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December 12, 2004google suggest and traces"What's the value of Google Suggest?" This is a question that keeps coming up. The title certainly implies that the service is to help suggest queries based on other people's queries. Frankly, this is not why i find the service compelling. When we walk around physical space, we leave traces of our activities, marks on the floor that let others know people have been here. As much as we may despise graffiti, we all get a little bit of pleasure out of reading the markings in the stalls. We may not follow footprints in the snow and sand, but we love seeing the path they take. There are no visible markings in digi-space, even though we know people have been there before. What i see as the most valuable aspect of Google Suggest is the tracings - the reminder that thousands of other people are searching Google, looking for things of interest to them. There is an appeal to our voyeuristic tendencies, a visibility to our actions that we feel are normally so isolated. There's a sociable quality to our searches, a feeling of participation in society. This is why Google Suggest is fascinating to me. Please note: i know nothing of Google's purpose wrt this application. This is all my own personal opinion on the matter. Category: digitalness
Posted by zephoria at December 12, 2004 1:51 PM
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Comments (9)
waaaah ;-)! it's so funny! I didn't know this version of google! it's like when u sit down in a coffee shop and u look at the behaviour of the other persons! actually I don't have much in common with them but I like to observe people.
>>>ciao
Posted by nourdine | December 12, 2004 4:18 PM
Posted on December 12, 2004 16:18
this is a very philosophical bent; i saw it much more as a way of making the world easy for people that can't spell. like me.
Posted by quinn | December 12, 2004 7:56 PM
Posted on December 12, 2004 19:56
Google Suggest reminds me a bit of those scrolling displays in the Google reception areas that show a constantly updating list of recent searches on Google.
It's kind-of fascinating to imagine the people searching on various terms...
Posted by Jay Fienberg | December 13, 2004 3:47 PM
Posted on December 13, 2004 15:47
I think this is fascinating, myself. I see the Google queries in my blog referrer logs and I know there's a story behind every query. It's like a fragmented glimpse into the collective consciousness -- a chance to spy on the world, and see what they're wondering about. It's such a neat power -- like reading the mind of strangers.
I didn't even know there was a Google Suggest, but I'm going to look at it.
Posted by Scheherazade | December 14, 2004 1:55 PM
Posted on December 14, 2004 13:55
one of my favorite OPGP ("other people's googleprints") so far is "instant gratification takes too long." (the period is theirs)
one things for sure, there are lots of people googletalking, either out of boredom ("i " gives "i am bored" "i want more money" "i want more than just okay") or desperation ("help me " gives "help me make it through the night", "help me please", "help me please god." similarly for "god why " and "god please ").
Posted by aaronb | December 15, 2004 1:46 AM
Posted on December 15, 2004 01:46
There are other tools that feed our voyeuristic desire to know what others are searching for, such as Wordtracker.com, or even the Google Adwords Keyword Suggestor. But Google puts it in your face. I love your footprints in the snow analogy :)
Posted by Google Junkie | December 17, 2004 8:51 AM
Posted on December 17, 2004 08:51
My idea was that Google could be used by certin types of dyslexics to provide a PAL [predictive adaptive lexicon] type effect : try through/though/thorough.
The dyslexic can't really read either of these words very easily, but the context provides the clue as to which TH word it is quicker than phonetics.
Posted by andy | December 18, 2004 5:58 AM
Posted on December 18, 2004 05:58
typo - certain
Posted by andy | December 18, 2004 5:59 AM
Posted on December 18, 2004 05:59
hi there!
Posted by guest | January 5, 2005 2:02 PM
Posted on January 5, 2005 14:02