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And You Thought You Knew The Internet

by Bill Farnham
16 replies
The link below is to a TED video regarding filters used to serve up different search results, as an example, to different people based on their web history/likes/dislikes. It's not about Google's Personal Preferences, per se, and if you dismiss it as such without watching it you're doing yourself a huge disservice.

Also, if you think this video is off topic to making money online you're also not seeing the big picture. This is your future, folks, you need to pay attention.

Beware of online filter bubbles. [VIDEO]

One of the real take-aways here is that in the future we may need to create a plurality of sales pages in order to get our messages out to the masses. Where once a ranking was a ranking that trend may be on its' way out.

No, the sky is not falling, but the winds are changing. I encourge you to take the time to watch this.

~Bill
#internet #knew #thought
  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    Amazing insight put in very simple terms and pictures - helped me to understand this better than 23 long essays and studies

    Thanks for posting it, Bill!
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Miranda
      Very enlightening . thanks for sharing!
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      • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
        Welcome to the future.

        Newspapers, radio and TV have always filtered what they publish or broadcast - either to satisfy their own agenda or to serve a distinct part of the market with the type of content they believe it wants. We choose our newspaper or radio channel based on whether they give us broadly the kind of news and information we are most comfortable consuming.

        Of course, when you go online and have potential access to all the information in the world, some degree of filtering is inevitable - even necessary. The question is - who should be doing the filtering and what criteria should be applied to that process.

        But the filtering of search results is just a by-product. The real prize, from a marketing perspective, is all that consumer data, which is growing ever more detailed and specific.

        This is where the real battle is being fought between data-mining giants such as Google and Facebook, who recognise the potential realisable worth of that knowledge.

        Marketing has always been about knowing your potential customer. As the net continues to segment, the broad-brush advertising approach that simple search engine ranking epitomised, will have to give way to a more focused strategy, targeting consumers at the places they hang out most.

        As ever, whoever controls that information is likely to set the market price.


        Frank
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        • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
          Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

          As the net continues to segment, the broad-brush advertising approach that simple search engine ranking epitomised, will have to give way to a more focused strategy, targeting consumers at the places they hang out most.
          Agreed.

          It would be interesting to connect the dots between those who are befuddled by a potential high search count for their targeted keywords and the reality of low clicks to their websites even with supposed good rankings. If they are indeed experiencing the ramifications of search filtering without realizing it then they would be able to take actions that would help to mitigate the situation by becoming proactive.

          That could entail a number of strategies, not the least of which would be creating marketing that drills down or is segmented such that it allows for given segments to be shown their message.

          If the filter was a demographic one that centered on age, as an example, then creating different sales pages that would meet whatever specific filtering criteria was used as a determinant, theoretically or perhaps in reality their message would reach the once broad audience that is now being segmented.

          Not to say this isn't already being done by savvy marketers, especially those who do set up demographic campaigns, as an example, but one thing appears inevitable at this stage, and that is the 'trending' of the filtering being on the upswing.

          Anybody who is already ahead of the curve on this one please chime in. I'm curious about your thoughts.

          ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    I can chime in only as a "victim".

    Last week I was searching NYC hotels because we are going on a trip there. Found a few that fit in my requirements and visited about 2-3: went to their site, read about them on tripadvisor... the usual, diligent research I was very much attracted to one, looked at all the details on their website.

    Now, later I went to a totally unrelated site which had big 300x300 square ads in the sidebar and, lo and behold, what hotel is advertised in that nice colourful square?
    Yep, the one I spent so much time on viewing...

    P.S. As it happened, we ended up booking another hotel a few blocks away.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
      Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

      Now, later I went to a totally unrelated site which had big 300x300 square ads in the sidebar and, lo and behold, what hotel is advertised in that nice colourful square?
      Yep, the one I spent so much time on viewing...
      Lol, last week or so there was a post in the OT with a link to Harbor F Tools that I clicked on and immediatley ads for HFT started showing up on some of the webpages I frequent.

