According to Google's 12th annual Year-End Zeitgeist, Singer Whitney Houston topped the global list of the most searched followed by "Gangnam Style, from the Korean YouTube sensation PSY and Hurricane Sandy. See the full list here.
Zeitgeist 2012 includes 838 searchable and categorized lists from 55 countries. "As 2012 comes to a close, it's time for our 12th annual Year-End Zeitgeist-an in-depth look at the "spirit of the times" as seen through the billions of searches on Google over the past year," Amit Singhal, a Google Fellow and senior vice president wrote on the Google Official Blog.
Whitney Houston, who died in February, topped many countries' lists as well as three of Google's overall trending lists such as Searches, People and Performing Artists. PSY's "Gangnam Style" signature dance came second in overall searches and landed him at the #1 spot in many countries and making his song the second most trending query of 2012. Tragic natural disaster Hurricane Sandy ranked highly (#3 on the global trending list).
Google's list of overall trending search terms:
4. iPad 3
5. Diablo 3
8. Amanda Todd
10. BBB12
People
The pop diva tops the global list of most searched people followed by the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton and Amanda Todd, the Coquitlam teen who committed suicide in October after years of Internet sexual exploitation and bullying by her peers. Check out the top ten people the world searched for in 2012.
3. Amanda Todd
7. Jeremy Lin
9. Joseph Kony
10. Donna Summer
Consumer Electronics:
Gadgets remains to be one of the most searched items in Google. Apple's iPad 3 topped the technology searches followed by Samsung Galaxy S3. The most searched consumer electronics are:
1. iPad 3
3. iPad Mini
4. Nexus 7
6. Play Station
7. iPad 4
9. Kindle Fire
10. Nokia Lumia 920
Take a look at this video for a round-the-globe tour through 2012:
