This globe looks at how people felt in 200 cities around the world during the first nine months of 2011.
Each peak represents one city, and peak heights represent the relative frequency of a word being blogged by someone from that location (e.g., “I feel better today...”). Visualization skews toward the English-speaking world, since the data collection mechanism only looks for English words.
Data should not be understood as comprehensive or statistically valid in any way. Still, it's interesting to compare locations and frequency of those who feel the best, the worst, and everywhere in between. (Good news: Despite the global economic downturn, far more people report that they feel better than worse!)
Updated 2011 October 18