The Googlization of Everything

Continuing our conversations about Google's control over our search results and Internet privacy, I'm sharing with you an interview from CBC's Spark: Siva Vaidhyanthan on the Googlization of Everything. Siva Vaidhyanthan is a professor of Media Studies and Law at the University of Virginia and the author of the book The Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry). In the interview Vaidhyanthan talks about why and how we embrace Google and how we might use Google wiser. We've talked about Google a fair bit in class, but something I feel like we haven't got too into is our attitude towards it. Vaidhyanthan describes a kind of mysticism that we've created around Google, to the point where we can forget that it is, in fact, a private company. And amidst a sense of awe we surrender our critical capacities. I hear that!

One of the things I liked about Vaidhyanthan's message is that he thinks Google's filtering is not inherently bad. It's actually good for shopping, good for efficient consumption. But he is frank about the fact that what it is bad for learning.

What he suggests we do is to approach Google's filtering our results with the same sense of propriety and maturity we do our diet. The media diet analogy returns! So again, it's about incorporating whole foods into our diet, and knowing what parts of our diet is junk food. In the context of searching for information, what does that look like? Being aware that Google is a company, and that they do filter our results. When we are not satisfied with our results, try different search engines. Disable the preferences on Google temporarily. And for our more serious questions, questions that might be complicated or require reputable sources: approach an information professional, ask a librarian!

Vaidhyanthan also raises concerns about Google's understanding of the word privacy, which fits nicely with Kasey and Gordon's presentation today. I'd never thought about there being a difference in the way I think about privacy and the way Google does, but it does not surprise me that there is one. I mean, Facebook obviously does not understand privacy in the way I do, so why not Google? (There is that mysticism cropping up.)Google's whole thing is that you give up a bit of privacy for an improved search experience. But Vaidhyanthan says that Google shouldn't actively compromise our privacy in the assumption that we would prefer an improved search experience... and then if we notice we can do something about it - they should be pitching to us what the improved experience could be, and then letting us decide for ourselves. I agree.

My favorite line from the interview? "I wish we would be political about information and information technology, but instead we have resigned ourselves." Lets not resign ourselves!