Googler insights into product and technology news and our culture.
 
Googlebombing 'failure'
9/16/2005 12:54:00 PM 

Posted by Marissa Mayer, Director of Consumer Web  Products

If you do a Google search on the word [_failure_ 
(http://www.google.com/search?q=failure) ] or the phrase [_miserable failure_ 
(http://www.google.com/search?q=miserable+failure) ],  the top result is currently the White House’s 
official biographical page for  President Bush. We've received some complaints 
recently from users who assume  that this reflects a political bias on our part. 
I'd like to explain how these  results come up in order to allay these concerns.

Google's search results  are generated by computer programs that rank web 
pages in large part by  examining the number and relative popularity of the sites 
that link to them. By  using a practice called _googlebombing_ 
(http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=googl
ebombing&btnG=Search) ,  however, determined pranksters can occasionally 
produce odd results. In this  case, a number of webmasters use the phrases 
[failure] and [miserable failure]  to describe and link to President Bush's website, 
thus pushing it to the top of  searches for those phrases. We don't condone 
the practice of googlebombing, or  any other action that seeks to affect the 
integrity of our search results, but  we're also reluctant to alter our results 
by hand in order to prevent such items  from showing up. Pranks like this may 
be distracting to some, but they don't  affect the overall quality of our 
search service, whose objectivity, as always,  remains the core of our mission.

 
Walk away  before I finish what you started. Face to face I will put you in 
your place. End  this game before I finish what you started. Face to face 
everything will  change.

"Stand Up" by Trapt

-----------------------

To change your mail settings or leave the C-PALSY list, go here:

http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?SUBED1=c-palsy