Searching - Issues of Privacy

Today I was assigned the reading "The externalities of search 2.0: The emerging privacy threats when the drive for the perfect search engine meets web 2.0" by Michael Zimmer. This article's main focus falls upon the downside of Web 2.0's quest for the "Perfect search engine." This downside as stated by Zimmer, can be illustrated as Search 2.0's ability to "Accumulate personal information and build personal profiles of its users in order to satisfy their needs and wants for their future searches."

Zimmer states that "The perfect search engine" generates pin-point results to users based on the websites they have visited and keywords they have used in their past searches. These pin-point results are mainly due to what Zimmer states as, "The perfect reach" and "The perfect recall." "The perfect reach," as I have previously stated, generates results due to the user's history on the web. For example; If I were to shop on an online website for Nike sneakers, Web 2.0 will be able to accumulate this information about myself. It will know I have purchased, searched, and was even interested in Nike sneakers. This results in what Zimmer states as "The perfect recall." Web 2.0 is able to recall that I may prefer the brand Nike for my choice of sneakers. This collection of information about myself may come in handy on a future search for sneakers or the brand Nike.

Zimmer also talks about advertising towards a certain person's interests based on the information Web 2.0 is able to accumulate. I have viewed this first hand on the Web 2.0 application, Facebook. Facebook is composed of personal profiles which lists their interests. If I listed that one my interests was "Weightlifting," I would receive many ads on my Facebook about available gyms in my location, tips on strength gain, and exercise equipment for low prices. This is all due to the emergence of Web 2.0's ability to accumulate personal information and create profiles on its users. It knows what you have searched, your interests, and what you have purchased.

Although the "Perfect search engine" generates perfect search results that relate to the users needs and wants, it still accumulates a lot of the user's personal information. I have previously stated that this is the downside to the development of "The perfect search engine." I still agree with this statement because as the title even states, it is still a "Privacy threat." Zimmer makes a very good statement that "The fear that a users personal information may fall in the governments lap"(p. 6, para. 4.) may occur. Having the web know too much about us may be dangerous in areas of scam and fraud, which is actually occuring in our present day.

Zimmer, Michael. (2008). The externalities of search 2.0: The emerging privacy threats when the drive for the perfect search engine meets Web 2.0. First Monday, 13. Retrieved August 21, 2008 from http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2136/1944.