more on "Why I won't be a Google IPO Investor"

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Sat, 01 May 2004 12:30:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: Eszter Hargittai <eszter () Princeton EDU>
Subject: more on "Why I won't be a Google IPO Investor"
To: dave () farber net


Hi,

There has been a lot of analysis regarding the specifics of the IPO.  In
an interview on CNNfn this week, I talked about some other aspects of the
hype.  A copy of the clip is here:

http://www.eszter.com/cnnfn.html

Also, in this article, I discuss why most estimates about the wide
use of Google are flawed:

http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_3/hargittai/index.html

Below, I attach an article I had on BBC News Online a few weeks ago that
also sums up some similar points.

Eszter

---
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3601371.stm

Life beyond Google

Anecdotal evidence suggests that thanks to Google, the web offers
information on everything to everyone. But, we have yet to see empirical
evidence to back up such claims, argues Dr Eszter Hargittai.

The problem with assuming that anyone can find anything on the web using
Google is twofold.

First, it reflects the assumption that providing people with an internet
connection will give them what they need to make the most of the medium.

Second, it puts too much emphasis on the role of one proprietary service
in people's information-seeking behaviour.

Findings from a study I conducted on the average person's ability to find
information on the web suggest that there is great variability in whether
people can locate different types of content and their efficiency in doing
so.

These results imply that simply offering an internet connection to those
without access will not alleviate differences.

Rather, providing training is a necessary component of making the medium a
useful tool for everyone.

Status symbol

The problem with the overwhelming focus on Google is that we end up
putting too much faith in one proprietary service without knowing where
the profit-seeking goals of the company may lead its quality down the
road.

Referring to Google has become the high-culture status symbol of web use.

When presented with an information-seeking task, the supposed savvy
searcher quickly suggests the use of Google.

However, just like simply referring to the latest opera at the Met should
not be equated with expertise in the genre, a throw-away comment about
Google should not make us think people know how to find information
online.

Knowing about Google does not equal knowing how to use Google, or any
other search engine for that matter, effectively.

Today's search engines are not evolved enough to guess what we mean when
we type in a single-word search query while looking for answers to complex
questions.

Yet research has shown that the majority of users employ such limited
strategies when using search engines.

Moreover, although it may be hard to believe, many people do not know
about Google and even some of those who do never use it.

Seek and find

The good news for the Googleless is that you do not need to use any one
particular search engine to make the most of the Web.

User studies suggest that the particular strategies people employ to look
for content is a more important predictor of their ability to find
material than what specific search engine they use.

As long as users know to include more than one word in their query or add
quotation marks around some of the terms in certain cases, they will be
likely to find a match regardless of the search engine.

I am not anti-Google and in fact use its services daily, but it is
important to remember that it is a privately-held company with no
obligation to serving the public interest.

We should tread with caution when thinking of it as the be all and end all
of access to information online.

Google is not the only way to find information online and not everyone
uses Google.

But, most importantly, many people neither use Google nor know how to find
information on the web, making the internet in general a source of only
limited information for many.

Eszter Hargittai is an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University in
the US, who has studied the inequalities in people's ability to
effectively use the web.

---
http://www.eszter.com

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