* cababarant *

Monday, August 21, 2006

Searching for answers

By way of the New York Times and Slate, I have discovered the search query list of AOL users. For those unfamiliar with the story, AOL published the list of 20 million search queries on their research website, with the intent that it could be used for academic research. Bloggers complained that this was a violation of privacy, and that many search queries are enough to identify user's identities (the NY Times proved it by figuring out one user's actual identity just by way of her search terms), so AOL removed the data last week.

I'm trying to redesign a search-oriented user interface for the company I'm working for, so Search has been on my mind a lot lately these past couple of weeks. This AOL story piqued my interest. Sounds kinda boring, but once I went into the database, I found it to be one of the most fascinating timesucks I've discovered in a long time. You can search by term and phrase, so I tried some that I thought might have interesting results. Keep in mind though; one has to put their squeamishness aside when looking through the database because believe me, you will run into some freaky shtuff. (and it also makes you realize that for a lot of people, "porn" and "internet" might as well be the same word. Pornonet?) And Slate writer Paul Boutin is correct in noting that no one seems to know how to spell "bestiality". (Just to give you an idea of what many users' searches involve!)

Some of the search strings are really fascinating. They are literally windows into people's lives. Because you can search by user number, you can see a single user's history. I actually started feeling sad and hoping that some of these people had other outlets than just the search box.
User 711391, for example, at some point started the query, "had an affair with a man and he thinks i need him now" followed by "how do you break off an affair" to "cheating on your mate is a waste of time" to "how to move on after a break up". I found another user who suddenly started a search string for "navy getting land duty in iraq" and "whidbey island sailors being sent to iraq " followed by "how to quit the military", "leaving the military while enlisted", "legal ways to quit military", then once again, "sending sailors to iraq". User 1932438, I feel for you. I hope you figure out what you need to do.

Most of all, I realized that many people need life's answers from the Internet. The Internet is like the Kwik E Mart Guru on the Simpsons: no real answers, just "Thank You, Come Again!" But I'd like to think that maybe, just maybe, a lot of these searching souls' needs are at least a little fulfilled by simply being able to type their questions into that little existence-affirming box.

So here are some of my favorite queries:

The Practical-Minded:
what do wild ducks eat
how do I keep my slingback shoes on
what happens if you eat syrup everyday
preparing earthworms to eat
how do I prevent someone from parking way to close to my private driveway

The Crisis-Afflicted:
how do I live
don't know how I do it
why do I feel like I am going crazy
how do the kids and I cope after he has left us again
when a exboyfriend is still angry at you after you and him is broken up for years and i have 3 kids by him
i cheated on my wife and feel so guilty
why don't people like me how to make friends
my iguana has quit using her front legs

The Curious:
how do I look
why do cats throw up
does superman need to eat
why is pork shoulder also called pork butt

The Commanding:
Go eat breakfast

The Existential:
Why am I here

Links:
NY Times: AOL Removes Search Data On Vast Group of Web Users
NY Times: A Face Is Exposed for AOL Searcher No. 4417749
Slate: You Are What You Search

posted by sheryl | 11:02 AM |

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