TED talk by Eli Pariser, author of The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You
Pariser demonstrates how personalisation algorithms mean that search engines are offering you results which conform to your existing browsing habits and preferences. You think you are seeing the “whole web”, but increasingly you’re being served up a subset of links based on their “relevance” to those you already clicked on.
Is the personalised web becoming a space which shrinks as you explore it?
“Facebook was looking at which links I clicked on, and it was noticing that I was clicking more on my liberal friends’ links than on my conservative friends’ links. And without consulting me about it, it had edited them out. They disappeared.” (Eli Pariser)
http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html