How (possible) Political Censorship Hides our Quirkiness
October 10, 2018 at 10:14 am
(This post was last modified: October 10, 2018 at 10:23 am by Neo-Scholastic.)
Considering the source some skepticism is warranted; however, given recent public statements by Google executives the content is at least plausible:
In summary, an internal Google memo suggests that some in the company consider it desirable to censor and/or steer search results for the good of the body politic. Here is a line from the article that makes me cringe:
"Google-owned YouTube now promotes so-called “authoritative sources” in its algorithm."
Breitbart Article
Of course, the initial reaction is to see this through a political lens. And there is much to be said about that. But frankly I'm rather tired of politics lately. My main question is this.
Have recent obsessions with politics warped search engine results making the internet less interesting for other things?
More and more I have started to use Duck Duck Go for searches. Mostly, because Google hasn't been taking me into the deeper parts of the web to draw out information on obscure topics that interest me. IMHO the internet used to be a tool for finding the quirky things and highly specific information. Lately, I seem to be getting more 'authorized' mainstream sites instead of the unconventional sources I find more interesting and often more informative about niche topics like historic oil painting mediums or Swedenborg studies.
I'm more interested in hearing about the AF members exploring the unique interests that make them more human and more interesting. Perhaps some could share websites that don't show-up on the first page of search results but have been a go-to source for years. Here are some of mine:
Oil Painting Mediums: Tad Spurgeon
Swedenborg Studies: Correspondences
Matta Fan Site: MATTA
In summary, an internal Google memo suggests that some in the company consider it desirable to censor and/or steer search results for the good of the body politic. Here is a line from the article that makes me cringe:
"Google-owned YouTube now promotes so-called “authoritative sources” in its algorithm."
Breitbart Article
Of course, the initial reaction is to see this through a political lens. And there is much to be said about that. But frankly I'm rather tired of politics lately. My main question is this.
Have recent obsessions with politics warped search engine results making the internet less interesting for other things?
More and more I have started to use Duck Duck Go for searches. Mostly, because Google hasn't been taking me into the deeper parts of the web to draw out information on obscure topics that interest me. IMHO the internet used to be a tool for finding the quirky things and highly specific information. Lately, I seem to be getting more 'authorized' mainstream sites instead of the unconventional sources I find more interesting and often more informative about niche topics like historic oil painting mediums or Swedenborg studies.
I'm more interested in hearing about the AF members exploring the unique interests that make them more human and more interesting. Perhaps some could share websites that don't show-up on the first page of search results but have been a go-to source for years. Here are some of mine:
Oil Painting Mediums: Tad Spurgeon
Swedenborg Studies: Correspondences
Matta Fan Site: MATTA
<insert profound quote here>
