filter bubble?
As the proliferation of online content continues to grow and human attention reaches full-up, Google, Facebook et al are tailoring services to try pre-filter content for their users in the interest of relevance and preference.
Are their intentions honorable? We hope so.
But Eli Pariser , a Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute and author of a new book The Filter Bubble, argues that we've simply swapped one set of gatekeepers for another.
In the pre-internet age we took what we were given by broadcasters and publishers.
Then the web came along and opened everything up.
But now things like Google's social search, the 'important' tab in gmail, Facebook EdgeRank are the new gatekeepers. Sorting content and providing us with what they think we want.
Eli thinks that we are in danger of being trapped in a 'filter bubble' limiting the chance of discovering new information and points of view.
Worth a look, if you've not seen it.
