We thought that the Google 2008 zeitgeist deserved slightly more attention - mostly because there are three entries in the fastest rising global terms that we've never even heard of and we're curious like that.
Earlier we looked at the UK zeitgeist; this is the global zeitgeist of fastest rising terms:
1 sarah palin
2 beijing 2008
3 facebook login
4 tuenti
5 heath ledger
6 obama
7 nasza klasa
8 wer kennt wen
9 euro 2008
10 jonas brothers
Tuenti, it turns out, is a social networking site based in Madrid. It's still in private beta, but the company blog picked up on the Google coverage today (as you might expect) and said its traffic has actually gone up 2,850%. Which isn't hard, if you've started with very, very little, but gives them great promotion as the highest listed Spanish term in the global zeitgeist. "Tuenti's goal is to enable people to be aware of everything that is happening in their circle of friends," says the site. It's a Facebook for our our Spanish-speaking chums.
Poland's take on Friends reunited. But better looking.
Nasza Klasa (which just means 'our class') is much more in the Friends Reunited camp, but much, much nicer and just in Polish. It's aimed at current students and alumni and has the usual selection of photo-sharing tools, discussion forums (you haven't changed a bit, etc) and personal profiles. Nasza Klasa started in early 2006 and launched later that year becoming, according to the site, the biggest social networking site in Poland within two months.
Wer Kennt Wen is a German Friends Reunited; it means 'who knows who'. Wer Kennt Wen was also founded in 2006 but seems pitched at a slightly older audience, and claims 4.9 million members in total. RTL Interactive, the digital wing of the giant German broadcaster and Channel Five owner, owns 49% of the firm.
So now you know.
