Google Zeitgeist 2006
google| Etymology: misspelling of googol -10 to the 100th power | Meaning: search
zeit·geist| Etymology: German, from Zeit (time) + Geist (spirit) | Meaning: the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era
Originally, Google used the Stanford University website with the domain google.stanford.edu. The domain google.com was registered in 1997, and the company was incorporated as Google Inc. in September, 1998 in a garage in Menlo Park, California. Today, less than 9 years later, Google is often referred to as the dominant Internet search engine and a source of fascination to those who analyze new media trends.
As an innovator in the evolution of Web 2.0, the second-generation of Internet-based services, Google has partnered with global leaders in technology, science, marketing and media to help create an annual two-day think tank. At this forum, guests will meet to connect, gain new insights and predict future currents.
The USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future's Director, Jeffrey Cole, will again participate in the invitation-only Google Zeitgeist in Mountain View, CA, October 3-5, 2006. Cole was a longtime member of the UCLA faculty and served as Director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy before joining The Center for the Digital Future. He founded and directs the World Internet Project, a long-term longitudinal look at the effects of computer and Internet technology on all aspects of society, which is conducted in over 20 countries. Cole has been called a visionary, providing the public with information on how to understand the impact of online technologies. He's one of the guys who is really informed enough to make predicitions about the future of new media.
Next Week's Google Zeitgeist will specifically study the data from Internet queries (searches). Search trends and patterns are converted into search statistics and are based on the millions of searches conducted on Google over a given period of time - weekly, monthly, and annually. These statistics and trends make their way from the depths of Google's hard drives to become the Google Zeitgeist report.
The controversies persist over Google archiving/owning our (private?) searches, yet the broadly compiled data they produce provides a snapshot picture (by country) of any given cultural trend at any given time. If you have insights, opinions or feedback about Internet transparency/privacy, comment here.
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Prime Minister Blair referred to the UK as the ‘google generation’ in his recent keynote conference speach - so it seems that there is no getting away from the link…
Would be fascinatating to see what people are searching for on the net - i use google all the time and feel a bit lost if i have to try and find something without it - which just goes to show its impact/success
hey, was just looking through your blog and even found some things in german (zeitgeist)
love it!