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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Dec. 26, 2005
/ 25 Kislev, 5766
Be careful what you ask for
By
Dan Neil
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Several weeks ago I wrote a story with the headline "Porn of the Gods," which ranked peculiarly high on the Los Angeles Times Web site's list of most e-mailed stories for that weekend. Since I had displayed no more than my usual Jovian wit, I had to conclude this rise to prominence had to do with the use of the word "porn." Something like 25 percent that is, 68 million of all daily search-engine requests are sexually oriented, according to a survey by Websense, a web-filter company specializing in business productivity.
It occurred to me that I might exploit this mechanism and raise my profile in cyberspace by merely including, in a random and gratuitous way, sexually provocative words amid my usual high-minded and recondite discursions. Spanking. Big and bouncy. Down on the farm. That's good for several million readers right there.
Hereafter, I may insist that headlines for my car reviews include similarly magnetic words and phrases. For example: "Pontiac Solstice, Topless Cheap Slut of a Sports Car." It's the metalinguistic version of phishing. In this way shall I prosper.
Actually, a lot of companies keep track of what is known as the query stream the endless billions of search engine requests from Google, Yahoo, AOL and others and a fascinating metric it is, too. Churned out in real time, with AOL offering an update every 10 seconds, the query stream is the torrent of our collective curiosity, and our stunning lack of curiosity. Terms come and go like rain under busy windshield wipers.
As I'm writing this, it's Nov. 21. The top search term for the week ending Nov. 14 on Google's Zeitgeist page was "Eddie Guerrero," a professional wrestler who died of a suspected heart attack at 38. No. 2 was Sarah Silverman, the beautiful, transgressive comedienne whose movie "Jesus is Magic" recently hit theaters. How many of these queries requested pictures of Silverman nude? Or Guerrero? Google doesn't say.
What a week it was. No. 3 was "California election results." Number 4? "Jordan Queen Rania," for no particular reason except that she is extremely hot royalty.
Some entries on the list are no surprise. Searches for the DVD edition of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" ranked sixth. "Intelligent design" ranked ninth. Apparently, Kate Hudson (No. 11) is suing British tabloids over pictures she says wrongly portray her as wasting away from an eating disorder. I'm sure that the millions of Kate Hudson image downloads were born of purely forensic interest.
No. 14 was "Edmund Fitzgerald," as in "The Wreck Of …" The 30th anniversary of the maritime disaster on the Great Lakes was Nov. 10. Candidly, I had forgotten that. Now I can't get that damn Gordon Lightfoot song out of my head.
So, for the week ending Nov. 14, the perfect news story in cyberspace would be about Sarah Silverman, Kate Hudson and Queen Rania starring in a "Titanic"-style disaster movie called "Edmund Fitzgerald," a film whose third-act surprise involved the workings of a transcendent Designer, who turns out to be Willy Wonka. Kate Hudson would play the emaciated stowaway. Oh, and by the way, in stiletto heels.
This is all fascinating information, and ever so slightly alarming, because it suggests that Web content should be directed by such an intellectually numb and awful thing as popularity, which I hated in high school and loathe even more now. Actually, given the eat-free-or-die economics of the Internet, it seems the only avoirdupois that matters is "hits," or visitors, or whatever. In November, Google launched "Google Analytics," that will, says the company, help improve Web site content, in part by identifying "which keywords attract the most visitors."
That's fine if you are selling snowboards but not if you want the Web to be a broad marketplace of ideas. Much of the grave-dancing over mainstream media in particular, newspapers has had to do with how out of touch it is, how it doesn't give readers what they want. You know what? That's fine by me. You could probably fit all the people who read the Los Angeles Times Book Review section in a decent-sized nightclub, and the ad revenue wouldn't cover the bill. In the business model of newspapers, book review sections are wild extravagances, and yet any big newspaper that takes its public obligations seriously can't do without one.
Don't get me wrong. Newspapers do, and ought to, chase readers. What, after all, are the endless reader surveys and "most e-mailed stories" lists but attempts to assay what readers want? But judging by the Google Zeitgeist list, there's such a thing as too much currency, too much popularity, too much "relevance," in the algorithmic language of search engineering. The query stream is, after all, kind of a sewer.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment by clicking here.
Previously:
12/20/05: Monster's Ball: Reconsidering Beowulf
© 2005, Tribune Media Services, INC.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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