Personalisation of search: take back control

Personalisation of search: take back controlKaren Blakeman, RBA Information Services

5th June 2012Pre-conference workshop, 11th Southern African Online Information Meeting,

Sandton Convention Centre

Slides are available at http://www.rba.co.uk/as/

[email protected]

Twitter: @karenblakeman

http://www.rba.co.uk/

This presentation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

http://www.rba.co.uk/as/

mailto:[email protected]

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

General plan for the session

Getting to know one another and feedback on search issues

Slides are a basic framework for the session (download from http://www.rba.co.uk/as/ now if you wish). I'll create an addendum of key, additional information after the session.

Ask questions as we go along, or write on the notelets and we'll have Q&A slots throughout the session

Summary of "stuff" we've learned and what to take back home and to work

11/04/23 www.rba.co.uk 2

http://www.rba.co.uk/as/

How it all started

Before 1992 priced electronic databases indexed by humans. Many still exist for example LexisNexis, STN, Dialog

1992 – the Internet can be accessed by anyone but 2-3 years before significant information started appearing on the web

Increase in amount of data and information led to the development of tools that indexed and searched the content of web pages

Lycos, Excite, AltaVista, Hotbot


How the web search tools worked (and still do in part)

"Crawl" the internet looking for new and updated pages by following links

Copies of pages and documents added to a database that is publicly searchable Results sorted according to:

– how often the words you looked for appear in the page– where they appear (words in the title and first few sentences given higher ranking)– and other criteria not disclosed by the search engines

They do not cover:– password protected sites– databases or sites where you have to fill in a form to find the information


Then along came.....


11 November 1998From the Internet Archive www.archive.org

http://www.archive.org/

How was Google different?


Links (citations) a major part of sorting search results

http://www.seobook.com/learn-seo/collateral-damage.php




Google 2011


Revenues $37,905 millionsNet Income $9,737 millionshttp://investor.google.com/financial/tables.html

2011 – 96% of revenues are from advertising

Google has a problem....

http://investor.google.com/financial/tables.html

http://investor.google.com/financial/tables.html

Google's problem "How People Spend Their Time Online – Stephen's Lighthouse" http://stephenslighthouse.com/2012/03/14/how-people-spend-their-time-online/


http://stephenslighthouse.com/2012/03/14/how-people-spend-their-time-online/

http://stephenslighthouse.com/2012/03/14/how-people-spend-their-time-online/

Search engines and social networks need to keep you on their "properties" – captive audience

Always trying to deliver new services to stop you wandering off to other sites

To keep you on-site need to deliver content as relevant as possible to YOU

– need to know more about you

– need to know what sort of information you are interested in

– need you signed in to your account

– need to know who your contacts are on-site and elsewhere

– need to know about your activity elsewhere

Personalise results11/04/23 www.rba.co.uk 9

The Filter Bubble: What The Internet Is Hiding From YouEli Pariser

Publisher: Viking (23 Jun 2011)

ISBN-10: 067092038X

ISBN-13: 978-0670920389


Trends in search

No longer straightforward text searching of web pages and documents

Localisation

Personalisation

Social

Mobile


How far does personalisation go?

Google can seriously damage your news http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2011/09/03/google-can-seriously-damage-your-news/

Is Google really filtering my news? http://www.librarianoffortune.com/librarian_of_fortune/2011/09/is-google-really-filtering-my-news.html


http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2011/09/03/google-can-seriously-damage-your-news/

http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2011/09/03/google-can-seriously-damage-your-news/

http://www.librarianoffortune.com/librarian_of_fortune/2011/09/is-google-really-filtering-my-news.html

http://www.librarianoffortune.com/librarian_of_fortune/2011/09/is-google-really-filtering-my-news.html

How far does personalisation go?

An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: The answer to your question... depends on who you are (Anne Rooney) http://awfullybigblogadventure.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/answer-to-your-question-depends-on-who.html


Borromeo vs Borromeo

http://awfullybigblogadventure.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/answer-to-your-question-depends-on-who.html

http://awfullybigblogadventure.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/answer-to-your-question-depends-on-who.html


Word cloud of top 20 results for a Google search on Prague (web history and social networks switched off, cookies cleared)

Word cloud of top 20 results for a Google search on Prague (signed in to Google+ account, social networks and web history enabled)

Google loses the plot?

