Richard Macmanus wrote an interesting article yesterday at ReadWriteWeb asking how Google can identify quality content better.
First, to me, content quality is definitely a subjective matter and can only be answered by the individual consuming the content at that point in time. What is good content for me could be poor content for someone else. What is poor content for me right now, could also very well be great content at a different time when I have a different need, when I am in a different mood or simply have a different viewpoint. In short, content quality can never be “objectively defined” in my world.
How then can search become more relevant based on subjective perception of content quality as defined by the individual? Well, we all base our subjective views of the world around us in different ways. Some listen a lot to friends they trust, some place their belief in authorities and some value strong media brands communicating the content more than others do. It is all individual and it changes depending on the circumstances the content is consumed.
One of the key observations Steve Rubel summarized from Le Web is that “nowadays no two people see the same Internet” and that we increasingly discover online content not just by search algoritms but also via a “lens of friends“.
Integrating these possibilities and getting a truly personalized search result using the quality factors I define myself at that time is the future of search in my point of view. Key to me is to enable these possibilities and make them optional in a user-friendly way. Not to integrate them too much in the algoritms themselves.
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