Comments on: Google Universal Search: Half of the Perfect Search Engine http://michaelzimmer.org/2007/05/16/google-universal-search-half-of-the-perfect-search-engine/ information ethics : privacy : new media : values in design : 2.0 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:56:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Johntie http://michaelzimmer.org/2007/05/16/google-universal-search-half-of-the-perfect-search-engine/comment-page-1/#comment-62394 Johntie Thu, 17 May 2007 19:28:49 +0000 http://michaelzimmer.org/2007/05/16/google-universal-search-half-of-the-perfect-search-engine/#comment-62394 Thanks for the response Michael, I agree with your points. My thought was mainly from a sociological comm perspective: that if we say that users take Google at interface value, don\'t we tend to be a \ Thanks for the response Michael,

I agree with your points.
My thought was mainly from a sociological comm perspective: that if we say that users take Google at interface value, don\’t we tend to be a \

]]> By: Michael Zimmer http://michaelzimmer.org/2007/05/16/google-universal-search-half-of-the-perfect-search-engine/comment-page-1/#comment-62279 Michael Zimmer Thu, 17 May 2007 11:54:49 +0000 http://michaelzimmer.org/2007/05/16/google-universal-search-half-of-the-perfect-search-engine/#comment-62279 Hi Johntie - thanks for the comment. I agree that the Faustian bargain goes both ways - I'm not trying to be a strong determinist. However, I don't feel that the way Google is designed and built lies solely on the "way it is been used or manipulated" by users. Google is trying to create shareholder value, and it does so by earning money through selling of advertising tied to search-related products. The "perfect search" helps it maximize that proposition. The concern is that users are increasingly unable to resist the lure of Google - they are constantly reminded how awesome Google is, and <a href="http://michaelzimmer.org/2007/05/12/googles-unsatisfying-explanation-for-retaining-user-search-data/" rel="nofollow">how important for them to collect personal information</a>. The worry is that Google is taken "at interface value" (to quote Turkle from a different context), and that the Faustian bargain is accepted without a balanced and informed negotiation. There's much more to say here - much of which I try to do in the dissertation - and I'll have to write some longer posts later when I have more free time. Thanks for reading~ Hi Johntie – thanks for the comment.

I agree that the Faustian bargain goes both ways – I’m not trying to be a strong determinist. However, I don’t feel that the way Google is designed and built lies solely on the “way it is been used or manipulated” by users. Google is trying to create shareholder value, and it does so by earning money through selling of advertising tied to search-related products. The “perfect search” helps it maximize that proposition.

The concern is that users are increasingly unable to resist the lure of Google – they are constantly reminded how awesome Google is, and how important for them to collect personal information. The worry is that Google is taken “at interface value” (to quote Turkle from a different context), and that the Faustian bargain is accepted without a balanced and informed negotiation.

There’s much more to say here – much of which I try to do in the dissertation – and I’ll have to write some longer posts later when I have more free time.

Thanks for reading~

]]> By: Johntie http://michaelzimmer.org/2007/05/16/google-universal-search-half-of-the-perfect-search-engine/comment-page-1/#comment-62251 Johntie Thu, 17 May 2007 10:23:49 +0000 http://michaelzimmer.org/2007/05/16/google-universal-search-half-of-the-perfect-search-engine/#comment-62251 Hi Michael, don\'t we accuse ourselves when we call Google a Faustian bargain. I mean the need to have a perfect search engine is not only Google\'s will but also us consumers. I believe that many of us including bloggers are falling to much into a technical as well as social determinism. Google can do whatever it wants, but they way it is been used or manipulated resides in the user. Google is at the end constructed on a daily basis from our usage. That usage determines it success. Hi Michael, don\’t we accuse ourselves when we call Google a Faustian bargain. I mean the need to have a perfect search engine is not only Google\’s will but also us consumers. I believe that many of us including bloggers are falling to much into a technical as well as social determinism. Google can do whatever it wants, but they way it is been used or manipulated resides in the user. Google is at the end constructed on a daily basis from our usage. That usage determines it success.

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