These were the findings of Google’s annual Zeitgeist report, which offers a perspective on the year's major events and trends based on searches conducted in Singapore. This research also revealed a list of fastest rising and top most searched items.
The top three names in the list of top 20 fastest rising brands were HTC, Kate Spade and Agnes B. Only one local brand, Singapore Airlines made it to this list.
The word ‘spree’ was Googled 118 per cent more than in 2007, raising questions whether Singaporeans are actually shopping more during the economic downturn.
Sport was also of great interest for Singapore in 2008. Popular searches included the F1 night race, winning the bid to host the 2010 Youth Olympics and Singapore winning its second Olympics medal in 48 years (for women's table tennis).
The search was especially pertinent for the current economic times, with terms like ‘recession’ (271 per cent increase on 2007), ‘financial crisis’ (138 per cent increase), and ‘bailout’ (five per cent increase) witnessing significant spikes in search volume when the global markets were falling in September and October.
