Filter Bubbles Options

[pandy]

I don't know who Eli Pariser is, but I stumbled on this talk at TED. He expresses so well what I've felt more and more frustration over for quite some time now, namely the filtering Google and others treat us. Have a look - it's short.

http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_bewar...er_bubbles.html

[Christian J]

Here's an interview with the same guy: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturel...ant-button.html

I wonder what kind of psychological effects filter bubbles will have on humanity? In order to run a sect it helps to shield members from outside influences, so filter bubbles may facilitate the emergence of all kinds of sub culture sects, large and small. Perhaps we'll even see cases of mass psychosis arise due to this --or maybe not, if the content providers keep watch on their users and manage to moderate things before it grows out of control. A worst case scenario might be that the content providers themselves become secteristic thanks to their own filter algoritms.

[pandy]

But that's filtering from the inside. You must enter the bubble before you are affected. This is filtering from the outside. You are put in a bubble without even knowing it.

I've been mostly annoyed that google doesn't give me the results I once loved it for and I'm sick and tired of trying to turn off personalization all the time. It even irritates me that if I go to web shop to look for a new pair of sneakers I see ads for sneakers all over the web after that. But I hadn't realized the greater impact this filtering can have. That guy scared me. Most people aren't even aware of that this is happening.

[Christian J]

But that's filtering from the inside. You must enter the bubble before you are affected. This is filtering from the outside. You are put in a bubble without even knowing it.

I did mean filtering from the outside, since even that may facilitate sect-like sub cultures. The TED speaker gave an example, where posts from other political views were filtered out so that he only saw those he already agreed with.

I've been mostly annoyed that google doesn't give me the results I once loved it for and I'm sick and tired of trying to turn off personalization all the time.

Don't you keep it off permanently (to the extent it's possible)? Adding

CODE

pws=0

to Google's querystring is said to turn off personalized results.

I only resort to Google for demanding search tasks, otherwise I use more privacy-minded search engines like https://startpage.com/ or https://duckduckgo.com/. Now idea about the latters' personalization policies, but if they don't keep any personal data I assume they can't personalize much either.

It even irritates me that if I go to web shop to look for a new pair of sneakers I see ads for sneakers all over the web after that.

I try to block almost all ads and tracking scripts. There are a number of browser extensions one might use for this, like Ghostery, Adblock (or Noscript if you want to be drastic). Also one can block known tracking site URLs directly. I'm a bit concerned what the tracking organisations will do once a large part of the web population learn to block them , though.

[pandy]

The cookies don't seem to live long. Almost every time I check it's on again.

did mean filtering from the outside, since even that may facilitate sect-like sub cultures. The TED speaker gave an example, where posts from other political views were filtered out so that he only saw those he already agreed with.

But that was Facebook. If you are there you are already in the sect. OK, I give you many people don't realize they are, so I guess it's scary anyway. I meant the web in general though, when you haven't voluntarily joined anything.

CODE

I try to block almost all ads and tracking scripts. There are a number of browser extensions one might use for this, like Ghostery, Adblock (or Noscript if you want to be drastic). Also one can block known tracking site URLs directly. I'm a bit concerned what the tracking organisations will do once a large part of the web population learn to block them , though.

I didn't think I could do that without also removing ads, but you say I can?

BTW could Darin's word censor create a filter bubble and are we members of a sect?

[Christian J]

The cookies don't seem to live long. Almost every time I check it's on again.

You mean Google's user settings cookies? I always block those, and add the pws=0 bit from my customized search field.

But that was Facebook.

Google is no different --take his other example, where googling "Egypt" may return e.g. travel- or politic related results. What I meant is personalized search results encourage bias confirmation, and once you've become brainwashed enough by your own such web searches you may join real life sects all by yourself (or you find their web sites in your personalized search results).

Maybe personalized search results work best for stupid users with narrow interests. A stupid user interested in travelling to Egypt may just google the single word "egypt", and get many irrelevant results. A more intelligent user may google "egypt travel" and get more relevant results. Now suppose Google has learned about the user's interest in travelling to Egypt, while at the same time the user - newly returned from his trip to Egypt - has become interested in other aspects of the country, such as its politics. Suddenly Google's personalized results will fail completely, being full of travel sites. Google's assumption seems to be both that you don't know what you want and that your "subconscious" interests only change slowly.

When it comes to larger populations, the personalized search results may isolate travellers as a group from the group of people interested in Egyptian politics. That's probably harmless, since travel and politics are not worldviews opposed to each other. It's worse if people of conflicting worldviews (say for and against the Egyptian revolution) stop seeing each other's sites because Google keep them apart.

I didn't think I could do that without also removing ads, but you say I can?

No, but why would you want to keep the ads?

BTW could Darin's word censor create a filter bubble and are we members of a sect?

Don't know about the word censor, but if we rely too much on the HTML reference or the FAQ we'll become a sect, yes.

[pandy]

You don't see the difference between joining something like FB and using a SE?

[Christian J]

Come again? Both create filter bubbles. I agree search engines shouldn't do it.