A few weeks ago, we noticed that Google had rigged their little "prompting" system on the Google home page, where, as you type your search term, it offers up the most popular searches beginning with those letters. Oddly, Pat Buchanan had been relegated to Unperson status by Google, unlike Yahoo's and Bing's search engines where Buchanan was the second prompt for "Pat B" after only Pat Benatar.
Obviously, that wasn't the most crucial issue of our times, but it does say something when a super-rich and powerful near monopolist surreptitiously engages in petty political vendettas.
I concluded, "Ridicule is the best medicine."
And ridicule seems to have worked. Buchanan is now second on Google among the "Pat B" prompts, well ahead of the immortal Pat Buttram.
Obviously, that wasn't the most crucial issue of our times, but it does say something when a super-rich and powerful near monopolist surreptitiously engages in petty political vendettas.
I concluded, "Ridicule is the best medicine."
And ridicule seems to have worked. Buchanan is now second on Google among the "Pat B" prompts, well ahead of the immortal Pat Buttram.
My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer
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42 comments:
"Steve S" showed no hits for you, nor did "Steve Sa". I tried "Steve Sai", and it hit, but as "Steve Sailer racist".
The de-ranking of Pat Buchanan was simply an attempt to live up to Google's motto "Don't be evil."
The only problem is you're not supposed to get caught not being evil!
Never fear!
The secret algorithms maintained by Google can be made subtle enough to not be evil and not get caught at it.
I guess your influence is larger then you think. Congrats!
Pat Buttram is as dead as Pat Buchanan's politics.
They also restored the "islam is" suggestions.
Great work, Steve!
If this is the kind of "victory" we're supposed to be applauding ourselves for, no wonder people deride us as "faileocons."
It makes me somewhat hopeful for our country to see that Steve has some influence after all.
Dude, don't you read your commenter's comments ever? I told you this about a week ago.
"If only he'd used his genius for good instead of evil..."
Isn't it ""If only he'd used his genius for niceness instead of evil..."?
neocons must've flipped their wigs when their cute new puppet sarah palin cited "buchanan" as an info source for some comments she made during an interview last week....i'm sure the palin handlers have since gone into overdrive to disinfect that portion of sarah palin's brain...
speaking of neocons: notorious iraq war honcho michael ledeen was treated like a guest of honor on the mark levin show last night.....here are some choice ledeen quotes from his wiki page:
"the level of casualties (in Iraq) is secondary"
"we are a warlike people (Americans)...we love war"
"Change — above all violent change — is the essence of human history"
"the only way to achieve peace is through total war"
"The purpose of total war is to permanently force your will onto another people"
"Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business"
btw the ban against buchanan is in effect at most "conservative" radio outlets......beck savage levin prager medved etc.
neocons largely dominate "right wing" talk radio....and they all pretty much hate buchanan and actively ban him (except for hannity who actually has him on once in a while and limbaugh who might quote buchanan)......
top non-persons (persons who must not be named) on "conservative" radio in america:
#1 alex jones
#2 pat buchanan
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11/2010
Anonymous Mel Torme said...
Dude, don't you read your commenter's comments ever? I told you this about a week ago.
2/11/2010
Blogger Steve Sailer said...
"If only he'd used his genius for good instead of evil..."
Isn't it ""If only he'd used his genius for niceness instead of evil..."?
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Okeedokey, got my answer.
;-(
>Dutch Boy said...Pat Buttram is as dead as Pat Buchanan's politics.
hahaha as opposed to david axelrod rahm emmanuel & barack obama's politics? they are alive and well? hahaha biggest congressional ruling party losses in american history are coming right up for barry soetoro......please stand by
Niceness it is; now, if only Sailer would use his genius for anti-racist niceness rather than evil-racist curiosity...
Type "obama" and suggestion #8 is "obama chiapet". Lol.
@Ohio Stater: Check again.
At 9:30pm today, I tested "Steve Sa". "Steve Sailer" is second after Steve Sarkisian.
Then I tested "steve sai". "Steve Sailer" is #1. "Steve Sailer racist" is #4. "Steve Sailer vdare" is #8.
Steve, they also did the same thing to Christopher Columbus. Google is run by Progressives. Progressives are more than willing to be on the neo-cons side (Example: Tom Friedman during the run up to the Iraq War) but absolutely hate Paleoconservatives like Buchanan and Palin.
Oh well, I think with the election of Scott Brown some people think the American people are waking up. Until we hear widespread protests calling for the repeal of the 1965 Immigration Act then I think the American people are in fact still comatose.
Don't underestimate Pat Buttram. He came from the only county in Alabama, indeed the whole South, that voted Republican during the New Deal. Decades later, the rest of the state joined them.
Pat's people were way ahead of their time!
