So is the internet really a Cesspool?
So, Google CEO Eric Schmidt has just called the internet a ‘cesspool‘ - where ‘false information thrives.’ Sure, there is a lot of junk out there, but isn’t it Google’s job to work out how to filter the spamalotters from the quality content? Sorry, I should have just said spam, spam and more bloody spam! Cesspool, cess, pool, Google, whatever - any sensible reader knows the difference between internet junk and quality content, just as a diner at the Savoy Grill wouldn’t expect to be fed with luncheon meat.
So does Google really no longer trust itself to fulfil its role as the sewage works of the internet? If not, then it must be time for someone else to come along and do a better job.
Correct information v Useful Information
Whatever Google says or does, we shouldn’t forget the original founding purpose of its search engine - to categorise the world’s information — Google was a popular mis-spelling of the word “googol”, which means 1 followed by 100 zeros. Whenever I think of this, I think of General Gogol from the Bond movies - but I guess he might well have had to remember 100 digit long secret codes!
There’s no doubt that the information is out there on Google - even if some of the highest ranking sites are not exactly of the quality Google likes to say they should be. Sometimes though, I’m not sure if it really matters whether the information is there or not - how much of it do we really need. The internet may or may not be a cesspool, but the amount of information it contains is certainly infinite. So if Google could just give the right answer without all the other junk, then they really would be able to clean up.
PS - I thought I’d test that out by asking the old politicians’ question of “What is 2 + 2″? Amazingly, Google does just come back with the result of 2 + 2 = 4 - and no other clutter. Then I tried finding a reference to David Blunkett thinking 7 x 8 = 54. No wonder I couldn’t find it - that was Stephen Byers!
Infinet Distractions
Anyway, as I was saying, there’s just too much information out there on the internet - some of it useful, some of it less so. Back to work!