* How have search engines changed the way we organize our thoughts about the world, and how we work?
* What are the `search engine wars', what do they portend for the future of search, and who wins or loses?
* To what extent does political control of search engines, or the political influence of search engines, affect how they are used, misused, and regulated?
* Does the search engine help shape our identities and interactions with others, and what implications does this have for privacy?
Informed members of the information society must understand the social contexts in which search engines have been developed, what that development says about us as a society, and the role of the search engine in the global information environment. This book provides the perfect starting point.
* Exam copies only available to lecturers for whom the book may be suitable as a course text.
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"Too many of us approach search engines as if they are neutral, democratic, all-revealing guides to the internet. Alex Halavais shows that this belief can actually be dangerous, and he provocatively suggests ways to rethink our personal and collective policies toward search systems in the interest of a healthy civic culture."
Joseph Turow, University of Pennsylvania
Introduction.
Chapter 1: The Engines.
Chapter 2: Searching.
Chapter 3: Attention.
Chapter 4: Knowledge & Democracy.
Chapter 5: Censorship.
Chapter 6: Privacy.
Chapter 7: Sociable Search.
Chapter 8: Future Finding.
Endnotes.
Bibliography.
Glossary
