[WEB4LIB] Joe Janes on Google

[perkins m]

Whenever listening to anything Joe Janes says it is good to remember that
he is fond of saying that "bibliographic instruction is like teaching pigs
to sing; it doesn't work, and you just piss off the pigs".  This attitude
towards end users coupled with an overconfidence in technology can lead to
questionable conclusions.  Google's goals are the same as any search
engine; to get as many people as possible to use it and to use those
numbers to sell advertising and preferential ranking of search results.
Helping people find information is simply a means to this end, not a goal.
If the profit goal is not met, Google will go away.

Mike Perkins
San Diego State University

On Mon, 23 Sep 2002, Sloan, Bernie wrote:

> An interesting Joe Janes "Internet Librarian" column on Google. An excerpt:
> 
> "I would love to see us work with the Google folks. We have many similar
> goals, getting people help in finding information they want chief among
> them. If we can align with them to achieve those goals in mutually
> beneficial ways, it could create a real sea change-not only in librarianship
> but on the Web as well."
> 
> http://www.ala.org/alonline/netlib/il1002.html 
> 
> Bernie Sloan
> Senior Library Information Systems Consultant
> University of Illinois Office for Planning and Budgeting
> 338 Henry Administration Building
> 506 S. Wright Street
> Urbana, IL  61801
> 
> Phone: (217) 333-4895
> Fax:   (217) 265-0454
> E-mail: bernies at uillinois.edu
> 
>