Google success has been a tremendous.

Google is now a cultural icon to the point where in just ten years after it's launch nobody "looks up", "searches for" or "check on Yahoo or Excite"...

No, today they "Google" it.

Google, in the UK at least, seemed to come out of the gates and become the single most dominant search engine on the planet.

But is this is good thing?

Sure Google offer a huge amount of excellent free software and services for us to ow and ah at. They give us;

• Google Earth / Maps


• GMail


• YouTube


• Blogger


• Google Docs and Spreadsheet


• Calendar


• Picasa

Some are good, some are great. All are free. Which is just as well, because there main product "Google Search" actually leaves a lot to be desired.

I'll pause and let the shouting die down. Because I'm armed with facts.

Now correct me if I'm wrong. But the main purpose of a search engine is to provide results that best match the search criteria you provide. But Google's interpretation of this is that a successful match is one that has many links to it and that also matches the criteria. In that order.

It's that skewing that is my main problem with Google.

So lets say your looking for the mystery and controvesy regarding the death of famous actress Jayne Mansfield. You would enter the following into your search engine

Google query test

How did Jayne Mansfield die?

Now you would expect from a search engine to return results that contain pages that pose (and presumably answer) that exact same question. You would expect Google to do so. But it doesn't. In fact what it actually returns as the following list of links.

They appear IN order and without alteration. The search was ran 10:13 GMT 9th May 2007.

My take on the results are in red.

Jayne Mansfield
Yes, those are actual pieces of the upholstery from the Jayne Mansfield death car. Could you die? She did. HRR. Ed donated those pictures in memory of his ... www.findadeath.com/Deceased/ m/Mansfield/jayne_mansfield.htm - 31k

A good match. 8/10

Jayne Mansfield - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jayne's husband at the time, Paul Mansfield, hoped the birth of their child would discourage her interest in acting. When it did not he agreed to move to ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayne_Mansfield - 106k

Another good match. Maybe Google IS good. 10/10

Jayne Mansfield - Internet Accuracy Project
Is Jayne Mansfield dead or alive? How and when did she die? You'll find the answers to those questions and more in the bio above. ...
www.accuracyproject.org/cbe-Mansfield,Jayne.html - 26k

It's not such a great match. The details are actually pretty low. But its quick reference. 7/10

Yahoo! Answers - Did Jayne Mansfield die right after the car ...
1 answer - Yahoo! Answers - Did Jayne Mansfield die right after the car accident or did she die at the hospital?
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006050922639 - 41k

Actually quick a poor result. It's a forum and contains next to no details. In otherwords, this isn't a useful reference. 5/10

Salon.com People | Scams and lies
It was, warned AP, Jayne Mansfield's head. Another photo was of her body, ... You're relying on superficialities as much as you allege Mansfield did. ...
archive.salon.com/people/ letters/2001/08/10/scams/print.html

This site actually isn't about Jayne Mansfield at all. It's a site about internet scams and lies. 3/10

The Angry Young Man: Jayne Mansfield
You know, I don't think I've ever actually seen a Jayne Mansfield movie. ... The Angel of Death did not afford Mansfield this luxury: Her skull was cracked ...
www.theangryyoungman.com/2006/08/jayne_mansfield.html - 12

This site is actually more of a blog posting and actually contains the erroneous fact that she was decapitated. 1/10

Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and now also Anna Nicole Smith ...
Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and now also Anna Nicole Smith! ... Cause we simply did not care. We let these beautiful women die, without even trying to ... www.pr-inside.com/ marilyn-monroe-jayne-mansfield-and-r49884.htm - 21

This story is actually about Anna Nicole Smith and contains only a couple of sentences about Jayne Mansfield. But it DOES have a lot of Google Ads on the page. If you get what I'm saying. 0/10

Helsingin kaupunginkirjasto - Sanojen Aika - Authors
But they did see Jayne Mansfield, the whole family. Jayne Mansfield was on a PR tour and sat ... She was to die just like President Kennedy, not murdered,

Doesn't actually have ANY facts about her death. It's actually a blog posting from an author who in fact gets the details totally wrong. But hey, she must have lots of links to her. 0/10

- Everything you know is a lie
How did Jayne Mansfield die? Jayne Mansfield was killed in a car accident by decapitation Can (Fizz Wizz) Space Dust (Pop Rocks) and Cola be fatal? ...
www.everythingyouknowisalie.co.uk/content/all.aspx - 18k

Could it be that our question is actually answered. Look, the ACTUAL question we asked. 9 in the list! But because Google cannot navigate querystring requests I have to find the item in the list. Actual item contains details of her death and explanation of myth. Note Google ads for 'Wills'. Spooky. 10/10 (for content)

