<nettime> Fwd: Review on David Gugerli's book "Search Engines. The World as a Database"

[Michael H Goldhaber <mgoldh@well.com>]

This review, or is it a blurb, takes everything Gugerli says at face  
value. This seems unwise. The panel show "Was bin Ich" sounds as if it  
were modeled on a popular American TV show of the 1950's "What's My  
Line." This calls into question the relevance of Gugerli's remarks  
about Germans' uncertainties about identity post-WWII.

Calling such a show a search engine seems to be a bit of a stretch as  
well. Is the game of charades a search engine? Or "twenty questions"?  
Are wanted posters and classified ads also to be regarded as search  
engines? What about a bloodhound? (In fact these last few seem more  
like search engines, suggesting that search is a very ancient  
activity, which of course is true. But the differences between them  
and say Google are also quite significant. )

Best,
Michael




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