The honesty of the search box
Nov. 22nd, 2009 12:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akashiverThe Rhetoric of the Google Search pt 1 and part 2
To quote Ben Casnocha, "When you type a query into Google it will suggest the most popular completions to the given prefix.
There are some remarkable contrasts, Slate found, between "dumb" searches and "smart" ones. People who start their search "how 2" are more likely to search "how 2 get pregnant" or "how 2 grow weed." People who start their search "how one might" are more likely to search "how one might discover a new piece of music" or "how one might account for the rise of andrew jackson in 1828."
The most fascinating contrast is between "is it wrong to..." vs. "is it ethical to." One change in word generates very different suggestions."
Namely, "is it wrong to" searches generally involve sexuality ("is it wrong to sleep with your sister?") while "is it ethical to" searches involve business and finance ("is it ethical to sell customer information?")
To quote Ben Casnocha, "When you type a query into Google it will suggest the most popular completions to the given prefix.
There are some remarkable contrasts, Slate found, between "dumb" searches and "smart" ones. People who start their search "how 2" are more likely to search "how 2 get pregnant" or "how 2 grow weed." People who start their search "how one might" are more likely to search "how one might discover a new piece of music" or "how one might account for the rise of andrew jackson in 1828."
The most fascinating contrast is between "is it wrong to..." vs. "is it ethical to." One change in word generates very different suggestions."
Namely, "is it wrong to" searches generally involve sexuality ("is it wrong to sleep with your sister?") while "is it ethical to" searches involve business and finance ("is it ethical to sell customer information?")
