No Correlations

From: Juliet
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2003 3:01 PM
Subject: Search engine + and –

Felix,

I encountered two search engine events that both made me think of you. The first because it’s very cool and handy, the second because it’s nuts and screwed up. No correlations to your personality are implied here.

The first is Google (of course). I learned today that you can use an asterisk in place of a whole word, so that you can essentially use proximity searching. For example: three * mice will retrieve “three blind mice,” “three stupid mice,” “three carcinogenic mice,” etc. Three ** mice will retrieve “three stupid blind mice,” “three fat brown mice,” “three rotting carcinogenic mice,” etc. Very powerful capability. Especially since it lets you find exactly the kind of mice you’re looking for, even before you know what you want.

The second is Amazon.com’s automated “if you liked that, you’ll also like this” feature. I was searching for books on the automotive supply chain (don’t ask), and got this title: Interoperability Cost Analysis of the US Automotive Supply Chain: Final Report. Fair enough. But then, beneath that title, there was this:

Customers who wear clothes also shop for:

Clean Underwear from Amazon’s Target Store
Ladybug Rain Boots from Amazon’s Nordstrom Store
Pet Socks from Amazon’s Urban Outfitters Store
Helicopter Sleepwear Sets for Baby from Amazon’s Old Navy Store

How did they know?

–Juliet