[WEB4LIB] Article on search engines . . .

[Mark Stover]

The commercialization and "portalization" of the Internet search engines
doesn't necessarily lead to degraded search capabilities, even though we
may be experiencing a temporary backsliding at the moment.  When I think
back to the Internet before it was commercialized, I remember search tools
like Veronica and Archie.  Even with distractions like banner ads (which
admitedly can be deceiving sometimes), I'll take Infoseek and Alta Vista
any day over pre-commercialization Veronica.  This is not to say that we
shouldn't criticize the search engines or be aware of their money-seeking
agendas.  But on the other hand we shouldn't make out big business to be
the great bogeyman of the Web (as some critics sometimes do, although to be
fair this particular article was relatively balanced reporting).

Mark Stover


>
>http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/search081699.htm
>
>(The gist: Search engine operators are concentrating less on improving the 
>quality of searches and more on selling ads . . .)
>



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Mark Stover, M.L.S., Ph.D.
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Librarian
San Diego State University Library
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-8050
Voice: (619) 594-2131
Fax:  (619) 594-3270
Email:  mstover at mail.sdsu.edu
Author of Leading the Wired Organization (Neal-Schuman, 1999)
http://ilearncommunity.com/book.htm