What we want to hear vs. what we need to know – is there a difference?

In a recent post I offer some comment on Eli Pariser, “The Filter Bubble”. The short version (the book is worth more than this thought byte) is that Google search is moving beyond search telling us what well informed people know to finding what we want to hear. This interpretation may be a little over the top, but highlights the gist of the book. The problem might be described as Google’s desire to please us. To return search results that please us Google keeps track of our interests and the search results that end our searches. The problem is that we are not always becoming better informed when we encounter recommendations slanted by a record of what we want to hear. Sometimes we need to find out that our views are biased.

The TWIG (this week in Google) pocasters took on this topic and for the most part disagree. I think it may come down to understanding how search works and determining when how search wants provides what we want. So, I know MSNBC and Fox biased sources (no matter the claims) and I can turn elsewhere when I want a less slanted view.

One interesting technique did come up in the discussion. Gina Tripani (I think I remember the source) indicated Google allows you to not include your search history in the ranking of hits. Sure enough at the bottom of a results page there is a link that allows you to exclude your search history.

Use View customizations – you should be able to tell from the linked page whether Google is using your search history in “improving” your search experience. Take a look at your web history if one is available. I find the data fascinating. I have connected to my Gmail account 2340 times, total Google searches 5538, etc.

It does occur to me that Google knows far more about me than would be eliminated by excluding my search history (e.g., the content in the emails I generated and received during this 2340 connects). I am not entirely certain what “remove web history means”. I am not that concerned about what Google knows about me, but the question of unbiased search is important.

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Here is a recent and more extensive post on this same topic from John Jones. You will see that some of the conclusions are very similar.

From the perspective of a software engineer, this personalization makes sense: Google is in the business of selling advertising, and this business is best served by giving users what they want so that they will continue to visit the site. However, from the perspective of a researcher, it can be disturbing to know that the results of a particular research session are dependent not on how one structures a search query, but on the entire history of one’s previous interactions with the Web.