Wednesday, September 21, 2011

If the Search Result Fits...

Then of course Google has to list it.  Now, some folks might complain about that.  But Google's PageRank is how it works.  Every time somebody adds a link to a web site, Google interprets this as a vote for that site. The more links to the site, the more votes it gets.(SwitchIt.com)

Then of course, there is the Google Bomb.  "Google's search-rank algorithm ranks pages higher for a particular search phrase if enough other pages linked to it using similar anchor text." (Wikipedia.org) Examples of such bombs would be like a search for "more evil than Satan himself" resulting in the Microsoft homepage.  Or "dumb motherf*cker" leading to a site selling George W. Bush-related merchandise.  Google has developed an algorithm to catch and remove these.


So, which is the case for "Santorum"? 


It all started when sex advice columnist, author and activist Dan Savage didn't like what Senator Rick Santorum had to say about homosexuality.  He equated it with bestiality and pedophilia.  So Savage asked his readers to come up with a new definition of "Santorum" and they picked:  The frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex.  And it pops up on Google.  (HuffingtonPost.com)


Well, now Rick has asked Google to fix the problem, and they said "no."  Google does not “remove content from our search results, except in very limited cases such as illegal content and violations of our webmaster guidelines.” (PamsHouseblend) Dan Savage has re-defined Santorum and he has created a website that has lots of links to it that fit the PageRank guidelines, so it is the "frothy mix" that wins.


Looks like Rick is stuck - literally and figuratively.

No comments:

Post a Comment