Interesting retweet by Andrew Schleicher of a tweet by @sengineland
The short story is this. By watching what you click on in search results, Google can learn that you favor particular sites. For example, if you often search and click on links from Amazon that appear in Google’s results, over time, Google learns that you really like Amazon. In reaction, it gives Amazon a ranking boost. That means you start seeing more Amazon listings, perhaps for searches where Amazon wasn’t showing up before.
Google Now Personalizes Everyone’s Search Results
Hmmmm…..my first reaction is that this would keep people even more in-the-grasp of their own world perspective…..this is what I would consider not so good for making the serendipitous discovery of new perspectives. If Fox News fans like Fox News stories, then more and more searches on particular topics will surface for them from Fox News and what Fox News would have them receive. People who who like World News Daily will get more appearances of World News Daily on whatever topic.
Of course, this is what generally happens anyway. But this Google move further enclaves the devoted ones. Fewer “alternate†perspectives get toward the top of the results.
I wrote the above BEFORE I got to this bit near the end of the article:
What About Diversity?
Interestingly, I’ve spoken on the subject of Google’s preexisting search personalization feature three times over the past week, and each time, a key question has arisen. If Google rewards the sites you like, does that mean eventually you’ll only see stuff you like? Would a conservative see only conservative web sites? A liberal see only liberal web sites?
No, Google says. Annoyingly, the company will not give any metrics about what percentage of results a typically searcher gets back that are personalized in some way nor the percentage of the results themselves that are changed. IE, are 85% of queries personalized? And if you get a page of personalized results, are 20% of the links on that page personalized? I couldn’t get any such figures.
So you know have my official seal of approval on this article. The author thinks like I do. 🙂
I do not like this. When I undergo a Google search, I’m specifically looking for a variety of opinions, etc. I wouldn’t want everything from the same sites I usually visit.