Issue 9 / February 2010 Seek and Ye Shall Find
The next dimension of personalisation is
social context. So putting tools in place
to make “friend-augmented” search easy
could make search more efficient
The most promising, but also the most But is this going to happen? The strength Recent experience in the US suggests
controversial, area comes in increasing of the market forces active in search is
What does Google know
that highly targeted advertising may be
the use of personal information by search enormous. We have the insatiable
about you?
a mixed blessing – especially in financial References
engines. Search companies claim their appetite for information, new mass-market services. In 2005, Experian, and then rivals
current third generation search engines are consumer devices opening up new
Every time you use Google’s search
Equifax and TransUnion, used detailed
providing increasingly better search results technical possibilities for search, the demographic databases to generate
i “Search Engine Market Share” ix The list keeps on growing -
engine, or visit a site with the ubiquitous
by using personal information, and Google financial muscle of a global advertising prospect lists for sale to other banks and
accessed at 12:36 UTC November 17th, 2009 http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/options/
“Ads by Google”, Google will record
in particular has a huge database of industry desperate to deliver a message brokers, whose loan officers would then
http://marketshare.hitslink.com/
x Adam L. Penenberg “Is Google Evil?”
what you search for and when, which
search-engine-market-share.aspx?qprid=4
information at its disposal to consumers, an incumbent dominant contact the prospects and compete for
Mother Jones Tue October 10, 2006
links you click on, and which ads you ii Robin Nobles http://www.motherjones.com/politics/
(see “What does Google know supplier (Google), with a number of
access. If you are a Gmail user, Google
a loan. People targeted were amazed at
“The Future Of Search Engine Optimizing” 2006/10/google-evil
about you?”). contenders keen to grow their share
xiii

reads and saves copies of every email
how much the callers knew about them, http://www.searchengineworkshops.com/
xi John Lanchester “Big Google is watching you”
(Yahoo, Microsoft Bing, Baidu, Ask, AOL)
you send and receive. If you use any
and found it hard to refuse offers that
articles/ se-optimization-future.html
But it does not stop with personal
The Sunday Times, January 29, 2006
plus a huge number of startups keen to
of its other products - Google Maps,
seemed a perfect match for their pressing iii Marissa Mayer “The future of search” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/
knowledge - the next dimension of
exploit niche opportunities
xiv
. financial problems
xv
. When the bubble burst,
Google Blogs September 10, 2008 article721870.ece
personalisation is social context. Who are
Blogger, Google Book Search, Google
it became obvious to all that the offers
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/
xii “Can remote software be private?”
you friends with, and how do you relate to It is inevitable that search will continue to
Earth, Google Scholar, Google future-of-search.html
were too good to be true – both for the
OUT-LAW Radio, March 27, 2008
them? Search engineers believe there is a evolve rapidly, and searchers will see the
Checkout, Talk, Images, YouTube, iv Scanlife website accessed at 13:29 http://www.out-law.com/default.
News, etc
ix
. - it will keep track of which
customers and, ultimately, for the global
lot of expertise, knowledge, and context in results on an increasing variety of devices.
UTC November 17, 2009 aspx?page=8986
directions you seek, which products you
financial services industry.
users’ social networks, so putting tools in As Google has demonstrated, every
http://www.scanlife.com/atlantis/
xiii Nigel Kendall “Microsoft brings Google search
commercial.html
place to make “friend-augmented” search improvement in answering a search query
shop for, what you paid, which phrases
There is also a danger in companies
fight to UK” Times Online November 12, 2009
easy could make search more efficient can also be used to improve the targeting
you research in a book, which satellite
v Justin Montgomery “Scan item barcode http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/
simply allowing search companies to target
in-store, get reviews…” posted in Company tech_and_web/article6914494.ece
and more relevant. People have already of advertising. Search engines will demand
photos and news stories you view,
customers for them - data mining by proxy.
News, Mobile Barcode Recognition
xiv Charles Knight “100 search engines in
displayed their willingness to share personal premium prices for what they will claim
what you talk about ...
x
.
It seems inevitable that at some stage there August 26, 2007
100 minutes” conference presentation on
information on social networking sites such is increasingly finely-targeted delivery. will be a backlash against the volume of
http://movamedia.wordpress.com/2007/08/26/
Since 2004, the language in Google’s
November 18, 2009
as Facebook and LinkedIn - search engines Advertisers will need to monitor personal data being captured by search
scan-item-barcode-in-store-get-reviews/
http://www.altsearchengines.com/2009/11/14/
privacy policy has allowed the company
are keen to access this data too
vii
. performance more closely than ever to engines, and the way it is used by them and
vi 50 Matches website accessed at 13:31 come-and-see-100-search-engines-in-100-
to pool all this information they collect UTC on November 17 2009 minutes/
ensure their expenditure is effective.
from all of their various services.
their advertisers, and possibly by (foreign)
Moving into the realms of science fiction,
http://www.50matches.com/about.php
government agencies. This backlash could
xv Brad Stone “Banks Mine Data and Woo
one of Google’s founders believes there is
Moreover, they may keep it indefinitely, vii See the “Link your Facebook account with Troubled Borrowers” New York Times
and give it to whoever they wish.
affect advertisers as much as search
an end goal worth achieving: “On the more
Cuil to enhance web results with social October 21, 2008
This data warehouse is a data miner’s
companies. recommendations” button on the cuil.com http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22business/
exciting front, you can imagine your brain
search engine 22target.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
being augmented by Google. For example
dream - but a privacy campaigner’s
A proverb dating back at least to Chaucer
viii Andrew Orlowski “Google founder
you think about something and your cell
nightmare
xi
, particularly when
advises that “those who sup with the devil
dreams of Google implant in your brain”
phone could whisper the answer into your
governments put laws in place to give
should use a long spoon”. Companies need The Register 3rd March 2004 09:12 GMT
ear”
viii
. It doesn’t take much imagination to
their agencies on-demand access
to understand exactly what information is
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/03/03/
think of the competition that would exist
(e.g. the US Patriot Act
xii
).
being used to target their adverts, where it
google_founder_dreams_of_google/
to control that voice whispering in the ear, comes from, and who gave permission to
or the revenue stream which could be use it. They need to be able to explain this
generated by that advertising channel. to the public at large - “we just trusted
Google” will not be an acceptable defence.
This is an area where there are potentially
The editorial team would like to extend a special thanks
great improvements in the targeting of
advertising, but also where reputations
to John for his contributions and support to Perspectives.
could be destroyed overnight: “caveat
We wish him all the best in his retirement.
quaesitor” indeed.
18 / Perspectives on the future Perspectives on the future / 19
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