Google Zeitgeist 2010: iPad, Justin Bieber, Glee Among Top Searches in U.S.

Dec. 9, 2010— -- Last year, deceased pop icon Michael Jackson and other news-making celebrities of 2009 grabbed the attention on the Internet. But this year, it seems, it's the stars of Silicon Valley -- and not Hollywood -- that set the Web on fire.

Geek is officially chic, at least according to the standard-bearer of geek culture, Google.

The tech giant today released its annual "zeitgeist" report on the hottest Web searches of 2010 -- and seven of the top 10 fastest-rising U.S. searches of the year reference popular technology products and Web services.

The iPad -- that "truly magical" device introduced to the world by Apple CEO Steve Jobs in January -- nabbed the number one spot on the list.

It was followed by other technological phenomena that made headlines this year, including the viral video chat site Chatroulette at No. 2, Apple's iPhone 4 at No. 3 and Facebook at No. 7.

"What we're seeing in 2010 in the U.S., based on our look at the top-rising queries, is really that technology is a really big theme," said Jonathan Effrat, a product manager on Google's search team. "It's really taking off compared to last year."

Twitter may have topped the list last year and Facebook ranked number 3, but this year's list shows that interest in technology has really ballooned, he said. Even the sole celebrity to make the list -- teen idol Justin Bieber (who ranked fifth) -- started out as an Internet sensation.

The World Cup, which grabbed the fourth spot on the list, made Internet history of its own by breaking records for Internet traffic and live streamed video views.

Effrat said it's not just technology that emerges as a trend in this year's zeitgeist but, in particular, the social Web and mobile technology.

"For many years now, it seemed like mobile was on the forefront. This is the first year that we've seen that reflected in the searches," he said.

Here's the full list of Google's fastest-rising searches for the U.S. in 2010:

1. iPad

2. Chatroulette (social website that pairs strangers for videocam chats)

3. iPhone 4

4. World Cup

5. Justin Bieber

6. Myxer (free ringtones, MP3s, wallpaper)

7. Facebook

8. Grooveshark (Internet radio site)

9. Glee (Fox TV show)

10. Mocospace (popular mobile social network)

Google Zeitgeist Gives 'Spirit of the Times'

Each year, Google analyzes billions of search queries, across Google.com, Google Maps, Google Images and other Google products, to compile its annual zeitgeist -- or "spirit of the times" -- report.

To really highlight what makes each year unique, Google said its annual list of the overall fastest-rising terms ranks searches by how much they gained in popularity year over year, not by how frequently the terms were queried on Google.

The general list gives a quick overview of what caught the collective mind's attention over the course of the year, but Google goes a step beyond to rank the most popular searches in a range of categories, including news, celebrities, sports, recipes and more.

The fastest-rising person in the U.S. in 2010 was Justin Bieber, the fastest-rising sports search was "World Cup Schedule" and the fastest rising image search was Jersey Shore.

The BP oil spill topped the list of news searches in 2010 (swine flu was the No. 1 news search last year), and was followed by Haiti and Earthquake.

On a related note, Effrat said that, presumably because of these disasters, searches for "donate" were at the highest since the tsunami.

Apple's iPad also took the top spot on Google's list of the fastest-rising terms globally, but was followed by Justin Bieber at No. 2, Facebook at No. 3 and Twitter at No. 4.

Google also manages to mine its data to pull out a few extra quirky tidbits every year. On the list of the fastest-rising costumes, for example, reality star Snooki took the top spot. The most searched for haircut was L'il Wayne and the most searched for dance move was the dougie dance.

Despite the variations year to year, Effrat said some things stay static. Chili, for example, has topped the list of the most searched for recipes for two years running (followed by other comfort foods, such as pizza, banana bread and cheesecake).

Google also ranks the fastest-rising diets, workouts, commercials and more. For full rankings of several of Google Zeitgeist's list, click on to the next page.

Google Zeitgeist Lists Range From Serious to the Silly

Top 10 Fastest Rising Search Terms 2010 (Global)

1. iPad

2. Justin Bieber

3. Facebook

4. Twitter

5. Chatroulette (social video chatting site)

6. Nicki Minaj

7. Friv (free online games)

8. Myxer (free ringtones, MP3s, wallpaper)

9. Katy Perry

10. Gamezer (online games)

Top Fastest Rising News in the U.S.

1. oil spill

2. Haiti

3. earthquake

4. Sandra Bullock

5. Favre

6. Lindsay Lohan

7. immigration

8. Apple

9. unemployment

10. Tiger Woods

Fastest Rising People in the U.S.

