The Googlization of everything (and why we should worry)

280 Pages·2011·1.54 MB·english

by  Siva Vaidhyanathan

The Googlization
of Everything
(AND WHY WE SHOULD WORRY)
Updated Edition
Siva Vaidhyanathan
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley Los Angeles
The Googlization of Everything
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the General
Endowment Fund of the University of California Press Foundation.
The Googlization
of Everything
(AND WHY WE SHOULD WORRY)
Updated Edition
Siva Vaidhyanathan
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley Los Angeles
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished univer-
sity presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by
advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural
sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and
by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For
more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
©2011 by Siva Vaidhyanathan
First paperback printing 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Vaidhyanathan, Siva.
The Googlization of everything : (and why we should worry) /
Siva Vaidhyanathan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn978-0-520-27289-7 (pbk : alk. paper)
1. Google (Firm). 2. Internet industry—Social aspects.
3. Internet—Social aspects. I. Title.
HD9696.8.U64G669 2010
338.7'6102504—dc22 2010027772
Manufactured in the United States of America
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on Cascades Enviro 100, a 100% post consumer
waste, recycled, de-inked fi ber. FSC recycled certifi ed and processed
chlorine free. It is acid free, Ecologo certifi ed, and manufactured by
BioGas energy.
For Jaya,
who is learning to be patient in a very fast world
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It does not break wills, but it softens them, bends them, and
directs them; it rarely forces one to act, but it constantly
opposes itself to one’s acting; it does not destroy, it prevents
things from coming into being; it does not tyrannize,
it hinders.
Alexis de Tocqueville
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CONTENTS
Preface xi
Introduction: The Gospel of Google 1
1. Render unto Caesar: How Google Came to
Rule the Web 13
2. Google’s Ways and Means: Faith in Aptitude
and Technology 51
3. The Googlization of Us: Universal Surveillance
and Infrastructural Imperialism 82
4. The Googlization of the World: Prospects for a
Global Public Sphere 115
5. The Googlization of Knowledge: The Future
of Books 149
6. The Googlization of Memory: Information
Overload, Filters, and the Fracturing of
Knowledge 174
Conclusion: The Human Knowledge Project 199
Acknowledgments 211
Notes 219
Index 257