Friday, August 17, 2012

What Google auto-fill thinks about your state

1 hr.

Google's suggested search terms are alternately helpful, funny and nonsensical?? sometimes all three at once. This handy interactive map lets you check out what people seem to think about all 50 states, or at least what Google thinks they think.

The creator, Renee DiResta, thought it would be fun to see what others felt about each state by typing "why is (state name) so?..." and letting Google fill in the rest.?

The results are accurate in a way, highlighting at least what people seem to care about when it comes to those states: Wyoming is windy, unpopulated, empty and cold; California is liberal, broke, anti-gun and expensive; Pennsylvania is boring, haunted, humid and famous. And so on.

Auto-fill results will change depending on the season, of course. Right now political questions are contending with the?weather for most queried, but the map would probably look different if it weren't an election year, or if it were football season. Results also depend on your search history and location.

It's still good fun, although plenty of the suggestions are less than charitable. Don't blame Google for thinking you're trying to ask why Florida is "so trashy"?? remember, these autofill databases are built by what users search for, not the personal opinions of Googlers.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/what-google-auto-fill-thinks-about-your-state-947728

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