uh . . . what?

Google’s famous, if secret, recipe for letting the wisdom of crowds determine page rank is apparently bogus. Andrew Olorsky of The Register reveals “Google this week admitted that its staff will pick and choose what appears in its search results. It’s a historic statement – and nobody has yet grasped its significance.”

As Chris Matyszczyk recaps it at CNET,

The fools, usually, are us.

We, the people, who switch off our critical faculties and happily barter our trust for the joy of convenience.

So will we ever make the effort to even raise an eyebrow when we read “Google this week admitted that its staff pick and choose what appears in its search results”?

These words, from the Register’s Andrew Orlovski, ought surely to give one or two people pause for a small grunt of concern. . . .

Google wants its search results to become more pragmatic, not for any political, social or even intellectual reason. The company simply thinks it’s better for business. Advertising business.

Most of us won’t notice or care and will continue to depend on Google because it’s so dominant, so fast, so very much our rolling dictionary of the world.

Which will leave Google to approach its business in as pragmatic a way as it chooses. It will makes changes and we will continue to believe in them.

I am officially bamboozled. Wow.

(Charming photo courtesy of karensig.)

file under “how dumb do you think we are?”

Google is so nice they’ll now let you store all your medical records in one place. And chances are, they’ll use them. After all, “Google collects personal information when you register for a Google service or otherwise voluntarily provide such information. We may combine personal information collected from you with information from other Google services or third parties to provide a better user experience, including customizing content for you .”

They’re careful to point out that they only provide non-identifying information to third parties, unless it’s in response to a subpoena or some other legal action. But do you really want Google to know your medical history and combine it with the millions of other things they know about you? Really?  And just when did advertising becme “a better user experience”?

HIPAA protects records that are collected by health providers, but once you provide your records to a third party, it’s anybody’s guess whether they’re in any way protected.