I Blame Google

Are you finding it harder to remember things? I know that I’ve noticed myself searching harder for a word or name a little more often recently.

I thought it was just that I was getting older but I’ve found out that I can blame it all on Google. I thought Google was my friend, the keeper of all knowledge, but a study, led by psychologist Betsy Sparrow, an assistant professor from Columbia University, has found that while the internet gives us immediate and constant access to information, we’re becoming more dependent on it as our own personal memory.

Apparently we don’t feel we have to remember things any more because it’s all at our fingertips on our computers, smart phones, iPads or other devices.

Sparrow’s research reveals that we forget things we are confident we can find on the Internet. We are more likely to remember things we think are not available online. And we are better able to remember where to find something on the Internet than we are at remembering the information itself. This is believed to be the first research of its kind into the impact of search engines on human memory organization.

Sparrow’s paper in Science is titled, “Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips.” With colleagues Jenny Liu of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Daniel M. Wegner of Harvard University, Sparrow explains that the Internet has become a primary form of what psychologists call transactive memory—recollections that are external to us but that we know when and how to access. – Colombia Research

The idea of relying on an external ‘memory’ isn’t new. A lot of people can’t remember birthdays and anniversaries because they know that their spouse has taken care of all that information. When we believe that access to the information we require is readily available we tend not to commit the details to memory.

I wonder if you’ve noticed that yourself. Are you forgetting things a little more often? Have you perhaps discovered ways to keep your memory active? Who remembers birthdays at your place? I’d love to hear your thoughts.



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Google Reviews 2010

As 2010 comes to a close, Google looks at the year that was.

You can also see how the world searched with Google’s 2010 Zeitgeist.



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Street View Returns to Australia

google_logo.jpgIf you’re in a capital city in Australia you’d better make sure your front garden is looking good. Google’s getting ready to put your home on the world stage with another round of pictures set to make their way online.

In the story Google Street View to shoot Australia again, News.com.au is reporting that Google is sending its cars out again. That might be a good thing for those who got snapped by the cameras last time. They’ll be able to make sure they’re indoors this time around.

“Starting from next month in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and parts of Tasmania, we’ll be doing our best to cover as many of Australia’s public roads as we can during this summer,” said Google product manager Andrew Foster.

“If you’re in the right place at the right time, you might spot one of our clearly marked Street View cars in your neighbourhood.

We’ve got an old trailer that we used to move house in our driveway. I’d better make sure it’s gone as soon as possible. I also need to throw around some fertiliser and get rid of a few weeds.

I’ve found Street View to be a big help when working out how to get somewhere. I’ll often check the details on a map before I look at Street View to see intersections where I have to turn. That way, I know exactly what I need to find before I chuck a left or right.

It was very helpful when we were looking to sell our previous home and buy our current home. We could see photos of prospective homes from the real estate agents but Street View gave us the opportunity to check out the neighbourhood.

Are you a fan of Street View? Do you find it helpful or an invasion of privacy?



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Retrospective Search

searching.jpgDo you ever wish you could respond to people who search your website or blog?

People find their way to this blog with a variety of searches and there are times when I know that they wouldn’t have found what they’re looking for but I could point them in the right direction if only I could have a way of replying to them. Of course there are other times where I wish I could just reach through their monitor and give them a slap.

To the person in East Blue Hill, Maine, you wouldn’t have found any “bassendean aussie day photos” here but I know where you can get some.

Sorry to the person in Stoughton, Massachusetts searching “how to become an interesting person”. I haven’t figured that one out yet but if I do, I’ll take notes along the way and share them with you.

As for the person from Palm Coast, Florida, I don’t really know what you were hoping to find when you searched “young girls who like too pump”. Flat tyre problems? Maybe if you’d listened at school you would at least know the difference between ‘to’, ‘too’ and ‘two’.

Sudbury is in Ontario, Canada, and someone there is interested in the “story behind the song, living next door to alice”. I don’t really know. I’m guessing it’s about some guy who lived next door to a girl named Alice. Either that or Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, who wrote the song, needed a few extra dollars so they decided to write a hit song.

In Singapore someone searched “naked apology”. Yes, well … I wish I was in much better shape but I’d have to say that with the extra padding I’m carrying I’d have to make a very sincere apology if I turned up anywhere even close to naked. In fact, the mirror in my bathroom is already demanding an apology.

What are some of the stranger search terms that have taken people to your blog? Can you help any of those who have made it here with some of the search terms above?



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