I recently came across this video of a TED talk by Eric Pariser, that I think is thought-provoking and decidedly a propos to the topics of search marketing and SEO we'l be discussing in the upcoming class:
I was especially triggered by his metaphor (and slides!) on the "human" and now "algorithmic" gatekeepers that have replaced them. In all, his argument is for, in a way, more ethical algorithms, that don't allow themselves to be the feeder of our own conformation biases.
For marketing, the filter bubble is a double-edged sword: on the one hand, the clearer a person's filter bubble,the easier it is for marketers to target this person based on exactly the type of information he or she is most exposed to. On the other hand, penetrating the filter bubble with something genuinely new, that may actually be of considerable interest to this person is harder, as it might simply not penetrate the tough walls of the bubble.
For me, marketing and especially digital marketing is always strongly intertwined with ethics, and Mr. Pariser's argument persents a new layer of ethical considerations I, at least, had not previously considered. Where is the line between "editorial" search and unbiased search? To what extent can marketers use the filter bubble mechanism to create ever more tailored and intrusive (?) advertising?
I don't have answers, but there is definitely enough to think about!
1 comment:
I very much agree on the considerations above, great video! I would like to add a further element that might add even further to the pitfalls of this trend. Another aspect of the double edge of the "sword" that Adriaan has mentioned hits back directly to the companies that are using these means for their benefit. The process of innovation within a company also strongly relies on the feedback received from the customers and the internet is today one potent mean for this kind of communication and feedback..basically the company can "learn" from its customers (their tastes, ideas etc).
Doesn't the trend identified in the video limit the innocation and diversity of the ideas that a company can learn from its customers through the internet?
Thus entering this vicious cycle, don't we risk to become all "isolated islands", or clones within the "clusters" where the company has initially positioned us?
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