People out there are always trying to figure out who I am and what I want. That’s ok. So am I.
Google Search
Google Search is cool. It knows so much about me. I start typing in the thing I’m looking for and bam! It’s there before I’ve typed the third letter. How did they know? It’s called autocomplete. How does it work? Math. Algorithms, not a team of psychics with runes and cards or secret spies, predict what I want based on what everybody else has wanted, basically. And, if I’ve signed in to my Google account, it will personalize the search, taking into consideration all the information they have on me, including my past searches.
Facebook
Some people don’t like the way Facebook takes your profile information and places ads in the periphery of your page. I like it. I don’t have to pay much attention to those ads, but I can see what they think I might like. Sometimes something will catch my eye.
A bright red book cover caught my eye when I logged on to Facebook this morning. The title was You Are What You Speak. Well, that’s right up my alley. I love stuff on language use and perceptions. I could guess at all kinds of things this book might be about. I didn’t click on the ad like I’m supposed to. I went to Google. (Is that ok? I figure if I click on the link, the writer will have to pay.) Turns out I think I’d love to read this book. I’ve read a bunch of stuff by and about this author now, clicking around this morning.
I already know a bit about how language use defines us. Sociolinguistics is fun. So, I am what I say and read and write. I know that I am what I eat. I am what I google too.
Think about what you eat and read and say, and also what you google.
Who are you?
Yours in harmony,
Renate 