google-zeitgeist-2011
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Google Zeitgeist puts Battlefield 3 in top ten rising searches, Black Ops tops gaming chart
Google published its annual "Zeitgeist" report of the most popular searches and topics in 2011 this past week and for the first time ever, a game was included in the top ten fastest rising search terms of the year. Yes, as you've probably already guessed, it was "Gem Keeper." Wait, no, it was "Battlefield 3." EA's big shooter stirred up some interest, apparently, landing it right in between "Casey Anthony" and the "iPhone 5" in biggest gains in search popularity of the year. When it comes to video games in North America, however, there's another title on top of the heap: "Black Ops" was the most searched-for term in the category, with "Call of Duty" coming soon after that. "Battlefield 3" didn't even make the list in the category numbers, so its overall search volume was actually lower than the Activision series. Don't count "Halo Reach" or "Super Mario" out either -- they show up at the third and fourth spots on the list in the gaming category. And Google even shows us what 2011 searchers are most interested to play next year: "Diablo 3" and "Mass Effect 3" sit at the bottom of the list already for the most searched-for terms in gaming.
Google Zeitgeist goes live, reminds the world of Rebecca Black's existence
How will people remember 2011? As the year of Rebecca Black, if the results of Google's Zeitgeist list are to be believed. The momentarily famous "Friday" singer topped Google's annual year-end list of hot search terms, followed by the software giant's own Google+ social network and deceased Jackass star, Ryan Dunn. The top five is rounded out by the acquitted Casey Anthony and the ultra-hot FPS, Battlefield 3. Apple made three appearances in the top ten, courtesy of the iPad 2, the no-show iPhone 5 and its late founder, Steve Jobs. On the other side of the coin, social networks Myspace and hi5 topped the fastest falling lists. Celebrate the year that was with a video after the break.
