what's in your filter bubble? or, how has the internet censored you today?
DESCRIPTION
As presented at the 2012 Oregon Library Association Conference.TRANSCRIPT
What’s in Your Filter Bubble?Or,
how has the internet censored you today?
• Personalization• Editorial Role• The web is a land
of opportunity (ie $$$$$)
In Portland:Me – 30s, Female, Librarian, far left
S. – 30s, male, PhD but works for a health insurance company, Libertarian
D. – 40s, female, model maker, far left
In Corvallis:L. – 30s ?, Female, Librarian, politics unknown
In Eugene:M. – 30s, Female, Librarian, far left
In Helena:A. – 30s, Female, Librarian, politics unknown
In NYC:D. – 30s, Female, Librarian, far left
L. – 30s, Female, Librarian, far left
In Tallahassee:A. – 30s, Male, Librarian, politics unknown
Browser: Google ChromeGoogle Account: [email protected]
Browser: FirefoxGoogle Account: [email protected]
Browser: Internet ExplorerGoogle Account: not signed in
And then this happened…
“Emily, did you know that viewers of this show also like (Planned) Parenthood?”
• My test searches were bad.• My test subjects weren’t
representative enough.• I have created my own bubble and
Google has aided and abetted me in doing so.
• #*@#$*@&!!!
The Conclusion?
How old I am
What degrees I’ve earned and where I earned them
Who are my friends
Who are my family
Who I have dated
Where I live
Where and when I’ve traveled and with whom
Where I work
My bike route to work
What organizations I support financially
My political views
What car I drive
What bike I ride
Who I email most often and what I say
When my cat died and what vet hospital I patronized
My favorite blog
My favorite food this week and last year
My favorite author
Omg what does the internet Google know about me???
Who I had happy hour with on July 29, 2010 and where we were
What videos I’ve watched on YouTube and when and how many times
What kind of phone I use and what applications are on it and when I use those applications
My penchant for fictional family dramas
What podcasts I listen to
What book my book club is reading, where we’re meeting, and when…
Omg what does the internet Google know about me???
1. Burn your cookies.
2. Erase your web history.
3. Tell Facebook to keep your data private
4. It’s your birthday and you can hide it if you want to.
5. Turn off targeted ads, and tell the stalking sneakers to buzz off.
6. Go incognito.
7. Or better yet, go anonymous.
8. Depersonalize your browser.
9. Tell Google and Facebook to make it easier to see and control your filters.
10.Tell Congress you care.
So What do we do?
Pariser’s 10 Ways to Pop your Filter Bubble
thefilterbubble.com/10-things-you-can-do
1. Be aware and informed.
2. Tell local decision-makers you care.
3. Tell Congress you care.
4. Use a different search engine.
5. Build mutually beneficial relationships with vendors.
6. Create our own tools.
7. Integrate awareness into our actions and interactions.
8. Provide feedback when asked.
9. Discover what the Internet already knows and change it.
10. Spread the word.
So What do we do?
A Librarian’s 10 ways to pop the filter bubble
• flickr.com/photos/39580703@N02/6122020531/• flickr.com/photos/cakper/5978028199/• flickr.com/photos/mirindas/5890851809/• flickr.com/photos/ncc_badiey/3095099782/• flickr.com/photos/84568447@N00/2278294489/
Thanks to the folks who have licensed their flickr images with creative commons licenses.
On the Media Interview Transcript with Eli Pariser
onthemedia.org/2011/may/20/the-filter-bubble/transcript/
The Filter Bubble Web site
thefilterbubble.com
Eli’s TED Talk
ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html
Other resources
Emily Ford
Urban & Public Affairs Librarian
Portland State University
Branford P. Millar Library
Questions/comments/ETC
What’s in Your Filter Bubble?Or,
how has the internet censored you today?
• Personalization• Editorial Role• The web is a land
of opportunity (ie $$$$$)
This book was written and published.
Pariser shows how we are being algorithmically filtered. This filtering is to achieve a few things:
PersonalizationMarketing
We’ve all personalized things. We personalize our houses with paint colors, our bodies with tattoos, our identities with our clothing, etc. and this all translated to the web. Our cell phones and our e-mail inboxes have so many personalization options. They are intended to optimize the functionality of these tools so that we can be effective and have fun doing it.
But the thing is--the personalization is going farther than that. Our web search results are based on who we are, not on what is “true.” Based on the web sites you visit most frequently, the time you spend on a site, how many links you click on from a particular site, you are being tracked and algorithms have been developed that will further personalize your web experience. Sounds good, right?
The problem is that technology is being put in a place to be an editor. It is deciding what is important for you to see and read and discover. Sounds a lot like what we do as librarians, right? At least in academic libraries, it’s a lot like what we do.
But here’s the problem– these editorial decisions are not based on a worldview or education. They are based on $$$. Quote the NY times bit in Pariser’s book here.
Talk about AXCIOM
If my world was indeed captured in a little bubble, I wanted to investigate it and understand it. So I decided I’d try to (unscientifically) see if I could find evidence of my filter bubble.
