To Censor Google Search Results Through Personalization

May 12, 2011 - 7:53 am 5 by

Information BubblesEli Pariser gave an interesting presentation at TED named Beware online "filter bubbles". In short he goes through how when Google and Facebook use personalization to show you results, i.e. Google search results or Facebook status updates, it can be a form of censorship.

For example, Facebook shows you more information from your closer friends then others. They do not post all of your friends data on your home page because Facebook wants you to see things they think you find more interesting. Google is slowly incorporating social elements in search results and he also talks about how Google is using other means to personalize the search results (i.e. location, browser, language, web history, friends, etc.).

Watch the video - trust me - it will go by fast:

Do you think that this is a form of censorship? Take my poll:

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Google Search Volatility

More Details

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Updates

Google Search Update September 4th That Reverted September 13th?

Sep 14, 2026 - 8:05 am
Google

Google Search Tests Blue More Link In Shopping Results

Sep 14, 2026 - 7:51 am
Google

Google AI Mode More Query Expansion Interfaces

Sep 14, 2026 - 7:41 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Search: It's Normal For Image Thumbnails To Be Slow To Update

Sep 14, 2026 - 7:31 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Product Value Optimization Beta

Sep 14, 2026 - 7:21 am
Google

Google Al Contribution Pilot - Paying Publishers For Use Of Content In AI

Sep 14, 2026 - 7:13 am
Previous Story: Chrome Chocolates