The (Frightening) Power of Google

This recent article in The New York Times points out a frightening reality about Google searches.  While we might think the most relevant sites related to our search terms are what pop up under the first paid advertising links, in fact, both Google and all companies with a web presence manipulate our search results.  The Times article details how JC Penney manipulated Google search results for everything from women's dresses to Samsonite luggage.  The key to coming up first is having the most external sites linked to you.  The company Penney hired to manage their online presence worked the system and established thousands of dummy links on dead pages back to the JC Penney site.  This is illegal in the land of Google, and Penney is now being punished by the Google search police for these "black hat" methods.

This brings us to the question: who are the Google search police and what do they do?  Yes, they regulate search and keep companies from abusing the consumer by manipulating results like Penney did.  But I have to wonder about the underside of all Google searches--the behind the scenes action.  How are results really determined?  I think I've always assumed my search results were straightforward--the way we get results from a library database.  But Google has an algorithm for search results, and it won't tell anyone what it is.  This leads me back to Manovich's ideas in "The Myth of Interactivity."  When we Google, we're not just transparently getting what we asked for.  We're getting what Google has designed its machine to give us and what companies have managed to accomplish using "white hat" methods to boost their place in search results. I don't mean to sound paranoid here, but we do have to recognize that Google is controlling the information we look at.  Once Penney was fingered for breaking the Google rules, they dropped from #1 on search results for hundreds of key terms to the 70's and 80's.  I have to wonder--what other sites are being buried? 

Student Blog Posts of Note

Who blogs and why do they feel compelled to do it?

So you've been blogging for a couple weeks now.  You're starting to get the hang of this blog thing.  Below are posts of particular note that each group nominated.  As with any form of writing, it's important to look at models to examine what works and what doesn't.  Academic blogging is a strange beast, one we will continue to tame in the coming weeks, and you'll develop your own style for the very particular audience for whom you're writing.  Next to each post, I've noted what I feel the strengths of the post is.  Drumroll please....

From New Media Blog

• My Brain on Blog - Rachel's post and Eddie's response to typifies the kind of intellectual exchange that good academic blogging can inspire.  Rachel's inclusion of Sullivan's post also immediately creates readerly interest.
• Short and Sweet, We Love the Tweet - Matt's post starts with a clever title, and what reader doesn't love a clever title?  It's always a good way to begin.  This post looks at why new media is happening, jetting through various developments in communication and how they've changed over the centuries, bringing us up to the current moment.  The voice and language are bright and keep us interested.  The post makes multiple claims about this one subject and prompted significant response from the group.

From Media Jamss

• Academic Blogs -  Allie develops a series of interesting observations and claims about academic blogs, uses plenty of quotes from the blogs to support her points, employs hyperlinks readily, and includes some interesting images that reinforce her ideas.
• Can Our Blogs Really Express Who We Are - Sydney's questions about blogging that follow a summary of key points in Sullivan's article prompted some really interesting responses from member of her blog group.

 From The Go Blue Crew

• Look What I've Stumble(d) Upon  - This post by Brandon asks us to consider if a "smart" website that learns what your interests are and present you with sites to look at is new media.  It's an important question to return to given the focus of the course. 
• Academic Blogging, What's Your Definition?- Rian starts out with some strong questions and she continues to pose questions throughout her post, while intertwining them with a couple conclusions.  This prompted responses to questions from her commenters.  She includes hyperlinks to each blog, which allows for easy access to the blogs she's discussing.

Image from: http://www.innosight.com/blog/archives/2007-07.html

Big Thinkers - Sherry Turkle

Sherry Turkle is one of the key academics writing and thinking about the impact of technology on our lives and relationships. This video gives a snapshot of the questions she's asking about technology and identity. She's just published a book called Alone Together. Click here to read a review of it in The New York Times.

The Good Old Days of Journalism According to Andrew Sullivan

Watch Andrew Sullivan discuss what the good old days (pre-blogging) looked like.  His hilarious account makes it seem like there's absolutely nothing to miss and that the high tech, information super highway that we currently experience is far superior, but that for a writer, our current situation means working in isolation 24/7 rather than enjoying booze-filled lunches. 

 To see this writing that Sullivan does in isolation, visit his blog, The Daily Dish.  With a loyal following and tremendous respect as a journalist, Sullivan is a blogger to watch and follow.

Blog Face Off

from www.theop.com

What can one do with a blog?  According to this Times article, one can attack the enemy!  The tech blogs Techcrunch and Engadget have been engaged in a nasty online squabble.  Who ever said bloggers had to be polite?

You Know Nothing of My Work!- a review of a book about media scholar Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan

In the latest issue of The New York Times Book Review, there's a review of Douglas Coupland's latest book, and it just happens to be about Marshall McLuhan, author of the essay "Media Hot and Cold."  McLuhan coined the phrase "the medium is the message."  If you're going into Communications, you'll want to be familiar with McLuhan and Coupland's book might be a good place to start.  See Marshall McLuhan: Media Savant to read the review.  And if you want to dig even deeper, read McLuhan's book Understanding Media, which contains the famous essay "The Medium is the Message."

Sites to Surf from Day One

Thanks to Rachel for mentioning LookBook.nu, a fashion blog full of images of the common people.  The photos people send in of themselves are as interesting (if not more so) as their outfits. 

For those of you already familiar with Twitter, you might want to try your hand (brain) at Woofer, a macroblogging site that requires a minimum of 1,400 characters for each post.  From the woofs I read, I'm inclined to think that less really is more when it comes to Twitter-like forums.  Then there's also Squeaker, a nanoblogging site that allows only 14 characters.  So very little is not more in this instance.  It's just confusing.  Thanks to Connor for suggesting these sites.

You might also get a kick out of Google: I'm feeling unlucky, which is a satire of Google's "I feel lucky" option, a button I've never quite understood the purpose of using. 

Image from LookBook.nu

Welcome!

You have arrived at the course blog for SWC 200.02.  Here you'll find relevant postings and assignments about new media writing.  Feel free to comment at any time.

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