Are Search Engines Important?

The modern search engine is a crucial part of the world we live in, and could even be said to be changing the way we think. The engines today, such as Google, filter the vast network of information that is the internet, and as such control what media we see, at the same time as influencing our decisions through advertising. Search engines are a major consideration of businesses and individuals alike.

What exactly takes place when you perform a search using Google? Well, there’s a simple algorithm in place that takes the key words of the search and then assesses, in lightning fast time, how many links there are to sites on the subject, and in turn how many sites are linked to them. Through this web of links it should be possible to assess how useful a site is for the user’s purposes.

A site’s popularity in these terms is referred to as its Googlerank. This term has become a big part of the world of business. For a company to stand a chance of being visible on the internet it must rely on Search Engine Optimisation. This process aims to up their internet profile. For big business and boutiques alike, this has become the defining factor in internet profits.

There are important things to consider about our minds from the use of search engines too. Gestalt theory, or the concept of how we see the world through a process that is determined by the prejudices of the mind, would suggest that continued exposure to this kind of fast, easily accessible information will inevitably change the way we think. It will make it harder to focus, and make the quest for information an impatient and unconsidered one.

This doesn’t mean that search engines are evil. Far from it in fact. For us to operate in the modern world they are essential, and we are fortunate to live in an age where so much information is available to anyone, by performing such a simple process. We have created machines that can put us in touch with a whole world’s worth of knowledge – incredible answer machines, with the search engine as their driving force.

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