Thx anonymous. Steves popularity is soaring in real time! But we can't let Sailer get too rich since he might turn liberal!
How are you sure this is the result of anythng you've done? That's a huge assumption.
Hey, Steve, I wonder how many influential people read your stuff... In my opinion you are far and away the best "opinion" writer in the game. It boggles the mind to think you aren't widely published in the MSM. Is free speech essentially dead in this country? I guess if Buchanan was a young man today he'd never be allowed to write a syndicated column.
I doubt this had anything to do with you. You are always trying to inflate your own importance.
It boggles the mind to think you aren't widely published in the MSM.
Apart from the point-and-sputter PC groupthink, there is the deeper issue of Steve being a threat to many "opinion writers" with cushy jobs and ethnic connections. They wouldn't want to give a break to a potential enemy who is alien to their in-group and would humiliate them if given a proper platform.
Pat Benatar still number one!
way to flatter yourself, Steve.
Delete--unBuchanan
Insert--unChina
Barney Google, with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes.
Barney Google had a wife three times his size
Barney Google, with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes.
Barney Google tried to enter paradise.
When Saint Peter saw his face, he said, "Go to the other place".
Barney Google, with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes.
Dear wake up: Wake up yourself! Republican Party politics and those of Mr. Buchanan have little in common.
The search engine at bing.com is pretty good now and more visually appealing.
I try to split my searches between bing and google just to keep the market honest.
Oh well, I think with the election of Scott Brown some people think the American people are waking up.
Hah, white people waking up. Been hearing about this awakening for years now. If you smothered the entire U.S. with smelling salt, coffee, and red bull white people still wouldn't wake up. My fellow white people are a joke.
Google has enormous power to shape public discussion, even to discourage the discussion of some facts and news stories. Given that, they will over time almost certainly fall under the influence of the powerful people who try to shape opinion. How likely is it that Pat Buchanan is the only subject people are nudged away from, or that this is the only way people are nudged?
Steve,
You got a mention on the popular biz website Business Insider regarding the Pat Buchanan Google thing.
Is it not possible that because of your last blog, all the istevers began typing in "pat buchanan" in google, thus elevating that search term?
I highly doubt Google was doing anything active.
For comparison, if you enter "whiskeys" into the Google search box, then one of the entries is Whiskey's blog Whiskey's Place.
No matter what you think of Pat Buchanan, it was just lame of Google to play these games.
They still are doing it with other names. Compare the results for "Adolph Hitler" with those for "Joseph Stalin". Hitler was as evil as they get, but Google is still lame for doing this.
Oh my. A whole bunch of people were prompted by the previous post to type "Pat Bu" into Google to try this out. This drove Buchanan onto the search list, so now he shows up. And this very strong evidence that the whole thing was algorithmically driven (and someone at the previous post explained just how the algorithm works and just how Buchanan could have wound up off the list) is now being presented as MORE evidence that they did this on purpose!
When all the world looks like a conspiracy
Then all the world looks like a conspiracy
"Is it not possible that because of your last blog, all the istevers began typing in "pat buchanan" in google, thus elevating that search term?"
Of course thyis is what happened, anonymous. As someone mentioned, Business Insider linked to the first post, and everyone who went there also went and tried this out. The idea that Eric Schmidt is sitting around fretting over whethwer or not people can find Buchanan's name is pretty absurd.
Dear Gene Callahan:
Don't be silly. Follow the link to my first post on the subject: back when Pat Buchanan was unperson on the Google prompts, he was a the second Pat B (after Pat Benatar) in the prompts on Yahoo and Bing. Now, Google is back in accord with Yahoo and Bing.
Dear Steve Sailer,
Don't be silly. Did you actually read the *detailed* description someone gave of Google's algorithm in the comments on your previous post? (S)he described exactly how that could happen, and exactly how the recent searches could change that situation.
Yeah, I read it, and your theory doesn't explain why Buchanan was the #2 "Pat B" on Yahoo and Bing, but didn't even make the top 10 for "Pat Bu" on Google at the exact same moment back in January.
Now, after widespread ridicule of Google for its petty political manipulation, Google agrees with Yahoo and Bing that Buchanan is #2 among "Pat B" and #1 among "Pat Bu".
But you can still save your theory by hypothesizing that Yahoo and Bing are infiltrated by Buchananites.
"Your theory..."
That wasn't "my" theory. In fact, it didn't really look like a "theory" at all, but more like a description by someone intimately familiar with Google's methods.
'doesn't explain why Buchanan was the #2 "Pat B" on Yahoo and Bing, but didn't even make the top 10 for "Pat Bu" on Google at the exact same moment back in January.'
The algorithm the poster described did explain exactly that, very thoroughly. I'm afraid you just didn't understand what he was describing.
Glad to see the algorithms getting along again. Everybody wins!
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