Week 3 Assignment

When one thinks of a search engine, Google is typically the next word that pops into mind. It has become so entrenched in our culture that it has become a verb used to describe investigating someone online (i.e. I googled that recipe the other day). There are other search engines like Yahoo, Bing, Ask.com but by far the most popular and most effective is Google. I do not foresee any other search engine that will usurp Google’s dominance in the near term. Microsoft is valiantly trying but some insiders openly mocked their latest attempt (Bing.com) as “google-esque.” It would appear that mockery is the sincerest form of flattery.

Prior to the efforts of Google and other search engines, when you needed to find information about a particular topic you had to go to the library and use tools like Lexis Nexis and you had a limited range of data you could find. Google revolutionized data mining and fact finding with their proprietary search algorithms and streamlined interface. However, having a search engine alone is not enough for Google. They have come out with various “apps” which is short for applications, their own web browser (Google Chrome), and many other software programs that have been well received. One very successful endeavor is Google Earth which uses satellite imagery to map out directions and also create three dimensional renderings of buildings and cities.
http://www.google.com/corporate/index.html

The Deep Web is a term that basically describes the vast amount of information that is not readily accessible through a normal search engine. Dynamically created webpages are not catalogued by search engines because of the infinite variables and permutations that can be performed on any one site. Google is developing a deep web search engine as are others but the mathematics of it all create a daunting task.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Web

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/technology/internet/23search.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Intellectual property (IP) is a number of distinct types of legal monopolies over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property#cite_note-0
Since the advent of the internet, intellectual property rights present constantly evolving legal issues which therefore must be countered with new policies and procedures. The US Department of Homeland Security has a website by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement where one of the programs listed is the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.
http://www.ice.gov/partners/cornerstone/ipr/index.htm
Another excellent resource for researching IP rights is the World Intellectual Property Organization. http://www.wipo.int/copyright/en/ecommerce/ip_survey/ The latest policy and legal issues surrounding IP are climate change, public health, biodiversity and food security. http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2009/05/article_0001.html

In regards to what role corporate ethics, governance and citizenship play in terms of the freedom of information on the internet, time will only tell. Many countries are already filtering the information that their citizens have access to and there have been numerous reports where online bloggers have been imprisoned for expressing their views. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6724531.stm) Even in the United States, where we have the constitutional right to Freedom of Speech, we cannot be guaranteed that online because we are using a service rendered by another party. If we are spouting anti-American propaganda, a third party who is hosting our website has the right to deny us access to their services. I do not believe that Capitalism is at odds with information creation and privacy due mainly to the fact that capitalist societies have been the breeding grounds for new and adventurous thinking and the current countries that are right now blocking free thought and speech are primarily opposed to capitalism.

Finally, it appears that the Google Library Project is on hold. The judge postponed a fairness hearing Google was to have next month. The issues surround copyright and anti-trust issues from Google trying to distribute and sell digital versions of out of print, copyrighted books (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8274115.stm).
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/09/postponement-for-the-google-books-settlement.html