On the sociometry of search engines. a historical review of methods (original) (raw)
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The Social, Political, Economic, and Cultural Dimensions of Search Engines: An Introduction
Search engines are some of the most popular destinations on the Web-understandably so, given the vast amounts of information available to users and the need for help in sifting through online content. While the results of significant technical achievements, search engines are also embedded in social processes and institutions that influence how they function and how they are used. This special theme section of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication explores these non-technical aspects of search engines and their uses.
Web Search Studies: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Web Search Engines
2010
Perhaps the most significant tool of our internet age is the web search engine, providing a powerful interface for accessing the vast amount of information available on the world wide web and beyond. While still in its infancy compared to the knowledge tools that precede it–such as the dictionary or encyclopedia–the impact of web search engines on society and culture has already received considerable attention from a variety of academic disciplines and perspectives.
Build your complex search: social, behavioral, and micro-economic perspective on modern Web search
2011
So far, Web search has been a playground for few giants. However, while traditional search engines are superb in their ability of extracting the Web pages that most closely match with user's keywords, they fail in going beyond such simple paradigm. On the other side, an increasing number of data sets is becoming available on the Web as (semi) structured data instead of userconsumable pages.
Algorithmic Ideology. How Capitalist Society Shapes Search Engines
This article investigates how the “new spirit of capitalism” (Boltanski & Chiapello, 2007) gets inscribed in the fabric of search algorithms by way of social practices. Drawing on the tradition of the social construction of technology (SCOT) and 17 qualitative expert interviews I discuss how search engines and their “capital accumulation cycle” (Fuchs, forthcoming) are negotiated and stabilized in a network of actors and interests, website providers and users first and foremost. I further show how corporate search engines and their capitalist ideology are solidified in a socio-political context characterized by a techno-euphoric climate of innovation and a politics of privatization. This analysis provides a valuable contribution to contemporary search engine critique mainly focusing on search engines’ business models and societal implications. It shows that a shift of perspective is needed from impacts search engines have on society towards social practices and power relations involved in the construction of search engines to reconsider and renegotiate search engines and their algorithmic ideology in the future.
In search of ideology. Socio-cultural dimensions of Google and alternative search engines
ITA manu:scripts, 2013
Google has been blamed for its de facto monopolistic position on the search engine market, its exploitation of user data, its privacy violations, and, most recently, for possible collaborations with the US-American National Security Agency (NSA). However, blaming Google is not enough, as I suggest in this article. Rather than being ready-made, Google and its ‘algorithmic ideology’ are constantly negotiated in society. Drawing on my previous work I show how the ‘new spirit of capitalism’ gets inscribed in Google’s technical Gestalt by way of social practices. Furthermore, I look at alternative search engines through the lens of ideology. Focusing on search projects like DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, YaCy and Wolfram|Alpha I exemplify that there are multiple ideologies at work. There are search engines that carry democratic values, the green ideology, the belief in the commons, and those that subject themselves to the scientific paradigm. In daily practice, however, the capitalist ideology appears to be hegemonic since 1) most users employ Google rather than alternative search engines, 2) a number of small search projects enter strategic alliances with big, commercial players, and 3) choosing a true alternative would require not only awareness and a certain amount of technical know-how, but also effort and patience on the part of users, as I finally discuss.
The egalitarian effect of search engines Santo Fortunato 1,2
2005
Search engines have become key media for our scientific, economic, and social activities by enabling people to access information on the Web in spite of its size and complexity. On the down side, search engines bias the traffic of users according to their page-ranking strategies, and some have argued that they create a vicious cycle that amplifies the dominance of established and already popular sites. We show that, contrary to these prior claims and our own intuition, the use of search engines actually has an egalitarian effect. We reconcile theoretical arguments with empirical evidence showing that the combination of retrieval by search engines and search behavior by users mitigates the attraction of popular pages, directing more traffic toward less popular sites, even in comparison to what would be expected from users randomly surfing the Web.
In Search We Trust: Exploring how Search Engines are Shaping Society
Nowadays, people live in a society that has fuelled the growth of information delivered across many communication channels. Technology has enabled the 'knowledification' of our society (providing information through digital means). Undoubtedly, the Internet is the world's largest communication network which has ported data across various conduits to provide information and in many ways, continues to shape us as a society. Information if available '24/7' often contributing towards technological connectivity and technological anxiety. Some of the key factors which have contributed to this are the sense of information availability and searchability. Moreover, digital search has assumed a position of central importance in the way that people access and use online information and services in everyday life. In this article, the author examines the dominance of search, the power it presents to those who control it, its role in shaping access to information, and its capacity to function as a reflection of our society. By shaping both what people know and how people know it, search engines and their organisations are able to wield an immense amount of social power. In doing so, the author revisits the concept of search and unmasks its ability to act as a social control or gatekeepers of information which shapes society. The contribution of this paper is summarised in the Search Engine Success Model which examines how society is shaped through search engine organisations who are gatekeepers of information.
The egalitarian effect of search engines
Corr, 2005
Search engines have become key media for our scientific, economic, and social activities by enabling people to access information on the Web in spite of its size and complexity. On the down side, search engines bias the traffic of users according to their page-ranking strategies, and some have argued that they create a vicious cycle that amplifies the dominance of established and already popular sites. We show that, contrary to these prior claims and our own intuition, the use of search engines actually has an egalitarian effect. We reconcile theoretical arguments with empirical evidence showing that the combination of retrieval by search engines and search behavior by users mitigates the attraction of popular pages, directing more traffic toward less popular sites, even in comparison to what would be expected from users randomly surfing the Web.
A Mathematical and Sociological Analysis of Google Search Algorithm
The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggesstions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports,
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2008
Will the World Wide Web and search engines foster access to more diverse sources of information, or have a centralizing influence through a 'winner-take-all' process? To address this question, we examined how search engines are used to access information about six global issues (climate change, poverty, HIV/AIDS, terrorism, trade reform, and Internet and society). The study used a combination of webmetric analyses and interviews with experts. From interviews we were able to explore how experts on these topics use search engines within their specialist fields. Using webmetric analysis, we were able to compare the results from a number of search engines and show how the top ranked sites are clustered as well as the distribution of their connectivity. Results suggest that the Web tends to reduce the significance of offline hierarchies in accessing information -thereby ''democratizing'' access to worldwide resources. It also seems, however, that centers of expertise progressively refine their specializations, gaining a 'winner-take-all' status within a narrower area. Some limitations of the winner-take-all thesis for access to research are discussed. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13 (2008) 769-793 ª 2008 International Communication Association 769 computer-mediated COMMUNICATION Journal of