AOL’s release in late July of data covering three months’ worth of user searches
has sparked a wide range of reactions. In some ways, the reactions have revealed
far more than the raw data itself. They have pointed out the ways in which the
current handling of search engine data does not serve all those who wish to use
it – and the delicate balancing act that must be maintained between equally
commendable yet mutually exclusive needs.
As always, let’s start with the facts. In late July, AOL posted data to an AOL
research site. This data covered searches conducted in March, April, and May of
2006. It covered 20 million uncensored queries from about 658,000 users, or the
equivalent of between one and two percent of the searches conducted through AOL
during May. The users were chosen randomly and rendered anonymous by the simple
matter of associating an ID number with the searches instead of a name.
http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Search-Engine-News/Serving-as-a-Bad-Example-AOL-Privacy-Debacle/
