It
was nice to revisit this piece. I think that the subject matter of Eli Parson’s
TED talk is even more pertinent today then it was when he gave it in 2011.
Advances with search engine personalization are becoming more extreme as google
acquires more pieces of the internet puzzle. I know that when I apply for a job
or am at any professional/academic milestone I have a few different friends
“google” me because I am fully aware that my own search results are skewed.
It’s always interesting what pops up and how this is different for each
“googler.”
As
human beings I think that we have to make technology work for us and not the
other way around. Resting on technology can be dangerous, and as Parson points
out, it can place people in bubbles. Isolated and not connected. I think that
understanding the behavior and habits of the online machine is key for anyone
navigating the Internet. I am not going to take searches or ads as truths, but
instead look at this online playground as a something that reflects the choices
or clicks I have made. Like everything created by humans—it is flawed. Using
caution with the Internet is as relevant as being a critical consumer of
research. The lesson? I would say, always question.
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