Google Zeitgeist 2008 Live; Lycos Announces Top Searches of 2008

As a followup to the aggregate list of 2008’s Top Search Terms from the major search engines, Google has officially released its 2008 Zeitgeist, or “spirit of the times” list, covering the most popular searches of the year.  This year’s data includes a global look at the most popular search terms, gathering top 10 lists in 30 countries to give insight to search behavior around the world. YouTube, Facebook appear on many of the lists.

Prior to releasing the full Zeitgeist for 2008, Google highlighted the fastest rising search terms of 2008, where Obama topped the list of U.S. based searches. Yet in the full wrap-up, Sarah Palin won out across the globe as the fastest rising search.

Fastest Rising Searches on Google (Globally)

1. Sarah Palin
2. Beijing 2008
3. Facebook Login
4. Tuenti
5. Heath Ledger
6. Obama
7. Nasza Klasa
8. Wer kennt wen
9. Euro 2008
10. Jonas Brothers

Google Image Searches – Fastest Rising U.S.

1. Sarah Palin
2. Obama
3. Twilight
4. Miley Cyrus
5. Joker

Social Networks Get Searched

Top 10 Searches on Google for social sites, with almost half being global sites:

1. Facebook
2. MySpace
3. Hi5
4. Orkut
5. Linkedin
6. Nasza Klasa
7. Netlog
8. Mixi
9. Meetup
10. Odnoklassniki

Lycos Top Searches of 2008

Lycos also officially released its year end round-up of its Top 50 searches for its 9th annual list of popular searches, with additional trends published on Lycos’ daily stat tracker, the Lycos Top 50 (https://50.lycos.com) in 10 categories.

Lycos’ Top 10 Searches of 2008 (Overall)

1. Poker
2. Paris Hilton
3. YouTube
4. Golf
5. Sarah Palin
6. Britney Spears
7. Clay Aiken
8. Pamela Anderson
9. Facebook
10. Holly Madison

A complete wrap-up and analysis of both the Google Zeitgeist and the 2008 Lycos list will be added here.