I still remember how fascinated I was with the whole concept of the PC and the internet, back in the 90s, when I was introduced to it. It was like magic, instantly dissolving boundaries and distances. There was no facebook, twitter or orkut then (or at least not for me), but the just the simple access to instant email made me ecstatic. There was so much to discover online and for the first time, I was reconsidering if books were my only salvation. I was star struck and the internet, more than the PC was my hero.
And then evolution happened…Internet evolution. Google reached its peak and facebook became life. I remember reading the Google story of two college dropouts and being completed bowled over it. WOW! The world surely had reached its peak of glory…what more would we commoners want more than to have the world at our finger tips.
Then everything turned designer. Google started learning who we are and facebook started knowing what we like…without us knowing. Like silent stalkers, they crept into our lives and took control. For our good, they say…so that we are seeing what we want to or what we would like to. This filter bubble around us is meant for happiness and efficiency.
We all know that you may see regular updates only from people we mostly interact with on facebook. But what I was surprised to know, and what may be news to you as well is that as of 2009, there is no standard Google as well. For the same term that you and your friend may search on Google, you are both likely to get different results, depending on your search history, what kind of results you have clicked on your previous visits, your various online accounts, IP address etc. There is no hiding really. With some form of logging in required for all PCs and platforms, our virtual identity is never hidden from the search monsters. And I say search monster here because apparently, most other search engines are also doing catering their results for you.
So, why am I whining about it if I am getting a catered service? I love my ‘designer everything’ after all. Well, I whine because it’s not fair and it’s far from what we perceive the internet to give us. Placed in this bubble, we are seeing only what we would like to see and not what we should be seeing. It tosses away the whole concept of making an informed decision, for it appears that we are not even getting the proper information we should be getting. While we have evolved from times when our parents decided for us, we are passing away our futures into the hands of inanimate programs what don’t even vaguely understand the human rationale…strange that we are either happy about it or blissfully ignorant.
So what do we do about it in a time when Google is almost indispensable? For starters, spread the word, so that we can at least start considering search results are just one point of view. Hopefully, if we are lucky, Google will become aware and probably come up with a way where users can select what customizations they want. Until then, just be smart when searching for information online. Try using specific search terms or advanced features, so as to get specific results. Don’t forget traditional sources like newspaper and books. Read views that don’t match yours. Check the sites you trust for opinions. Listen to your brains rather than Google’s logic. Remember, we are human and Google is not.
Babbles and Tattles of point 