In December 2009, Google began customizing its search results for each user. Facebook is also filtering user’s newsfeed to reduce the noise and personalise the user experience.
In an insightfull TED talk, Eli Pariser who authored a book called “The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You” gives a few basic examples of how search result pages differ massively based on this personalisation.
It is extremely important to be aware of this filtering when you work on search engine optimisation and social media optimisation (Eli was told, “by a Google Engineer”, that the search giant uses 57 individual signals to personalise the search results, despite the user not being logged in).
But beyond that, this raises an important issue since Facebook and Google are customising feeds and search results with the user having no control (or knowledge, in most case).
As the author says, In a personalized world, we will increasingly be typed and fed only news that is pleasant, familiar, and confirms our beliefs-and because these filters are invisible, we won’t know what is being hidden from us. Our past interests will determine what we are exposed to in the future, leaving less room for the unexpected encounters that spark creativity, innovation, and the democratic exchange of ideas.
Be(a)ware.