Search on goats


Dear Google, stop messing with my search http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2011/11/08/dear-google-stop-messing-with-my-search/

11/04/23www.rba.co.uk

16

http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2011/11/08/dear-google-stop-messing-with-my-search/


Google introduces the “soft AND”

“When you do a multi-term query on Google (even with quoted terms), the algorithm sometimes backs-off from hard ANDing all of the terms together.......it’s clear that people will often write long queries (with anywhere from 5 to 10 terms) for which there are no results. Google will then selectively remove the terms that are the lowest frequency to give you some results (rather than none)....Soft AND is a way to reduce the overall frustration and give the searcher something to examine (and with luck, a chance to reformulate their query).”

Dan Russell

http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2011/11/08/dear-google-stop-messing-with-my-search/#comments




Google

No more '+' to force an exact match

No more automatic 'ANDing' of your terms

No more highlighting your search terms in its cached copy of a page

No more clearing search history unless you are logged in to a Google account [alternatively delete all search cookies from your browser]


Google's new Privacy Policy


"Our new Privacy Policy makes clear that, if you’re signed in, we may combine information you’ve provided from one service with information from other services. In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience."

Toward a simpler, more beautiful Google http://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/toward-simpler-more-beautiful-google.html

"we're more excited than ever to build a seamless social experience, all across Google"

http://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/toward-simpler-more-beautiful-google.html

http://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/toward-simpler-more-beautiful-google.html

What does Google know about you?


Look in your Google account dashboard http://www.google.com/dashboard/

How Google is targeting your adshttp://www.google.com/ads/preferences/

http://www.google.com/dashboard/

http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/

Impact of Google's policy and personalinformation management changes on YouTube


Gives me videos based on my web search history, linked to my location (Reading) plus a long list of videos mentioned by people in my Google+ circles.

Targeted advertising?!

I wonder how Google will customise my web search based on my YouTube viewing?

Google Enables Cross-Platform Local Search (As Carrot To Relinquish Your Privacy) http://searchengineland.com/google-enables-cross-platform-local-search-as-carrot-for-web-history-113811

Introducing a new local search experience across your devices - Inside Search http://insidesearch.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/introducing-new-local-search-experience.html


http://searchengineland.com/google-enables-cross-platform-local-search-as-carrot-for-web-history-113811




http://insidesearch.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/introducing-new-local-search-experience.html



Google's new(ish) social network Google Plus (Google+)

http://plus.google.com/

Google Now Forcing All New Users To Create Google+ Enabled Accounts

http://marketingland.com/google-now-forcing-all-new-users-to-create-google-enabled-accounts-3912

Search Plus Your World (SPYW) referred to as Search+ now available in Google.com and is the default. Gives priority to content from people in your Google+ network if you are signed in to your account.

(And the next Google killer is….Google! http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2012/01/30/and-the-next-google-killer-is-google/ ) 11/04/23 www.rba.co.uk 24

http://plus.google.com/



http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2012/01/30/and-the-next-google-killer-is-google/

http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2012/01/30/and-the-next-google-killer-is-google/


SPYW currently being tested on Google.com

Top results (blacked out for privacy reasons) were from one of my Google+ circles and from people who restricted access to the postings.

Take care when providing information to users or incorporating data as part of a report

Google Knowledge Graph

Introducing the Knowledge Graph

http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/search/knowledge.html

It isn't a graph!

At present only on Google.com

Only shows if you are logged in to a Google+ enabled account






No Knowledge Graph


Bing - Adapting Search to You http://www.bing.com/community/site_blogs/b/search/archive/2011/09/14/adapting-search-to-you.aspx Bing to use Facebook, Twitter more in fight against Google | ZDNet : http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/bing-to-use-facebook-twitter-more-in-fight-against-google/8631

Bing Relaunches, Features New Social Sidebar http://searchengineland.com/the-new-bing-microsoft-tries-again-with-search-meets-social-120728

"It’s not just Facebook and Twitter that get to play in the social sidebar, however. Social suggestions might also come from LinkedIn, Quora, Foursquare, Blogger and - wait for it - Google Plus"

http://www.bing.com/community/site_blogs/b/search/archive/2011/09/14/adapting-search-to-you.aspx

http://www.bing.com/community/site_blogs/b/search/archive/2011/09/14/adapting-search-to-you.aspx

