jonathanrosenberg

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The Height of Google's Hubris
Millions of reasons why Google's glad to have Ben Ling back
The 10 most terrible tyrants of tech
Google SVP Jonathan Rosenberg
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skantea
02/20/09

In reply to The Height of Google's Hubris
I need a job.

[gokante.com]
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Owen Thomas
02/21/09

@skantea: What you don't need is a commenting account. Goodbye!
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AmberVetus
02/20/09

In reply to The Height of Google's Hubris
I think what this guy is also saying is that while Google is the 'greatest search engine ever,' a lot of internet users have no clue how to use a search engine. There are a lot of people online (generally older users) who use email and google search a lot, but don't have a great understanding of how to take advantage of it (using quotes, excluding terms with a -, searching for results within one site, etc.) I think Rosenberg wants to cater the web to these people, the ones who forward you that email with the guy doing the sidewalk chalk drawings that look 'so cool.' These people are probably a great audience for advertisers to reach, but their technological barrier keeps them away from it. Is Google going to start identifying 'premium content' and grade sites like Wikipedia grades articles? I enjoy the open nature of the web, I've got loads of bookmarks and information of esoteric stuff I've gotten just searching around. If Google were to start dividing the web up and pushing what they want to the front, it will create a real herd-behavior among web users (even moreso than there already is--please stop forwarding me those chalk drawing pictures!)
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skahammer
02/20/09

@AmberVetus: Well, then send me the pictures back. I can always find a use for them.

--Your Aunt Patty
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skahammer
02/20/09

In reply to The Height of Google's Hubris
I don't know...I think the guy's right. I don't see the whoppers and howlers you promise with your commentary, Owen.

1) I waste a lot of time on the web trying to find things are worth my time. Making my searches more efficient would improve my quality of life significantly.

2) I do think technology would be an indispensable part of that effort.

3) The guy's thesis is that We're Google and We Can Reach This High Goal That Will Create Value For A Lot of People. If I worked at Google and didn't have that ambition, I would expect to get canned eventually.

What am I missing?
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twig
02/20/09

In reply to The Height of Google's Hubris
Owen, this isn't working.
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Owen Thomas
02/20/09

@twig: One might say the same about your comment! But rather than move it to the back row of the arena, I'll ask you to explicate.
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iplaudius
02/20/09

In reply to The Height of Google's Hubris
The web has not deprecated the value of expertise, but rather has widened the circle of "traditionally determined ‘experts.’" Projects such as Wikipedia have shown that the principles of peer review, the mechanism of citation, the quality of sources and expert knowledge—these things remain as important as ever. Wikipedia is successful because the editors and prolific contributors, who in most cases would have been outside the traditional circle of experts, largely maintain the traditional standards of a scientific community valuing expert knowledge and peer review. The "traditional filters" have been expanded to include more people.

Depending on your area of research, after a certain point, you hit a dead end with online sources, even with paid subscriptions. My understanding is that Google, through projects like Google Books, is trying to break down that wall and allow people to more easily connect to sometimes hard-to-find sources like articles in peer review journals and books from university presses.
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