New publication: Society of the Query Reader [19.05.2014]

Search engines have become intertwined in our daily routines and their algorithms determine which part of the web we get to see. Combined with the monopoly-like market situation this leads to multifaceted problems which have not been sufficiently studied yet. A new book, edited by René König (ITAS) and Miriam Rasch (Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam), approaches the complex topic from various disciplinary perspectives.

Although social media – most notably Facebook – has been established as another important entry point to the Internet, the significance of search engines for the web can still hardly be overrated. Their function is infrastructure-like: They provide a foundation which is vital for many services, allowing content to be found and making the web as we know it work efficiently. Also in the public discourse we can find parallels between infrastructures and search engines, namely in regard to the discrepancy between their factual significance and a lacking reflection about it. Although some aspects are already widely discussed, e.g. the controversial data policy of the market leader Google, many questions related to search technology remain unanswered: How can the complex relation between search engines, society and culture be understood and theoretically framed? Which structures emerge from the ongoing “Googlization” of the world and how can the power of this corporation be tackled? Which role do the seemingly contradictory factors globalization, localization, standardization and individualization play for web search? The contributions to the book address these and other questions from diverse perspectives, reaching from social, cultural and information science to new media studies, legal, historic and artistic approaches. It was published as part of a reader series edited by the Institute of Network Cultures at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. The book connects to the Society of the Query conferences 2009 and 2013. At the same time, the debate is continued via a blog and a mailing list. Further conferences are in the planning.

At www.networkcultures.org/query more information is available. The book is obtainable there for free in the online version and printed copies can be ordered.

Bibliographic reference:

René König, Miriam Rasch (Hrsg.)
Society of the Query Reader: Reflections on Web Search. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2014. ISBN: 978-90-818575-8-1