Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Google Domination

The Library Technology Conference 2011 is next week (March 16-17) and I look forward to hearing Siva Vaidhyanathan speak at Wednesday's General Session. After reading this preview of his recent book The Googlization of Everything (and Why We Should Worry), I anticipate that he will give conference attendees much food for thought. I am probably not the only librarian that has long been questioning my own willingness to give Google my data...in Blogger posts, Gmail, Google docs, Google searches, Google Sites... Although I am excited to hear this keynote presentation, I am also terrified of what else I will learn about Google's role in the information marketplace.

What are your thoughts on Google's place in Vaidhyanathan's "information ecosystem?" What in this very data-rich excerpt stood out to you? Do you actively try to protect yourself from the alluring pull of Google or other info gatherers? If so, how? And if library patrons are increasingly accustomed to Google's customized search results, do librarians have a duty to warn them of the dangers or to give 'em what they want and emulate - as far as possible - Google's data collection techniques? Is there a happy medium?

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