Computer and Library Learning (Archived)

There are no "regular results" on Google anymore. from DuckDuckGo on Vimeo.

Some critics of the Google search experience have
expressed concern over the personalization of searching with Google’s search
engine. In September 2012, DuckDuckGo conducted
an experiment with 131 volunteers in the United States and internationally.
These users did not sign into Google but searched for 3 pre-selected themes or
keywords: “abortion”, “gun control”, and “Obama”. A large variation in the
search engine results lists occurred amongst the 131 volunteers. Those
associated with the DuckDuckGo search
engine recently launched a video based on the search results of the 131
volunteers that argued that Google listed personalized results on the basis of
the individual searcher rather than on the basis of the keywords inputted
themselves. Consequently, this
personalization of search results places a web searcher into a “bubble” or “filter
bubble” (as coined by Eli
Pariser, the author of The
Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You – available from
Toronto Public Library collections in book,
eBook,
and talking
book [restricted to print disabled patrons] formats). If one accepts the
premise of the “filter bubble”, then one
does not get access to information with differing viewpoints on topics and the
opportunity of changing one’s perspective. In 2010, DuckDuckGo launched DontTrack.us that assured DuckDuckGo users that
no personal information was stored on DuckDuckGo nor were search results sent
to other web sites as was said to be the case with Google.

Thus, the argument has been made that “impersonal”
or “regular” results no longer exist on Google Search. But is this the case? Not
necessarily, but a little work is required to achieve this aim. Google has acknowledged
openly that personal
results may still show up in relation to the search’s content and context even
if one turns off personal results and logs out of one’s Google account. Google
account holders can visit Google’s “Turn
off search history personalization” page. For signed in searches, users can
turn off personal results or turn off their web search history or selectively
remove items from their web search history. For signed out searches, users can
delete their web browser’s cookies and remove the search cookie, or go to google.com/history/optout
and select “Disable customizations based on search activity.” Deleting browser
cookies will require users to delete signed-out search history personalization
again as history-based customizations are reactivated.

Wayne
Williams, writing on betanews.com, announced
his decision to
switch from Google to DuckDuckGo as his main search engine of choice.
However, Mr. Williams acknowledged that his search results have not always been
as “comprehensive” as he would like so he still uses Google, Bing or other
search engines as he sees fit. In fact, DuckDuckGo allows users to initiate
searches with other sources if they wish to.

Microsoft’s Bing search engine has also experimented
with personalization through its “social search” but Bing
committed to not “compromising the core search experience”. Bing also
allowed Facebook
users to use Facebook Connect and Facebook Instant Personalization to
provide a search experience attuned to those on Facebook. For the first 5
instances that one uses Bing with social results appearing, a notification will
show at the screen’s top; one has the option of clicking on “Disable” to
prevent the use of one’s Facebook information from personalizing the search
experience.

(See also – blog post: The
Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You)

(See also – blog post: Google
and “Me on the Web”)