NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] "Gaming" Google's New "+1" Social Recommendations System?
"Gaming" Google's New "+1" Social Recommendations System?
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000837.html
Greetings. Google has begun deploying a new social recommendations
system, called "+1" (the term "+1" has long been shorthand within
Google for "I like this" or "I agree with this"):
http://j.mp/dTSlzO (Official Google Blog)
This system appears to have a great deal of merit and positive
possibilities.
Of course, since these recommendations are typically shared in various
ways, there are a range of implications.
Initially, +1 will reportedly be used to "tag" search results and ads,
though ultimately +1 data may also affect search results rankings in
the future.
Google appears to have well thought out the privacy issues associated
with the +1 implementation.
However, I do have some concerns about the potential for purposeful
"gaming" of the system to artificially distort and boost perceived
"value" or "goodness" of specific results or ads, even in the absence
of direct ranking effects per se at present.
And at such a time as +1 may be used for ranking, there's a key
question to be considered (even in the absence of specific
boost-oriented gaming attempts): Is a popular result necessarily a
better result -- or the best result?
I brought this up with Google's Matt Cutts this morning, and he agreed
that popular was not the same as best, but noted that Google was
interested in exploring the +1 ratings as a potential rankings signal.
It will be interesting to see where this all leads.
But one possible hint of the complexities is already obvious. Within
literally minutes of Google's official announcement of +1, I started
receiving requests from various parties begging me to immediately +1
specific search results -- even telling me in detail how to find those
results.
That sure didn't take long. Ouch.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Google Buzz: http://j.mp/laurenbuzz
Quora: http://www.quora.com/Lauren-Weinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com