Google Zeitgeist Russia: Explanation Of Why Things Trended In 2009
So, the yearly Google Zeitgeist is out for 2009, and for those of you who do not know Google Zeitgeist is a summary of the top searches that Google releases every year to show what people looked for the most. In many ways, Google Zeitgeist is a reflection of what was important to the online audiences around the world in any particular year. It is a cross-section of what has gotten people’s attention to the point that they just had to Google it to find out more about it.
Since Google breaks down its report by country, I was very curious to see what the top searches were for Russia. And, some very interesting trends popped up. But, I realized that you have to be in the culture, so to speak, to really understand the significance of some of them, so I decided to write a little “explainer” of what these trends really mean.
First of all, the fastest rising searches of 2009 were:
1. Windows 7
2. Odnoklassniki account page
3. Michael
4. VKontakte
5. Movies online
6. Torrent
7. Translation online
8. Work in Russia
9. Eurovision 2009
10. Opera 10
Now, Odnoklassniki is one of the top social networks in Russia that grew immensely popular in the last couple of years. Unlike most of the social networks here in North America, you have to pay to join Odnoklassniki, which was a bummer for me when I was trying to sign up. I just do not believe in having to pay to use a social network. But, Odnoklassniki have permeated the Russian culture so much, it is almost kind of awkward and anti-social not to have an account, so people are ready to pay for it just so they don't stand out. Vkontake is another popular social network that really is just a mirror image of Facebook. It is also free, so its popularity is on the rise lately – justifiably, it took the No. 4 spot on the list.
Sure enough, Michael Jackson hysteria could not have possibly missed Russia, so no wonder “Michael” was the third most searched item. Windows 7 being in the top spot was kind of surprising, but not really because most computer users in Russia are still loyal to PCs with a very limited number of Mac users. As in previous years, downloading stuff and translating online were popular. But, what was interesting is that Eurovision 2009, which Russia hosted this year, was the No. 9 top rising query. In previous posts, I wrote about the significance that the Eurovision contest had for Russia in terms of the national branding, logistical and financial maturity to hold major international events and just being in the position to welcome much of Europe on the scale that is unprecedented. I actually was expecting Eurovision to be in the top 5, but I guess you can’t argue with the Odnoklassniki’s phenomenon.
The news makers of the year were mostly Russian, but I was surprised to see the name of Arsene Wenger, the manager of Arsenal FC in the top 10. Of course, people in Russia cared about Wenger solely because the country’s top soccer player Andrey Arshavin had a very publicized and speculation driven transfer to Arsenal from St. Petersburg Zenit this summer. Arshavin was called nasty things for quitting his home club to seek better pay in England. In any case, the drama of his transfer is still lingering in people’s minds as Russia failed to make it to the 2010 World Cup in last month's qualifiers.
Sure enough, the current Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was the No.2 news maker of the year. But, what was surprising to me is that the current President Dmitri Medvedev was nowhere to be seen in the top 10.
In the “I want” category, the top searchers were – “woman”, “work”, “sleep”, “a lot of money”, “to get pregnant” and in No. 7 spot – “to believe.”
In the “why” searches of the year, people were wondering most about “why they are lonely”, “why the dollar is rising”, “why men cheat”, “why cats meow” and “why manholes are round”, which is actually one of the questions that Microsoft allegedly asks in their job interviews, so kind of unusual to see it here.
In the “events of the year,” Eurovision took the No.1 spot – no surprise there. Interestingly, the earthquake in L’Aquila, Italy was in second place, followed by the collision of the U.S. and Russian satellites. I am at a loss to explain such interest in the Italian earthquake, but I can say that Russia had its fair share of natural disasters in its recent history and any kind of large-scale calamities anywhere in world just tend to pull the trigger in people’s minds to Google the gory details. Apparently, the swine flu was not as important and sits in the fourth position in the top ten events. That was a surprise to me. With the kind of medication freak-out that Russia experienced when major pharmacies started to increase the price tags on antivirals for no reason, I was expecting people to go nuts and research the swine flu to death online, but evidently that did not happen. In other notable events, the 2009 world hockey championships, which Russians won this year, was the seventh most searched event. Winning the championships was extremely important for Russia heading into the 2010 Olympic Games. I remember watching Russian news days after the tournament and the country was still in the party mode, so no wonder it made the trends. Finally, the tenth most searched event was the election of the new Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church after the death of the former Patriarch Alexy II. I think the fact that people cared enough for the search term to make it into the top 10 events is pretty interesting, and shows that religion still has a pretty important place in the minds of people in Russia.
So, to me, many of the things in this year’s Russian edition of Zeitgesit were obvious, but many became a revelation. But, way to go, Google. The top searchers never seize to entertain!