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/bing-to-use-facebook-twitter-more-in-fight-against-google/8631

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/bing-to-use-facebook-twitter-more-in-fight-against-google/8631

http://searchengineland.com/the-new-bing-microsoft-tries-again-with-search-meets-social-120728



Bing Relaunches, Features New Social Sidebar : http://searchengineland.com/the-new-bing-microsoft-tries-again-with-search-meets-social-120728




No social side bar for me (not in the US) but social network 'stuff' appears in main results

So.cl : http://www.so.cl/


Microsoft Launches Socl Social Network: A Look Inside http://marketingland.com/microsoft-launches-so-cl-social-network-a-quick-look-12499

http://marketingland.com/microsoft-launches-so-cl-social-network-a-quick-look-12499

http://marketingland.com/microsoft-launches-so-cl-social-network-a-quick-look-12499

What I see on my screen is not what you'll see on yours!


How do search engines personalise results?

Depends on:– your location

– past searches

– which sites you have looked at in the past

– your +1s

– your likes

– your shares

– sites blocked by you (Google)

– which social networks you are signed in to

– who is in your social networks


To allow personalisation or not?

Not necessarily a bad thing

Use a second browser with search history enabled and logged in to accounts for a different point of view

It does bias results

What I see on my screen is not what you'll see on yours

Be aware of potential privacy issues regarding friends and contacts in social networks when providing results to your users


Want to switch it off?

Disable and remove web/search history - but in Google, no option to erase 'signed out' histories

Actively manage search cookies, automatically delete cookies after computer log out or switch off

- How to delete cookies- http://aboutcookies.org/Default.aspx?page=2

Log out of all search engine and social media accounts when searching

Use Chrome Incognito (Chrome owned by Google!)

In Google use Verbatim in the left hand menu on results page

Use advanced search commands if relevant

Use a search engine that doesn't track or personalise11/04/23 www.rba.co.uk 37

http://aboutcookies.org/Default.aspx?page=2

Google search settings


Google web history


Verbatim

Forces Google to run an exact

match search. Run your search first

and then select Verbatim from the

left hand menu on your results page

Cannot be combined with time

options in the side bar

Google: Verbatim for exact match

search

http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2011/11/18/google-verbatim-for-exact-match-search/






Signed out

Verbatim

Chrome incognito

Try a search tool with less or no personalisation

DuckDuckGo – does not track, does not personalisehttp://duckduckgo.com/

Yandex.com – International version of the Russian search engine http://www.yandex.com/

Blekkohttp://www.blekko.com/

Million Short – omits the top million most "popular" sites from resultshttp://www.millionshort.com/


http://duckduckgo.com/

http://www.yandex.com/

http://www.blekko.com/

http://www.millionshort.com/

Use more than Google anyway

The Disruptive Searcher (Sanity checking Google http://disruptivesearcher.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/sanity-checking-google/)

“if I hadn’t searched across more than Google for data on a small, new company that I was asked to research recently, I would have missed out on some very significant information that Google just wasn’t showing me.”


http://disruptivesearcher.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/sanity-checking-google/

http://disruptivesearcher.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/sanity-checking-google/

Bing

http://www.bing.com/

Does personalise search and include social network content in results

Most of the interesting developments and features are only available in the US version

Results tend to be more consumer/retail focused unless using advanced search features

Coverage not identical to Google’s - sometimes yields important unique content, especially in research and business

Sometimes more up to date than Google


http://www.bing.com/

Bing

Link to minimalist advanced search options now vanished

Advanced Search Operators

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff795620

Main ones– site:

– filetype:

– intitle:


http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff795620

DuckDuckGo


DuckDuckGo – silly name but a neat little search tool : http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/2011/11/07/duckduckgo-silly-name-but-a-neat-little-search-tool/

No tracking, no “filter bubble”

Commandssite: inbody: intitle: filetype: sort:date to sort by date (uses results from Blekko)region:cc (e.g. za) to boost a country

Syntax and keyboard shortcuts at http://duckduckgo.com/goodies.html



Yandex

• http://www.yandex.com/


Yandex – advanced search


OR

Search operators http://help.yandex.com/search/?id=1113759

Blekko

http://blekko.com/

slashtags for sorting by date (/date), searching for images (/images) and videos (/videos)

