What Is The Internet Hiding?

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I agree with Marceror. I would think that they(Google, etc..) are assuming people are consistent themselves, which is a bad assumpttion. We are not robots or mindless automatons... Today I may search 50 times for a PC game lists, showing a trend in what I search for, but tomorrow when I search for a Console game list, I sure as hell don't want to weed through PC games list hit after hit before finding what I actually searched for in the first place. It defeats the whole search engine function in my opinion....

 

Google? Yes. The others, I tried Chrome last year but did not like it's format as much. So I don't have enough info to comapare Chrome. But I use Google mostly at work, which I am limited to in what I can use. As Yahoo or Chrome are denied. Our firm has tough security, though I am not sure on the reasons of why some sites are blocked and others are not. I also can't download anyhting w/out security approval. I am actually surprised I can get into this site as the Pocket Plane, G3 and other game forum sites are blocked. My very limited PC time at home is for gaming, not for search engines.....

 

I thought Chrome was Google's browser?

 

Is there not Google and Google Chrome? Looking at my work pc, "Chrome" is not mentioned anywhere on my screen when bringing up Google..

 

Google is the search engine (and company.)
Google Chrome is the browser.

The whole wading through PC game links because you looked up PC games previously is also redundant as it's a small scrap in a massive pool of data. If EVERYONE using a particular browser suddenly obsessively searched for computer games for the PC that would be another matter.

I must admit I find it amusing that of all the data that can be used to pick out and identify consumer characteristics that the browser one is the one found most offensive on here. Why should it be different from any other characteristic? If you make a concsious decision about what product you use then information on the deciding factors that resolved for a person to use a particular thing can be used for other information. A selection of browsing characteristics can determine searching preferences from a given selection. Generally the pages will have the same results per page but a different order.

 

I wouldn't say that I find it "offensive" but certainly bizarre. There may be great reasons for it, but as I don't know what they are, I classify it as bizarre. If I took the time to really research all of the characteristics being studied, chances are that I'd find some that bother me plenty more.

I'm not questioning that Google is doing a lot right. They absolutely DOMINATE at what they do. I can't get through a day hardly without their help anymore. But like most revolutions, at some point you have to take a breath and question things. I think as a people we are going to start asking if we are really okay with the decisions that machines are making for us. Out of nearly infinite possibilities, I, computer brain at Google, believe that these are the ones that best suit you.

Who cared when Google was novelty that only computer geeks used regularly. Now that it's driving how people see the world, at least to some extent, it's time to really question how it functions.

I'm betting that as these questions begin to come to the forefront, there will be changes made to make a product like Google better.

Browser choice is barely the tip of the iceberg. It's just a silly example that happened to cause my brow to rise. As a people, we want to know that the information decisions that are being made on our behalf are ones that we agree with.

And there it is.

 

I also thought Google was a website, and Google Chrome was a browser... supported by Google of course.

 

I get it. Chrome is the browser. What I didn't like about it was it's format, so I get rid of it when I get my new PC and itried tomake me use Chrome. Sorry, I am noob sometimes when dealing with these differences. I am not completely schooled in PC terminology apparently.

 

Off-Topic, Google has a great background today... check it out.

 

That's a good point Tal. The question becomes: Is it better to get what you want in the most efficient way possible 90% of the time, at the cost of not finding what you want the other 10%? Or would it just be better to have to wade through a few more web pages all the time?

 

That sounds very similar to what I said. I used "most efficient" instead of "wading through pages infrequently" but I think the crux of our statements are essentially the same.

 

Oh my bad. I meant to say not finding what you want quickly the other 10% of the time. I assure you my intent was the same as yours. I didn't mean that you literally would not be able to find it at all - it just may not be one of the top search results.

 

Similarity -- something that got prohibited:

A professor told me once that many years ago, there were customized advertisements but they became prohibited by the law quickly, all over the world. For example, there was a cabin where you went in, a machine made photos about your body (e.g. collected your sizes etc.), and then -- from that time on -- you were sent customized advertisements e.g. about clothes of exactly your size and features. Moreover, for example, it was recognized that clothes with vertical stripes/patterns are more suitable for "fat" people (because it makes them look less fat), while horizontal patterns are more suitable for too thin people. So this is an example of specialized, customized advertisements -- these are nowadays prohibited in most parts of the world. I'm not an expert in this topic, so I just tried to remember and tell what the professor said.


By the way, the internet hides much more than what google (and other search engines) indexes or can index. Search for the term "deep web", for example.

I'm not answering this question, just a note: you can find more matches of what you want if you use additional search options. I know this is evident, but most people who search do not use these options (they just add keywords separated by spaces or +). Of course, this makes search more complex and time consuming, especially for non-experts. The benefit is that you get better and more relevant results.

 

For me, the notion that there is someone, or something, looking over my shoulder whenever I'm cruising on the internet is kinda creepy. At least in my opnion.

 

I don't get how that is even remotely the same thing....unless you mean like the stickers that Walmart wanted to place on clothing they sold, so they could track your movements after you left the store.

http://www.newser.com/story/96279/wal-mart-will-track-your-undies.html