Comments on Ch-Ch-Ch Changing Librarian: Should search engines perform differently for cert...

Thanks for your comment, Tiffany. I wonder if the ...

2008-05-19T11:07:00.000-05:00

Thanks for your comment, Tiffany.

I wonder if the future of search engines will have class and geographic distinctions. That makes more sense to me than "race."

For example, in Minneapolis there is a bar called Bootleggers. I am 26, and I am willing to bet that most 21-30 year olds in the Twin Cities, searching Google for "bootleggers" are trying to find directions for the bar and/or happy specials, not the history of bootlegging.

Also, will the search engines change results based on the geographic zone, or will the search engines splinter into separate sites that are catered to k-12, Baby Boomers, etc?

Knowing that Google is such a powerhouse, I can't see a site like Rushmore Drive overtaking or becoming remotely competitive with Google. The change will probably come within Google. Are search engines able to pick up a IP address from a computer?

Oops, I meant "Wouldn't wealthier demographics be ...

2008-05-16T14:47:00.000-05:00

Oops, I meant "Wouldn't wealthier demographics be more likely to want certain results."

My bad.

I'm not sure that creating search algorithms for d...

2008-05-16T14:45:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure that creating search algorithms for different demographics is the best idea. In the race example, it ignores class and geographic distinctions. (Would people in Boise really want to know about a museum in NYC? Wouldn't wealthier demographics be more like to want certain demographics?) And I think you'd have to keep narrowing demographics down until it's monumentally splintered. Moreover, it limits the possibility of random discovery. And I think this would be true of creating search engines for different generations as well.