The Demographics of Web Search 131
adaviel sends a link to work out of Yahoo Research indicating that demographics can help Web searches; e.g. a women searching for "wagner" probably wants the 18th-century German composer, while for men in the US "wagner" is a paint sprayer. The Yahoo researchers claim that by taking user demographics into account, "they managed to get the chosen link to appear as the top-ranked result 7 per cent more often than in the standard Yahoo search." New Scientist mentions this research and two other innovative adjuncts to current search practice: following the mouse cursor as a proxy for eye tracking, and taking back bearings on online criminals by studying the searches they make. (The latter raises disburbing privacy questions: would you want Google trolling through your search data? How about governments?)
Correction: (Score:4, Informative)
wow... Just, wow.. (Score:3, Informative)
A -- women -- ???
I see a FLOOD of this, women used where woman should be used and woman where women should be used.
Wow......
Re:Correction: (Score:3, Informative)
Richard Wagner is much more famous though.
Wrong century (Score:3, Informative)
Wilhelm Richard Wagner [wikipedia.org] was born in 1813 and died in 1883 which makes him a 19th Century German composer, not an 18th c. German composer.
Remember, here in 2010 it's the 21st century; in 1910 it was the 20th c.; in 1810 it was the 19th c., etc.
Re:Correction: (Score:3, Informative)