2) and 5) involved politics, hence the disclaimer.
posted by Turtle at 2:33 PM on December 27, 2004

it's still primarily being used by men (young and old, presumably) as a tool for masturbation.

This explains Orlando Bloom, Harry Potter, and Eminem?

Teenaged fanfiction authors require a lot of inspiration.
posted by LeeJay at 6:20 PM on December 27, 2004

"...as a tool for masturbation."

People actually beat off to Britney Spears? There's at least a couple hundred million women on this planet useful for chicken chokin' before one had to resort to Britney Spears.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:38 PM on December 27, 2004

there's no accounting for taste, ZachsMind.
posted by Flem Snopes at 9:22 AM on December 28, 2004

Wallpaper probly also refers to cellphone backgrounds.

doh. I was thinking about actual paper that is glued onto walls, not computer backgrounds, but the search results are all about binary wallpaper/desktops/etc, so no doubt that's what was meant.

which kind of only makes it more depressingly boring.

re: spalding gray, yes, good to see his name there, although it could just mean people saw the obit and thought, 'who? ...guess I could google it' - but I guess that's better than no one noticing to start with, so all in all good to see.
posted by mdn at 12:34 PM on December 28, 2004