      Cookie monsters at work, no doubt...

      ~Bill
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      • Profile picture of the author Ross Kenny
        beware of the algorithmitic robot gate keepers
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        One thing I see happening is that simple demographics will take a back seat to psychographics and the links between those traits and the type of sites those people are likely to visit.

        Huge ramifications, not just for utilizing multiple sales pages, but for laser targeting advertising - as the examples above indicate.

        Knowing your ideal customer intimately will be ever more important.
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        • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          One thing I see happening is that simple demographics will take a back seat to psychographics and the links between those traits and the type of sites those people are likely to visit.
          Good way to put that, John.

          For some reason I'm thinking that Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann have completely different experiences when searching online...

          ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    It is nice when we can view the future of technology. More so, when we can begin to see the big picture.
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    Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
    Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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    • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
      Originally Posted by tpw View Post

      It is nice when we can view the future of technology. More so, when we can begin to see the big picture.
      You mean to be able to see what is outside of the "bubble"?
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Miranda
    To me this seems like a big challenge to organic SEO. If SERPs depend on many factors related to the user, location etc.. that means you could be #1 for a keyword for one person and #7 for another?
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    [I watched the video]

    The problem is lack of education for people that search on Google.

    I can control, cookies, geographic SERP results, SafeSearch, etc...

    For example, I can physically be in Atlanta, GA & change my SERP results to display Aspen, CO auto dealers, when I do a keyword search for cars. Both return relevant results based on geo. location.

    True the Google SERP tweaks are hidden a bit.

    Then you have Google Chrome Incognito, to help keep fresh browsing sessions (no cookies).

    I understand the majority of people on the net don't want to remove cookies from their browsing habits, example some folks might want to stay logged into Facebook & still search on Google. They will get results based on their browser history. Why, because that's what they were interested in the past, chances are they are still interested.

    I do think there is a market for cookie free SERP results without looking at a browsers history, or geo. location by default.
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  • Profile picture of the author DatingGoldJason
    what a great video! interesting
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  • Profile picture of the author RickDayle
    I'm afraid that we tend to fall into habits that limit our exploration, ruts if looked at another way. As we get into a specific rut, we become more predictable, and the results we see from search tools may be considerably different depending on our history.

    Let's face it, the days of "one search for all" are behind us. This makes it very hard for us to see how we are ranking, for one thing. It also may give us a significantly different picture of what we think is available to us.

    A recent example: My wife was looking for something using Google, and having some difficulty finding anything she thought was relevant to what she "wanted". I searched for the same term, and got results she liked in the top three or four positions. This is much like what the presenter at TED described.

    I've even seen different results watching TED talks, compared to what my wife sees, starting with the same couple of selections. By the way, you can join TED and get periodic reminders from them about various topics and talks. The vast majority are interesting and many are very thought provoking. Well worth the time for exploring. I really love the TED concept.

    Of course, as marketers, the big question is how we can get our pages past the personal filters that people see the web through. I think the first step is realizing that these personal filters exist (even when they weren't specifically intended by the audience). Of course, part of me rails against the idea of a general purpose search engine trying to tailor a response for me, based on past actions that I've performed that they can see. If for no other reason, this makes me want to have several personas to operate from (different logins, individual profiles in each login, and different actions for each persona) just to keep things from getting into a single "rut".

    It looks like pseudonyms may be making a comeback, if only to provide alternate search results... assuming we can keep the personas separate enough to be recognized as different individuals...
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  • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
    This is why you must treat your online business like a more traditional one. Develop relationships, not just acquaintances. Build a list, interact with the people on it, start a little community using Skype, etc.

    Some of the most successful offline companies cultivate and encourage relationships. Bookstores are good examples. Even the big chain stores often have regulars that hang out, chat up the employees, meet with friends, and so on. I think we IM'ers need to either cast a much wider net through sheer volume or pick a model where constant repeat buyers are likely. Looks like the days of saying "I'm #1 at Google" are going bye-bye, along with everything that follows from that statement.
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