Use public slashtags to search a group of web sites covering a particular topic or type of site e.g. /library or create your own to search your specified list of sites (similar to Google Custom Search Engines)

wind turbine electricity generation /karenblakeman/renewable

“Musings about librarianship: Using Blekko to search across thousands of library sites” http://musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.com/2010/11/using-blekko-to-search-across-thousands.html


Blekko

Cannot do filetype, inurl, intitle searches

Drop down menu next to page in results list for– site search (or use /site)– similar pages (or use /similar)– inbound links to the page (or use /links)


Million Short

http://www.millionshort.com/

"Imagine a search engine that simply removed the top 1 million most popular web sites from its index. What would you discover?"

Can usefiletype:site:intitle "..."

Can add individual sites back in


Using Google features to best advantage


Location

Country versions of Google to prioritise local content – for example google.co.za, google.fr, google.de

– usually two letter ISO code for the country

Change location in left hand menu on results page


Google.com and SPYW


SPYW – hide personal results


Personal results only


Verbatim


Google results page side bar


'Everything' does not search everything

Videos is not YouTube

Not clear how discussions are identified

'Social' is not just Google+. Look in your dashboard to see who Google has decided to include.

No Twitter option anymore and Twitter coverage is sporadic.

Google side bars


Images Videos News Books Blogs

Start using advanced search commands and Google gives up on personalisation although you may have to use Verbatim


Looking for a particular type of information for example statistics, research report, expert presentation?

Use the filetype: command

For statistics

world oil consumption filetype:xls world oil consumption filetype:xlsx world oil consumption filetype:xlsx OR filetype:xls

For government, research, industry reports

oil consumption forecasts filetype:pdf

For conference presentations or trying to locate an expert

renewable energy UK filetype:ppt renewable energy UK filetype:pptx renewable energy UK filetype:ppt site:ac.uk


Numerical range search

Anything to do with numbers

Use advanced search screen

or

1st number followed by two full stops followed by 2nd number followed by unit of measurement (if applicable)

– Norway oil production forecasts 2012..2020

– Norway oil production forecasts 2012..2020 filetype:xls OR filetype:xlsx


Advanced commands continued

inurl: for example

inurl:"carbon capture" targets

intitle: for example

intitle:"carbon capture" targets

asterisk (*) to search for terms separated by 1-5 words (may

have to use quotation marks)

solar * panels

"solar * panels"

Picks up solar PV panels, solar photovoltaic panels, solar

water heating panels


Synonyms

Google often looks for variations of your terms but you cannot rely on it always happening

Use the tilde ~ before a term to look for what Google considers are synonyms

– ~energy will pick up oil, fuel, gas, electricity

No information/documentation on how synonyms are created

Very general, consumer oriented rather than scientific

Can be used with Verbatim


When you really DO want to search social media the main search engines don't make it easy! Social media is an essential part of many types of research.

Search within the network itself – means you must have an account

Use specialist search tools– come and go

– not comprehensive

– need to use more than one

– a few examples are shown in the following slides. For more information on social media search tools see Phil Bradley's presentations http://www.slideshare.net/Philbradley/


LinkedIn.com

11 April 2023 Karen Blakeman www.rba.co.uk 68

LinkedIn.com


More on searching LinkedIn

Boolean Black Belt-Sourcing/Recruiting http://www.booleanblackbelt.com/

Mary Ellen Bates Ten Top Tips for Searching LinkedIn http://www.batesinfo.com/meb123/index.html PDF http://www.batesinfo.com/extras/assets/linkedin.pdf


Bing social http://www.bing.com/social/


http://search.twitter.com/


Topsy.com


Icerocket.com


Socialmention.com


Keeping up to date

Inside Search http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/

Official Google Blog http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

Google Scholar Blog http://googlescholar.blogspot.com/

Search Engine Land http://searchengineland.com/

Search Engine Watch http://searchenginewatch.com/

Boolean Black Belt-Sourcing/Recruiting http://www.booleanblackbelt.com/

Karen Blakeman’s Blog http://www.rba.co.uk/wordpress/

Phil Bradley's weblog http://philbradley.typepad.com/


Personalisation of search: take back control

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