Thread: Google will now control web content

Google cranks up the Consensus Engine

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Manufacturing isn't dead - it just went to Mountain View

By Andrew Orlowski • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 12th December 2008 19:38 GMT

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Google this week admitted that its staff will pick and choose what appears in its search results. It's a historic statement - and nobody has yet grasped its significance.

Not so very long ago, Google disclaimed responsibility for its search results by explaining that these were chosen by a computer algorithm. The disclaimer lives on at Google News, where we are assured that:

The selection and placement of stories on this page were determined automatically by a computer program.

A few years ago, Google's apparently unimpeachable objectivity got some people very excited, and technology utopians began to herald Google as the conduit for a new form of democracy. Google was only too pleased to encourage this view. It explained that its algorithm "relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. "

That Google was impartial was one of the articles of faith. For if Google was ever to be found to be applying subjective human judgment directly on the process, it would be akin to the voting machines being rigged.

For these soothsayers of the Hive Mind, the years ahead looked prosperous. As blog-aware marketing and media consultants, they saw a lucrative future in explaining the New Emergent World Order to the uninitiated. (That part has come true - Web 2.0 "gurus" now advise large media companies).

It wasn't surprising, then, that when five years ago I described how a small, self-selected number of people could rig Google's search results, the reaction from the people doing the rigging was violently antagonistic. Who lifted that rock? they cried.

But what was once Googlewashing by a select few now has Google's active participation.

This week Marissa Meyer explained that editorial judgments will play a key role in Google searches. It was reported by Tech Crunch proprietor Michael Arrington - who Nick Carr called the "Madam of the Web 2.0 Brothel" - but its significance wasn't noted. The irony flew safely over his head at 30,000 feet. Arrington observed:

Mayer also talked about Google’s use of user data created by actions on Wiki search to improve search results on Google in general. For now that data is not being used to change overall search results, she said. But in the future it’s likely Google will use the data to at least make obvious changes. An example is if “thousands of peopleâ€

This is big news. Talk about censorship, they can pick and choose what they want shown.

There are other search engines. Thank goodness.

As an owner of three websites, this news is disturbing. I get way more hits from Google than Yahoo, although Yahoo has always been better to my sites as far as pagerank goes. I hope Google shoots itself in the foot with this.

A new search engine will cure this sensorship. Everyone should change.

Be grateful Google's deal to buy Yahoo just fell through.

Dixie

I liked Googal because it's so much easier to use and you can still find things even if you make a typo or mis-spell something. Censorship begins.

Then Google is not a "search engine" anymore. Its now a CONTROLLED source of information that is all censored. There is always Yahoo and Ask. I wish I could remember the name of the popular search engine that was started by an ex-employee of Google. It would serve them right it everyone switched.

Not only is it the search engine, it is also Gmail by google. I have several accounts for several things. One was constantly being disabled because they didn't like articles I sent to my email address and the name of the account probably flagged it. Nothing bad just sent up a red flag to them. No problem with the other accounts. They didn't like mail about Obama and illegal aliens going over that account.