How Did Marilyn Monroe Die?
Brief and Straightforward Guide: How Did Marilyn Monroe Die? ... Who is Jayne Mansfield? Who is Andy Warhol? Who is Marilyn Monroe? What are Stilettos? ...www.wisegeek.com/how-did-marilyn-monroe-die.htm - 18k

Marilyn Monroe!?! I said JAYNE MANSFIELD!?! 0/10

Google Match Results

3 useful
1 mentioning Jayne Mansfield
6 NOT related to Jayne Mansfield's death

So in the top ten results for the search only three gave actually useful results. One contained some details. The rest were ever not related to Jayne Mansfield's death or had absolutely nothing to do with it. So that's a 33% hit rate.

Comparison to another search engine

Sooooo. How do the others fair?

Ask.com - I picked this at random, mainly because an ad for them has just been on tv.

Jayne Mansfield
Yes, those are actual pieces of the upholstery from the Jayne Mansfield death car. Could you die? She did. HRR. Ed donated those pictures in ...
www.findadeath.com/Decesed/m/Mansfield/jayne_mansfield.htm

Yes, it's that site again. But at least its accurate 8/10

Official Jayne Mansfield Web Site
News Purchase "The Jayne Mansfield Collection" on DVD 08-15-2006 20th Century Fox has released a ... set that includes three of Jayne ...
www.jaynemansfield.com/ www.jaynemansfield.com/ · Cached · Save

It's the official Jayne Mansfield website. Can you believe that Google didn't find this!? 10/10

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Movies (Jayne Mansfield)
Did the automobile crash that killed Jayne Mansfield also decapitate her? ... Claim: The car crash that killed Jayne Mansfield also ...
www.snopes.com/movies/actors/jayne.htm

Correct version of events and very useful. 10/10

New Orleans Radio Shrine - The Night Jayne Mansfield Died
Jayne Mansfield's movie career hit the skids shortly after the movie "The Girl Can't Help It" in, I ... that Jayne Mansfield was topless in ...
www.walkerpub.com/radio_jaynemansfield.html

Has the full story, and it's all accurate. 10/10

How about the future of the capitalism?
How did Jayne Mansfield die? How did Jerry Garcia die? How did Jiggs become a millionaire in the comic strip? How did John Steinback die?
www.isi.edu/natural-language/projects/webclopedia/Taxonomy-data/h...

Well, no idea what this is. 0/10

Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield on IMDb: Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... ... Jayne Mansfield burst on the Hollywood scene like a rocket in 1955. One...
us.imdb.com/Name?Mansfield,+Jayne

It's the Jayne Mansfield story, staring Arnold S. But not details of her death. Although it is mention in the right ups. 5/10

Jayne Mansfield - Wikipedia
Jayne Mansfield (19 avril 1933 – 29 juillet 1967) née Vera Jane Palmer fut une actrice américaine et ...
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayne_Mansfield

Wikipedia, all fine and good. 10/10

Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield, The (2001): Reviews
Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield, The Two Boots Den of Cin ... Starring Jayne Mansfield, Mickey Hargitay, and Robert Jason (narrator) ...
www.metacritic.com/video/titles/jaynemansfield

It's a review of a documentary. It does mention the death, but no details 3/10

Numismatics, Nyassa, Oceania, Ocean Views & Off-the-Wall Postcards & ...
"BIGGER THAN LIFE / DeathÔ / Is Jayne Mansfield / Really Dead" Serie 10 Die Leidenschaften des Rosa von Praunheim, unused continental, trivial ...
www.judnick.com/NumismaticsToOff-The-Wall.htm

It's a list of books. One of which is about Jayne Mansfield 1/10

Arnold Schwarzenegger
The Jayne Mansfield Story (1980) (TV) .... Mickey Hargitay ... alternativ: Jayne Mansfield: A Symbol of the 50's ...
german.imdb.com/Name?Schwarzenegger,+Arnold

We've seen this before. It's that film again! But in this case, not a direct link. 3/10

So, Ask.com has managed to get five very good hits, three close but no cigars and two complete no-hopers.

Conclusion

So is Google big. Yes
Is Google accurate. Definately Not.
Is Google a useful research tool? No.
Is Google good a finding odd sites. Yes.

If your a researcher or a student or somebody who prefers speed and accuracy over advertising sponsored is your thing, look elsewhere.

Otherwise Google is super

You see, you have to realise that Google is above everything else, an advertising company. Anybody who has seen the charges they levy for click advertising is not going to be surprised about this.

But that's another blog post....