I tried to repeat the gist of what Pariser did when he talked about having two separate people google the same thing at the same time and see what happened. In his case, “Brooke Gladstone: …Even a small search yields different results for different people, says Pariser, as when two people he knows searched “BP” during the oil spill.ELI PARISER:And one person saw information about the oil spill - what you can do about it, the environmental consequences - and another person saw stock tips - here’s how the BP stock is doing, here’s investment information. You know, this could lead to some pretty bad decisions.” – from the On the Media transcript
In Portland:Me – 30s, Female, Librarian, far left
S. – 30s, male, PhD but works for a health insurance company, Libertarian
D. – 40s, female, model maker, far left
In Corvallis:L. – 30s ?, Female, Librarian, politics unknown
In Eugene:M. – 30s, Female, Librarian, far left
In Helena:A. – 30s, Female, Librarian, politics unknown
In NYC:D. – 30s, Female, Librarian, far left
L. – 30s, Female, Librarian, far left
In Tallahassee:A. – 30s, Male, Librarian, politics unknown
So I tried to replicate the experiment that Parisier talks about in his book. For background, he asked two women to google the same thing at the same time. The search was “bp.”
No difference
Not really any difference
Except this one. This particular result came from S. – 30s, male, PhD but works for a health insurance company, Libertarian
So I tried to have my participants re-do the search that Pariser had the ladies do. My subjects searched for BP. I noticed some slight differences, as in those who live in areas with BP gas stations had those mapped and listed up top. Other than that, there was not much difference at all.
Browser: Google ChromeGoogle Account: [email protected]
Browser: FirefoxGoogle Account: [email protected]
So then I thought maybe it’s a browser thing? And I tried an experiment on myself. At work I have two browsers open, one with work stuff, one with personal. And I don
Browser: Internet ExplorerGoogle Account: not signed in
And I tried using IE, too, which I try to never use.
My conclusion was: meh. It failed. Yeah, maybe my searches were a little different, but nothing of significance.
And then this happened…
I was innocently curled up on my big arm chair sipping on wine with the dog sleeping by my feet, about to watch one of my shows on Hulu (I don’t have cable).
“Emily, did you know that viewers of this show also like (Planned) Parenthood?”
This popped onto my screen. (Parentheses is what I heard– I’m still not sure if that’s what it said.)
• My test searches were bad.• My test subjects weren’t
representative enough.• I have created my own bubble and
Google has aided and abetted me in doing so.
• #*@#$*@&!!!
The Conclusion?
How old I amWhat degrees I’ve earned and where I earned them
Who are my friendsWho are my family
Who I have datedWhere I live
Where and when I’ve traveled and with whomWhere I work
My bike route to work
What organizations I support financiallyMy political views
What car I driveWhat bike I ride
Who I email most often and what I sayWhen my cat died and what vet hospital I patronized
My favorite blogMy favorite food this week and last year
My favorite author
Omg what does the internet Google know about me???
So I looked at my Google Dashboard. And I downloaded my Facebook data. And this is just a sample list of what Google and Facebook, combined, know about me. Potentially what has been sold to companies like Axciom. This more information than my partner, my parents, and best friends know about me.
Who I had happy hour with on July 29, 2010 and where we were
What videos I’ve watched on YouTube and when and how many times
What kind of phone I use and what applications are on it and when I use those applicationsMy penchant for fictional family dramas
What podcasts I listen toWhat book my book club is reading, where we’re meeting, and when…
Omg what does the internet Google know about me???
And it can get even more precise…
1. Burn your cookies.
2. Erase your web history.3. Tell Facebook to keep your data
private
4. It’s your birthday and you can hide it if you want to.
5. Turn off targeted ads, and tell the stalking sneakers to buzz off.
6. Go incognito.
7. Or better yet, go anonymous.8. Depersonalize your browser.
9. Tell Google and Facebook to make it easier to see and control your filters.
10.Tell Congress you care.
So What do we do?
Pariser’s 10 Ways to Pop your Filter Bubble
thefilterbubble.com/10-things-you-can-do
OMG What does Google Think I should Know?OMG What does Google Want me to know?
Education/Awareness—librarians are really good at this.Opting out – Delete cookies regularly. Have your browser ask about
cookies. Use plugins like Disconnect.Talk to your local and national decision-makers– technology decisions
can have impacts that reach far into the future
1. Be aware and informed.
2. Tell local decision-makers you care.
3. Tell Congress you care.
4. Use a different search engine.
5. Build mutually beneficial relationships with vendors.
6. Create our own tools.
7. Integrate awareness into our actions and interactions.
8. Provide feedback when asked.
9. Discover what the Internet already knows and change it.
10. Spread the word.
So What do we do?
A Librarian’s 10 ways to pop the filter bubble
Local decision makers may include your library director, your supervisor, etc. Without having these conversations I don’t think we’ll get anywhere, which is why I moved them up on the list.
Duckduckgo
• flickr.com/photos/39580703@N02/6122020531/• flickr.com/photos/cakper/5978028199/• flickr.com/photos/mirindas/5890851809/• flickr.com/photos/ncc_badiey/3095099782/• flickr.com/photos/84568447@N00/2278294489/
Thanks to the folks who have licensed their flickr images with creative commons licenses.
On the Media Interview Transcript with Eli Pariseronthemedia.org/2011/may/20/the-filter-bubble/transcript/
The Filter Bubble Web site
thefilterbubble.comEli’s TED Talk
ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html
Other resources
Emily Ford
Urban & Public Affairs LibrarianPortland State University
Branford P. Millar Library
Questions/comments/ETC