"Google Bombing" Bush

[burning bush]

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2003/12/09/2003078914

NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , NEW YORK
Tuesday, Dec 09, 2003,Page 6

Earlier this year, Google started a widely used news service. Last week, it looked to some users of the Google search that the site had started to editorialize.

Anyone searching on Google for the phrase "miserable failure" was sent to the official White House biography of US President George W. Bush.

Google executives say they have no corporate opinion of the Bush presidency. Instead, the episode is another example of a form of cyber-graffiti known as "Google bombing."

Now here is a project I can get behind! With all of the webmasters/bloggers that hang at DU, don't you think we could create our own little google bomb, and detonate it in Bush's face?

What do you say? Any suggestions on what kind of shenanigans we could get up to? :)

[Blade]

1. LOL..

sounds like fun. I'm all for it. It's close to 3 am, though, and I am fresh out of ideas.

[burning bush]

2. Yeah. It's late...

I'll kick this up again in the AM, see what happens ...

[Kerridwyn]

3. War criminal?

So we need a phrase to link him to...

war criminal? world's biggest idiot?

[Runesong]

4. I'm game...

I have a site that google indexes at least once a day. "War Criminal" it is. :)

http://www.lucidspace.com

[NewJeffCT]

7. ok, what do we do next?

Sounds interesting... war criminal would be good.

[ima_sinnic]

5. I have a web site, please tell me what to do

I see agreement on the phrase "war criminal"--please tell me what text I should add to my web site.

[BaltExpat]

6. Don't Agree...

...and it is not about politics. If 'Google bombing' becomes a common practice (not just hackers' once-in-awhile event) I think it has the potential to have a negative impact on the usefulness of what many consider the the 'go-to' search engine for serious research. While it may seem cute at first, eventually it could lead to a backlash from those who find it annoying to be directed to pages that have nothing to do with the subject matter they are searching for.

[izzie]

8. Question. Are their pay search places and are they better?

I do not think DU should do this as a plan. Someone is going to do it any how just as they do it to all. I think it is something I would have done in college my self, and how about you? MIT, I bet, has it all figured out.Their humor was always off the wall.

[BaltExpat]

9. I Might Have Done this YEARS Ago...

...in college. That said, be careful what you ask for, you just might get it (re: successful Google bombing). I have no idea about pay search places. Why take a chance in rendering an excellent free service useless at worst, irrelevant at best? And again, the backlash thing... Voters that are fence sitters and use Google might find that such an annoyance as the straw that broke the camels' back. Of course this is all hypothetical, but why tempt it?

[burning bush]

11. Why Tempt it?

Because, ultimately, it is harmless. You know the Repukes will be doing it to us, so why not throw a little their way as well? Also, it would be an interesting expiriment, to see how difficult it would be to pull it off. Finally, "war criminal" is reactionary, but fun. If this works, we could try something a little more intellectually deep.

Savvy? ;)

[BaltExpat]

13. No, Not Savvy..

For the reasons I stated above.

[burning bush]

10. Here's extra info on "how", and "why"

First "Why" -
(from ther same article)

Craig Silverstein, Google's director for technology, says the company sees nothing wrong with the public using its search engine this way. No user is hurt, he said, because there is no clearly legitimate site for "miserable failure" being pushed aside.


Ok, that should be enough reason why -Google doesn't CARE if we do it! LOL - Sounds like an invitation to me :)

Next - "How"
(again-from the same article)

It is a group prank. If enough Web pages link a certain Web page to a phrase, the Google search engine will start to associate that page with the phrase -- even if, as in the case of Bush's official biography, the phrase does not occur on the destination Web site.

So, my understanding of that is that if I were to run a link to GW's website biography (http://www.georgewbush.com/Bios/GeorgeWBush.aspx), using the term War Criminal as my linking phrase, like this:

War Criminal

The Google will come to associate the term War Criminal with W's biography page.

There, I know DU gets Googled every so often, let me be the first to cast this stone!

Put it on your blog, on your website, add it to your signature line here at DU, wherever you can!

If Google doesn't care, I don't care. Honestly, is there someone else out there who will be hurt if we over run the War Criminal phrase?

[burning bush]

12. Hey Clark Supporters, A Little Help Here?

Lets google bomb Bush's biography with the term "War Criminal"
(For info on how to do that, see post #10)

Why? Because right now, if you google those words, the fifth hit you see is about Wesley Clark. Bush only shows up once in the top ten, at #7.

Does this seem just to you?

I'm a Dean supporter, and I think that sucks. Clark is a war hero, Bush is less than a zero.


The Biography of a War Criminal.

peace to the left, cold war on the right :)

[BaltExpat]

14. What Would General Clark Say?

Hypothetical question - that said, as a Clark supporter posting 'google bombs', let's say you are working in the inner sanctum of Clark's campaign. The race is close and PR is critical - would you seriously recommend such a childish prank as 'google bombing'. Get serious about your candidate, people are not swayed by pranks. Understand?

[BaltExpat]

15. More...

I missed you are a Dean supporter - do you actually think somehting like Google bombing would really help his chances. Get real, he is a long-shot. He needs mainstream voters to relate to his issues. Your pranks only serve to hurt his chances, along with any other serious Democratic candidates.

[BaltExpat]

16. More...

I missed you are a Dean supporter - do you actually think somehting like Google bombing would really help his chances. Get real, he is a long-shot. He needs mainstream voters to relate to his issues. Your pranks only serve to hurt his chances, along with any other serious Democratic candidates.