Video and Social Networks Dominate Google's Top Searches of 2006
On Monday Google released its annual Zeitgeist of popular search terms. Unlike years prior, several of the search terms involved social networks and video:
- Bebo -- a UK-centric social networking site
- MySpace -- haven't heard of it
- World Cup -- offered games online via ESPN and the BBC.
- Metacafe -- arguably the largest independent video-sharing site, though heavy.com has laid claim to that crown as well
- radioblog -- Hadn't heard of this one before (seriously). Let's you sample and helps you post about music tracks.
- Wikipedia -- the user-contributed and managed online encyclopedia
- video -- mostly porn, if you ask Forbes
- rebelde -- apparently a Mexican telenovela
- mininova -- one of the biggest Bittorrent listings sites
- wiki -- online collaboration tool
If you think that looks like an odd assortment of topics, you're right -- Google scrubs the list to remove searches that are popular year over year. Search guru Danny Sullivan thinks the results are scrubbed even of competitors, and I tend to agree. The zeitgeist reflects severe editorial management. It's more like Google's Top Ten. Or what Google wants you to think the top ten is.
Over at the Washington Post, Sara Kahaulani Goo (that name rocks) says that all these searches amount to a literal (and existential?) search for ourselves. And of course, Time magazine recently featured all of us as person of the year.
But the biggest item missing on all these searches is porn, which is by far the most popular video content on the planet. According to research firm NPD Group, nearly 60% of free downloads from file-sharing networks (like Bittorrnet, which apparently is responsible for 30% of all web traffic) was adult-film content, 20% was TV show content and 5% was mainstream movie content.
So there you have it: You may be person of the year, but all indicators point to you being a self-centered, over-sexed video drone. Enjoy it before you go blind.
