Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist home | Google.com  

Home Nature Movies Celebrities Phenomena
 
 
World Affairs
This year brought a great deal of tumult: international intrigue, terrorist alerts and attacks, dissension among factions of every kind. And we witnessed the passing of such major figures as the Pope and Rosa Parks. In tumultuous times, people turn to news sources to track events. Our weekly zeitgeist lists illustrate a keen curiosity about newsmakers and headlines as they occur. In looking at search query patterns in depth, we chose a few newsworthy events, and some that continued to play out over the months – or in one case, years.
 

London
On July 7, more than 50 Londoners were killed, and some 700 were wounded, in an act of terror that brought back memories of both 9/11 and the March 2004 train bombings in Madrid. Locals bombarded the Internet with photos from cell phones, first-hand blog reports, and search queries – and people eager for information all around the world sought out every parcel of news.
London
     
   
   
Whose News
When news is reported instantaneously, and more people than ever expect to get their news online, which sources do people consult – and for which stories? We took a look at three major news organizations which have come to new prominence for a global Internet audience.
Whose News
     
   
   
WMD
Sometimes a hot search query – a buzzword – has longevity, and sometimes it doesn’t. (Remember “hanging chads”?) When looking at “weapons of mass destruction” or its acronym, we saw that last year’s search for information fell off dramatically this year.
WMD
     
   
   
The Pope’s Passing
The extremely long tenure and April death of Pope John Paul II fed much searchable information on his papacy, his legacy, and speculation about the Church’s future. Within a short time, the College of Cardinals elected his successor, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany. Queries quickly dropped off – but John Paul continues to inspire searches.

The Pope's Passing
     
   
   
CIA Leak
With the probe into who leaked what information about a CIA operative, “yellowcake” moved up in the vernacular and Valerie Plame, Karl Rove, and Scooter Libby became central characters in an unfolding drama. As their roles and comments evolved, the public's interest has ebbed and flowed, with more flowing, and probably more characters, expected in 2006.
CIA Leak
     
   
   
Rosa Parks
The 92-year-old U.S. civil rights figure died in October, sparking much news and commentary about her life and her legacy. The extent of coverage spoke to the appeal of her historical act of defiance: sitting in a whites-only section of a Montgomery, Alabama city bus in 1955. Earlier in the year, queries about her reflected keen interest during Black History Month (February).

Rosa Parks
     
   

©2011 Google