WYSWYG: What you see is what you get. That may not necessarily be true when you visit Google anymore. The latest in algorithm widgetry is driving a large push in search engine optimization. Online Media Planning is big business and as with any marketing group, it’s a dog-eat-dog world. Google has been working on “behavioral targeting” (even as they don’t like that loaded term) where what you have searched for previously will help determine what you search for now. They use this as a basis to deliver advertisers to you on a more personalized level. The problem is , what happens when you search for something, 10 minutes later, your husband searches for something, then the kids do a search? Not to mention that you clear your history – someone out there isn’t. Are advertiser’s really getting their ads targeted to the right people? At the right moment?

I must admit, Google searches have become alot more focused the past two years, but I won’t know what I’m missing. And that really bothers me, Big Brother. After all, who didn’t giggle at the google results for searches placed 5 years ago? Maybe a new search engine is being called for, gaggle.com.