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A modern version of having the "finger on the button": Search engines control Internet power
"The finger on the button."
That's a Cold War phrase. Imaging just who might be the person in power to "push the button" unleashing nuclear weapons is the essence of political power. Only a few actually have that power. It's an exclusive club. And new invitations into the club are frowned upon. Just look at the current concerns with North Korea and Iran.
In the alternative universe called the Internet, the exclusive club of dominant search engines wield a similar kind of power. Although, instead of nuclear secrets, the power comes from secret algorithms. These exclusive club members have the power to control what we have access to, what we can find, what boundaries we can cross. They control the amount of ease we have finding what we need on the Internet.
Just like every country has laws enforced by the government, the Internet has laws often being "policed" by our ability to search. And it is search engines that attempt to enforce andf manage the laws.
Google and China is just one example. As are the attempts to "SafeSearch" filtered content to prevent unwanted search results (e.g. porn your kids might see). There is some content universally considered "offensive"; putting up barriers to access that kind of content makes sense.
However, the vast and ever expanding amount of content creates a barrier, too...an undesirable barrier. That's where the search engines get their power. They control how much of that barrier comes down.
Finding the ideal balance for search results that are both accurate and "safe" is the Internet's version of "the finger on the button"...the search button, that is.
Google, MSN and Yahoo! are the current search superpowers...but lurking in the wings in digital maven/mogul Barry Diller, owner of many interactive enterprises, including Ask.com (formerly AskJeeves.com). Ask.com has just relaunched, complete with a new TV ad campaign showing how the "old days" of Internet searching were for prehistoric man. The mondern man uses Ask.com instead.
Diller was the keynote speaker at the recent Search Engine Strategies (SES) Conference in New York City. At one point, he joked that if he pushed a button on a computer, the room might explode. With the power he holds, some in attendance may have agreed.
Among the top things on his mind:
• No quick fixes
• Patience is required
• It may take time before Ask.com can make the expected future reveneues.
Considering Diller's huge investment with Ask, it's amazing to hear a media mogul with a "finger on the button" who doesn't have the "I want it yesterday" mentality. Can this be a new media trend? Is this a new Barry Diller?
related article here
posted by Unknown @ Tuesday, March 14, 2006,
