Google is god? Since when...

[The Void]

I had to bring this up because over the past year I have been bombarded daily with a phrase similar to the following from people of all age groups, backgrounds, etc.:

"I Googled it"

and then many people proceed to follow that up with "I found this/that" or "It was not there", and this seems to be the difinitive measure by which information now exists.

I have a huge problem with this type of mentatlity.

***

I understand that Google is a search engine with probably more information than anywhere else on the web.

I also realize that before the web, there were places people stored information that was not for the eyes of the public and guess what, it still exists.

I wish that people would stop acting like if they cannot find it on Google that is somehow does not exist AND I wish they'd stop assuming if they found something that a) it's real and valid and b) it is the only stuff they could find. There are innumerable ways to search something and over the years I've gotten pretty damn good at it myself.

***

I can't tell you the amount of times someone said they could not find something and I went and found many things on said subject becuase quite often:

*The person had no patience to search multiple times, with mutliple words, changes, etc and dig and dig for what they were looking for.

*They often take the search at face value and don't go beyond the 1st page to see if a tidbit can be found that might lead to something else elsewhere.

*They forget all the other mediums through which information exists in this world and take Google as 'god'.

Well, I for one am not subscribing to the "Google is god" club.

I just had to vent this, not sure if anyone else feels the same of differently. i am just stating something I see happening in our society and it seems in some ways to its detriment.

[Blackmail]

edited

[The Void]

When you are involved in a political discussion it is usually good to provide links and evidence to your claims.  Google is a good place to find links.  All I did was ask that you provide evidence or a source to back up your claims and I used google to try to find the info you provided. 

If you have a better idea on how to find random information then please share.  However calling people lazy because they choose to use google as a means to find links to news articles is quite lame.    Google links you to almost every news organization in the world and almost every blog on the internet.    Google is simply the number one source for information on the information superhighway.  Don't like that people use google to find info?  Perhaps you shouldn't be on the internet.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I edited my post to you specifically because I did not want you to see this as a personal attack. I am mainly speaking to my real life, daily experiences. If you took this as a personal attack, then please reread the above post as it had no mention of any names nor was directed at any one person, here on DGN or in RL or otherwise. Thanks.

[Blackmail]

I edited my post to you specifically because I did not want you to see this as a personal attack.  I am mainly speaking to my real life, daily experiences.  If you took this as a personal attack, then please reread the above post as it had no mention of any names nor was directed at any one person, here on DGN or in RL or otherwise.  Thanks.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But you still havn't responded. If you are looking for a news article you've read and want to find it again, what is the best way to do it? If you think someone is making up stories in a debate on the internet then how would you go about verifying it?

Personally I think google is the second best site on the internet next to wikipedia. If you want info, then google is the place to go.

What is your alternative?

[The Void]

My argument is that Google is not the only place to go.

I as commenting on the societal attitude shift in that many people think it's really the only place. Yes, I almost mentioned Wikipedia as well, but refrained. Also, the whole point is that libraries still exist and people who know people still exist and interviewing a real live person is still a way to gain information.

I concede that some of those methods are not as fast and maybe way less effective, but I think my personal point is being missed.

I also said "many" in much of what I said, not "all". If I said all people had this attitude, that would be quite glib wouldn't it?

I still think you should read what I wrote originally again. i don't expect anyone to agree with me, but I also don't expect to get attacked over it.

I guess I hit home a bit too hard with you personally if you are in fact taking it this personal. *shrugs*

[Blackmail]

I still think you should read what I wrote originally again.  i don't expect anyone to agree with me, but I also don't expect to get attacked over it. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

where did I attack you?

As for your alternatives, Google has about a million times more information than a library. In my questioning of your sources in another thread a Library would not have helped.

I have re-read your post and still hold the same objections.

I wish that people would stop acting like if they cannot find it on Google that is somehow does not exist AND I wish they'd stop assuming if they found something that a) it's real and valid and b) it is the only stuff they could find. There are innumerable ways to search something and over the years I've gotten pretty damn good at it myself.

I never said that if it isn't on google then it doesn't exist not did I say your stories in the other thread were false, I merely stated that I used google to try and verify them - and google is linked to every news medium in the world - and couldn't. So I was merely asking for a source since no official news media source came up in my admittedly brief search. Maybe if I did a different search I could have found something. I never claimed otherwise. I was merely asking for a source.

[The Void]

unfortunately this nitpicky arguing took away from the main focus of my post in that I was interested in what others have experienced and was only talking about my experience.

I never said that if it isn't on google then it doesn't exist not did I say your stories in the other thread were false, I merely stated that I used google to try and verify them - and google is linked to every news medium in the world - and couldn't.

I never said YOU said that. *lmao* See, you ARE taking this personally as if I directed it all at YOU. I said "people". If your name is People Blackmail, then I sincerely apologize.

Actually I was complaining about people taking Googled items "as is" "as truth" so I was not so concerned that you wanted sources for what I found. I still take things with a grain of salt and even though I found something online, does not mean I take it as 100% fact.

I think my concern is towards those that do take it as presented by mass media outlets who lie profusely.

At any rate, I hope to see someone else respond to their experiences with this cultural phenomenon in a shift towards, and I still contend, "Google as god".

[Scary Guy]

Google is so yesterday

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

[Mikielikesit]

Google is "GOD" .....he has returned, he has returned......then you can find porn with google then porn is ok in the eyes of the LORD.....yeah I won't be going to HELL.....whopeee :devil

[Scary Guy]

Google is a great search tool, but relying on only one is stupid as the others also give good and different results. yahoo, altavista, msnsearch, mammoth, ask, etc... I wonder how this relates to religion

Although recently the government wanted the IP's of people and what they searched for. I bet they don't even care about the other ones, or if they do most people don't because most people don't use them.

Food for thought, there can be some safety in following the crowd.

[Ginevra]

If someone asks me for a search engine to go to, I usually refer them to Yahoo or Jeeves or something. However, I usually state it as "go out to (insert engine name) and plug in your search" rather than "just Google it".

Search engines are a nice handy tool that makes our lives easier. But what did we do before this? We went next door to the neighbor or asked a friend the question. Or we went to the library and looked it up for ourselves.

Sometimes, I do think that if the Internet just took a big crap one day, it might actually be a good thing.