thoughts on Guilt through algorithmic association from @zephoria

Guilt through association is a well written about topic and there are well published errors in analysis that have caused many outcomes to be misguided.  danah boyd wrote an article here on “Guilt through algorithmic association”  It is well worth reading and which picks up on several blogs on My Digital Footprint

When Big Data says "Happy Christmas", what is the sentiment?

Google changes the algorithm; nothing new but what about the bias of coders?

It is well reasoned (opens a debate) with some great comments, the critical point here is how does the fact become fact, is it content or is it because we searched for it.  Content is a source and can be tracked (or should be) this is why pagerank works: Authority.  However, as we give way to “search terms” as a source we are in danger of rumour, gossip and prejudice becoming fact based on an algorithm.

Algorithms can be gammed for benefit aka “Google Bombing” so the question becomes do people actually react to the instant search results and what is the level of influence.  

The next question is how does it become infectious and does an example of Google instant search need a higher level of crowd control….