Google sums up 2010 with a Zeitgest video

From Angry Birds to Justin Bieber to US unemployment , a look at the serious and silly sides of 2010

Zeitgeist, the big German word, embodies a big concept: the spirit of the time. Zeitgeist is a neat slice of the world around us. A look at how we think, feel and function as a culture at this particular point in time. Truly capturing that essence is a monumental task, one that Google (not short on ambition) has decided to try and undertake in a video.

The Google Zeitgeist 2010: The Video project was released Thursday, with an accompanying website. The video, which runs less than three minutes and features the song Good Life, by One Republic, covers a wide range of events and topics of interest from 2010.

The video features searches, Web pages, and video clips, ranging from topics as serious at the Gulf oil spill and the creation of the first hadron collider, to topics as silly as the bed intruder video and Justen Bieber.

In a lot of ways the Zeitgeist of 2010 is exactly what you would expect it to be. A bad economy worldwide, highlighted by searches for the 'European Debt Crisis' and 'US Unemployment Rates', followed by scientific updates, such as the first face transplant and the creation of a synthetic genome. Then a round of the years natural disasters, and celebrity deaths and assorted sports victories.

Then, it gets funny. A vuvuzelas phone call was made. Angry Birds and the Rally to Restore Sanity were both featured in a search and tween pop singer Justin Bieber made a brief cameo, while being violently hugged by a young girl. Several tech toys made the list, like iPad, iPhone 4 and Android.

Noticeably absent from the video was any reference to charity, or more general social contributions made this year. Yes, some of this years charity stunts made less then a modicum of sense, and failed spectacularly in their attempts, but others made an impact, something that Google itself seems to admit in the Fastest Rising Humanitarian Aid section of the Zeitgeist site. The video was also bereft of any references to the worlds of art or literature, unless you count the death of noted author J.D. Salinger.

Viewer reaction to the video was mixed. While many users enjoyed the video, others questioned both the fairness of the video and some of the included references.

Several users comments questioned the validity of including Mr. Bieber  in the video at all. Another user, who goes by the handle gueroloko08, questioned Google's choice to brand professional athletes as hero's, "What do they contribute to society? Entertain us and indulge themselves in millions of dollars? I'd figure with all that money they'd at least try to make an effort to make this world a better place. Then they'd be hero's"

The related Zeitgeist site shows the most popular search terms of the year, broken down by category, for users who are interested in finding out more about what was popular this year.

(Images from Google Zeitgeist video)