Back in Unit Two I briefly wondered about the amount of information available on the web and how we make sure our students are savvy enough to examine resources carefully and to be sure to know the author, motives, expertise, agenda, etc. It's one thing to be bale to analyze a resource, but there is another side to the amount of information available - how do we comb through all that is out there and how do we not miss anything?
In our readings this week there was a reference to just how many Google search results come up in a simple search. I decided to Google my name (Niebuhr isn't the most common name) and see how many results appear and how deep one would have to dig to find this blog.
The results: "Jessica Niebuhr" resulted in "About 138,000 results (0.41 seconds) and this blog was found on page 6. Not too bad, I was actually surprised it came up so quickly.
But think about that first number: 138,000 references to "Jessica Niebuhr". There are quite a few of us "Jessica Niebuhrs" out there so if you were looking for a specific one that will take a while. In my search I came across information about a volunteer program I ran at my children's school, a product complaint I made on a company's FaceBook page, White Pages and SuperPages listings, home purchases, my position as membership director of our neighborhood pool and a bunch of stuff that just happens to have a "Jessica" and a "Niebuhr" on the same page. I looked through 30 pages before Google compressed the results. How long would it take me to get through to the end? I never came across the VA Department of Education License "look-up" site - something I would consider important identifying information.
This brief exercise got me thinking - 138,000 possible results for me - someone whose name isn't in the paper, no on is writing books about me, I'm not a public figure…with the glut if information out there, how do we possible weed through it all to find the "good stuff"? And the amount information just keeps growing.
As a researcher, t he idea of even tackling a small topic is completely overwhelming. How could I get through it all? What if there was something really good at result 137,999? I don't know if I would ever get there. As a digital historian, it drives home the point of insuring appropriate tags and search markers to insure my information is found.
The question remains how many of the 138,000 "hits" actually refer to you. That is why Google is often problematic. You would think that your blog would come up much quicker.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Evans