A poltergeist is a mischievous spirit, one who is voiceless, yet speaks through actions.

A zeitgeist is likewise a spirit, but one of a certain time. In its appearances in the early 1900’s, the word is used to describe a disturbance, an unseen influence that shapes our actions.

Can we define and understand the spirit of our times? One way to grasp the intangibles that draw and pull at us might be to look at what we were concerned about enough to look around for, and inquire about.

One place to look might be in the queries that drive searches on the web.

Google has been giving us a glimpse at those since 2001. The Google Zeitgeist for 2004 attempts to define the spirit of our times, by letting us see what people where searching for most.

This year’s version adds Froogle and local searches.

While I think that maybe it gives us a better look at how people use search engines than it does defining the times we live within, it is kind of interesting.

The interactive version is kind of fun, too.