zeit·geist | Pronunciation: 'tsIt-"gIst, 'zIt | Function: noun | Etymology: German, from Zeit (time) + Geist (spirit) | Date: 1884 | Meaning: the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era."Zeitgeist" means "the spirit of the times".
What is Google Zeitgeist?
Google Zeitgeist is a snapshot in time of what people are searching for on Google all over the world. It's an interesting way to people-watch, and since Google is the most-used search engine on the Web, it's a great way to get some behind the scenes (kind of) data and statistics on what people are searching for.How does Google Zeitgeist work?
From the official Google Zeitgeist page: "Search statistics are automatically generated based on the millions of searches conducted on Google over a given period of time - weekly, monthly, and annually. With some help from humans, and a pigeon or two when they have time, these statistics and trends make their way from the depths of Google's hard drives to become the Google Zeitgeist report."What can I find on Google Zeitgeist? All sorts of things can be found on Google Zeitgeist. Here's a few of my favorites:
- Google Zeitgeist This Month: Great way to see what people are searching for. One note - this seems to be usually at least a month behind in presenting data.
- Zeitgeist by Country: View Google searches all over the world. Separated by country.
- Google 2005 Zeitgeist: Every year, Google puts out a Zeitgeist compilation.