please re-read what i wrote...
i did not say that your opinion about npac was "biased"...
(aren't all opinions biased by definition? truly, is there such an animal as an unbiased opinion? my opinion<g>? don't think so)
i said:
considering the nearly ubiquitous nature of google, perhaps it doesn't make your blood run cold, as you say "different things concern different people" (which could explain why you did not even notice, meaning the google "lead" supports your particular bias)
so change the word "bias" to supports your personal preference or inclination, the point of my post to you wasn't about your opinion (or mine) on pnac, but rather the questions raised about the politicization of search results
so are you really saying to me that 'neocon' in the common vernacular isn't pejorative? that's why you didn't notice?
google "neocon william krystal" (without quotations) and look at the results
google.com
what about the term "militarized"....when you hear that term do you think military readiness, or do you, like most think oppressive militaristic regimes.....i think the latter (my opinion of course)
whether or not you accept those terms as pejorative or not (you're entitled to your opinion), the larger issue is a corporation using their product as a mechanism to advance their own political agenda
google is in the business of selling information
when i go to moveon.org or pnac or peta or NYTonline, i EXPECT an agenda and read with a healthy dose of skepticism and critical analysis
when i do a google search i don't EXPECT an agenda, but i do indeed think i am seeing one
ON the other hand, I have no doubt that google may let its personal opinions sneak in- which is why going to the source is vital.
absolutely, but again you are missing the point
if the people running google are willing to let personal opinions 'sneak in' (meaning deliberately inserted) at best, it raises questions in my mind about the usefulness of their product, (politics aside, are they willing to insert opinion or otherwise manipulate the results on non political queries as well? )
at worst, they are trying mold public opinion indirectly, deceptively
i find that unacceptable
just not quite sure what i want to do about it, as i use google frequently
thanks to my own analytical skills i can with relative confidence do searches and sift through in such a way (despite google's efforts to "lead") that will provide ultimately "results" that are useful
as i said in my previous post, the nearly ubiqitous nature of google as a search engine makes their editorializing within search results even more troubling |
