December 2, 2009 – Google announced its annual Zeitgeist on Wednesday, a look at 2009 through the collective eyes of the world on the web.
The Zeitgeist offers a unique perspective on the year’s major events and hottest trends based on global searches, as well as searches conducted in Kenya.
As expected, social networking, employment and English football top the 2009 list
• Who was the most-searched celebrity of 2009?
• Which new technology topped the charts?
• Were people searching Google for information about the economic crisis or the outcome of their favourite reality show?
According to the findings, Kenyans clearly expressed a rising interest in online sharing platforms and 
educational/institutional local information, and as such Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are among the top fastest rising terms.
Love and management meanwhile stay side by side in the most popular top list, probably meaning that the work/life balance is a key value in Kenya. When searching for local content, users in Kenya want to be informed on employment, banking and tax news.
At the same time, English Football dominates the Sport top 10, with Arsenal beating Chelsea and Real Madrid. And when searching for information about celebrities, Kenyans are equally interested in Music and Sport, with Michelle Obama popping up somewhere in the middle.
Fastest Rising
Facebook, KRA, Quotes, Jobs in Kenya, YouTube, Nairobi University, Gmail, Bing, Twitter, Yahoo
Most Popular
Kenya, Facebook, Yahoo! Mail, Jobs, Google, Management, Love, YouTube, Wikipedia
Most Searched for Kenya
Jobs Kenya, Kenya Airways, Public Service Commission, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Law, Kenya News, Orange Kenya, Central Bank of Kenya
Most Popular News Searches
Kenya, Arsenal, Obama, Facebook, Manchester, Kcse, Somalia, Premier League, Michael Jackson, Chelsea
Sport
Arsenal News, Chelsea, Champions League Results, Manchester United News, Real Madrid, Liverpool FC, Usain Bolt, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Football
Most searched for celebs
Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Michelle Obama, Usain Bolt, Tyra Banks, Chris Brown, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lady Gaga, Roger Federer, Bob Marley
In a broader sense, the top search terms from over 50 countries appear on the Google Zeitgeist webpage, google.com/zeitgeist2009; from political candidates in South Africa, to news searches in the United Arab Emirates, to electronic brand searches in Hong Kong.
This year’s global fastest rising searches show interest across pop culture (with the King of Pop at the helm, followed by searches for movie New Moon and singer Lady Gaga), social networking sites and new technologies such as Windows 7 and Torpedo Gratis:
Global Fastest Rising Queries
1. Michael Jackson
2. Facebook
3. Tuenti
4. Twitter
5. Sanalika
6. New Moon
7. Lady Gaga
8. Windows 7
9. Dantri.com.vn
10. Torpedo Gratis
Google reveals the internet “Zeitgeist” (German for “the spirit of the times”) through an exploration of the billions of search queries received each year.
Google connects millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google is a top web property in all major global markets today.
For more information, visit www.google.com.