1. Justin Bieber

2. Kesha

3. Wiz Khalifa

4. Nicki Minaj

5. Christina Hendricks

6. Heidi Montag

7. Katy Perry

8. Kid Cudi

9. Kim Kardashian

10. Lindsay Lohan

Top fastest rising song lyrics in the U.S.

1. B.O.B. - "Airplanes"

2. Nicki Minaj - "Your Love"

3. Travie McCoy - Billionaire"

4. Katy Perry - "California Gurls"

5. Chris Brown - "Deuces"

6. Justin Bieber - "Eenie Meenie"

7. Katy Perry - "Firework"

8. Far East Movement - "Like a g6"

9. Eminem - "Space Bound"

10. Katy Perry - "Teenage Dream"

Top DIY (do-it-yourself) in the U.S.

1. diy centerpieces

2. diy decorating

3. diy crafts

4. diy costumes

5. diy invitations

6. diy furniture

7. diy clothes

8. diy aquarium

9. diy audio

10. diy solar

Fastest Rising Internet Memes in the U.S.

1. forever alone meme

2. inception meme

3. keanu meme

4. tumblr meme

5. frog meme

6. ducreaux meme

7. amber lamps

8. cigar guy

9. deal with it meme

10. double rainbow

Zeitgeist Report Explores Popular Searches in Sports, Politics

Fastest Rising Image Search in the U.S.

1. Jersey Shore

2. Kesha

3. Justin Bieber

4. Nicki Minaj

5. Katy Perry

6. Avatar movie

7. Facebook

8. iPhone

9. Haiti earthquake

10. iPad

Fastest Rising in Sports in the U.S.

1. World Cup schedule

2. Olympics

3. Lebron James

4. ESPN 3

5. UFC

6. World Cup scores

7. Ryder Cup

8. curling

9. Randy Moss

10. Shaun White

Fastest Rising Elections Queries in the U.S.

1. Election results

2. California election

3. Massachusetts election

4. primary election results

5. prop 19

6. midterm election results

7. Nevada election results

8. Pelosi election results

9. Alaska election results

10. election polls

Fastest Rising Diets in the U.S.

1. hcg diet

2. the kind diet

3. paleo diet

4. p90x diet

5. 17 day diet

6. twinkie diet

7. dukan diet

8. Jackie Warner diet

9. Taco Bell diet

10. Dr. Oz diet

Fastest Rising Dance moves in the U.S.

1. Dougie dance

2. Zumba dance

3. Glee safety dance

4. John Wall dance

5. wobble line dance

6. diski dance

7. potty dance

8. shuffle dance

9. time warp dance

10. cabbage patch dance

Fastest Rising Costumes in the U.S.

1. Snooki costume

2. Katy Perry costume

3. Avatar costume

4. Iron Man costume

5. Buzz Lightyear costume

6. Lady Gaga costume

7. Antoine Dodson costume

8. hit girl costume

9. sock monkey costume

10. Kenny Powers costume

Google Search Report Includes Video Games, Recipes, Workouts

Most Popular Recipes in the U.S.

1. chili

2. pizza

3. banana bread

4. cheesecake

5. chicken soup

6. chocolate cake

7. lasagna

8. meatloaf

9. pancake

10. salsa

Fastest Rising Haircuts in the U.S.

1. L'il Wayne

2. Emma Watson

3. Janet Jackson

4. Willie Nelson

5. Rihanna

6. Willow Smith

7. Dorothy Hamill

8. Hayden Panettiere

9. Heidi Klum

10. Joe Jonas haircut

Fastest Rising Video Games in the U.S.

1. Black Ops

2. Halo Reach

3. Mass Effect 2

4. Starcraft 2

5. Poptropica

6. Red Dead Redemption

7. Fallout New Vegas

8. Google Pacman

9. Pokemon Soul Silver

10. Fable 3

Fastest Rising Workouts in the U.S.

1. p90x

2. insanity workout

3. Zumba

4. Brazilian butt-lift

5. Spartacus workout

6. The Situation workout

7. Terry Crews workout

8. Kettlebell routines

9. Jillian Michaels workout

10. Taylor Lautner workout

Fastest Rising Commercials in the U.S.

1. iPad commercial

2. Tebow commercial

3. Old Spice commercial

4. Tiger Woods commercial

5. Axe commercial

6. Doritos commercial

7. Lebron James commercial

8. Kia commercial

9. Black Ops commercial

10. Geico pig commercial