On google bombing and search engine presence

[matgb]

Right, we're all out of the sandbox and then some now. And I'm bored, and busy at work, so I want some easy amusement. I want to set up a [Poll #750784]
I'm tempted to do something like pointless waste of time but, well, some of you fools like Big Brother (could do the same for the World Cup instead?).

Partially, want to do this as a proof of concept, in theory, three participants doing it correctly can get an obscure term to a high ranked site easily, but, say, 20 people on my f-list could get pretty much anything if we wanted to. Theoretically. And if we can? Well, for example, Exeter students could do some nasty things to parts of the website or, say, the Vice Chancellor. Most cabinet members have been done over more than once already, but, y'know, the more the merrier...

Extra: Interesting Slate article on the subject, with a good roundup of the history.

Comments

[freddiefraggles.livejournal.com]

"Were you genuinely not amused by..."

Yes. They seem rather childish to me. Yes, it's interesting, and worrying, that the internet can be manipulated in such a way, but amusing? Not really.

"Unless, of course, you like Steve Smith?"

...

Did I not tell you about the time I had to be forcibly restrained from slapping / hurting a lot / killing Chris McCullough in the Imperial?

[matgb]

amusing? Not really
Ah. Ok then. That does explain the disconnect in the conversation; I find any clever use of a facility to be amusing, but then, you like Clarkson ;-)

it's interesting, and worrying, that the internet can be manipulated in such a way

Worrying? Look at the Slate article I linked above. It's not worrying that people understand how Google works and make use of it. Google is, inherently, a democratic medium. People think Blair's a liar, Google therefore takes this into account. That's good.

Besides, corrupting it is very difficult, hence my caveats to the above.

As for restaint and Chris McCullough? I google'd him, can hazard a gues; what'd he do, specifically?

[freddiefraggles.livejournal.com]

Chris McCullough is the Head of Performance Arts, and a Drama lecturer. It is well known in some parts that he stood up in an important meeting about the closures and said that if Music wasn't shutdown, he would quit.

Hence why no Music student hates Steve Smith more than Chris McCullough. Or Chris McCunt, if you ask my friend Antony, who moved to Bristol for his last year.