Google world dominance: Built on Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, and torpedo gratis

What is Google's seeming invincibility and immense fortune actually built upon? It comes down to this: People searching for information about celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga, and oddball terms such as "torpedo gratis." That's what the company's annual list of most popular search term shows.

When it comes to revenue, forget Google Docs or any of Google's more interesting and innovative services. Company cash flow is built almost solely on search. That means for better or worse, it's built on the psyche of the worldwide public.

So what did people search for in 2009? Here's Google's list of the fastest-rising searches for 2009 --- for more details and more lists, see the 2009 Year-End Google Zeitgeist.

1. michael jackson

2. facebook

3. tuenti

4. twitter

5. sanalika

6. new moon

7. lady gaga

8. windows 7

9. dantri.com.vn

10. torpedo gratis

Do you see the words "health care" anywhere there? How about "Afghanistan?" Do you see any writers or artists listed? All in all, this is a fairly depressing snapshot of what the world is curious about.

There are plenty of oddball terms there. "Tuenti" is apparently a Spanish Facebook-type site. "Sanalika" is odder still. According to TechCrunch, it's a virtual world started up by a Turkish company. So why does it appear so high on the list? TechCrunch says that:

Most Turkish Internet users search for the domain or keyword of a website on Google then click on the first search result to go to the actual site. So, when a web service has millions of users it's inevitably searched for on Google over a million times a day.

Just think of all the revenue rolling into Google's pockets because an entire country doesn't like to type URLs into the address bar. What a business!

As for the other oddball search terms, "Dantri.com.vn" appears to be the domain of a Vietnamese newspaper. As for torpedo gratis? I haven't a clue. If you know, post a public note, below.

By the way, Bing's most popular search terms don't paint a particularly pleasant picture of collective world intelligence, either. How about Jon and Kate Gosselin sharing the top ten with Michael Jackson? Here's the Bing top ten list:

1) Michael Jackson

2) Twitter

3) Swine Flu

4) Stock Market

5) Farrah Fawcett

6) Patrick Swayze

7) Cash for Clunkers

8) Jon and Kate Gosselin

9) Billy Mays

10) Jaycee Dugard