The Librarian vs. Google
Hugh MacLeod has a post that keeps on giving on gapingvoid about social media, search, connecting to people, and recommendations. I really like the post a lot. That becomes more evident to me as I continue to think about it and a number of ways I could talk about it in this space. I already addressed it on another weblog. I feel like I’m standing at a multiroad intersection and I’m not sure which way to go.
The piece that keeps popping to the surface is the bit about how search engines can only get you so far, but getting information from a person is often superior: “because at the end of the day, all search begins and ends with people, not algorithms.” Hugh frames that point in the light of Facebook, a very popular social networking site, versus Google for certain kinds of recommendations. Search is good, but often what people want is information from someone they know or whose opinion they trust.
Other benefits of asking people instead of doing an Internet search is the lower energy output, the efficiency, and, perhaps, the speed. Because of Hugh’s popularity—he is an A list blogger—he sometimes gets an answer from someone in minutes. His energy expended: ask a question. He can go on with his life while he waits for a response. When doing an Internet search, he might need to fish through pages and pages of results that might not really be all that relevant or come from trusted sources. Those reasons are big reasons why we rely on discussion lists, like Newslib, to allow us to tap the intellect of other people quicker and better than we could do an Internet search.
Yes, there is a time and place for an Internet search engine, but there are also many benefits to asking people. It’s nice to read that and follow the discussion about it on gapingvoid. All the more reason why librarians can win against search engines.
