Filter Bubble or Serendipity Machine

On_Tracks 28 November, 2011

The digital world of ME

We are living in a world where information comes to us

If we don’t see the information it probably isn’t important.

What does this mean for libraries?

The way it used to be

• Filing cards

• Physical book shelves

• Active search

• Manual build-up of relevance

• Interaction with librarians

• Serendipitous discoveries on the shelves

• Topical connections through physical proximity

Today search is just…

…search

Digitization creates fantastic opportunities

But with great power, comes great responsibility

Opportunity

New ways to serve your customers

Responsibility

Do not make your customers lazy

Do not create filter bubbles

What is personalization?

Interactive elements

Customization

Rule based personalization

Mathematical filtering

Social filtering

Personalization and libraries

Interactive elements

• Not that relevant

Customization

• Subscribe to subjects

• Subscribe to authors

• Personal dashboard

Rule based personalization

• People who searched for

phenomenology should see

more of this next time they

search

• People who search for more

than 5 minutes should get

personal chat help

Mathematical filtering

• People who searched for

”Discipline and Punish”

should also see ”The history

of Sexuality”.

• Tell us your course name and

we will recommend literature

Social filtering

• What are the people at my

course/research group searching for?

• Create personal profiles, where people

share their searches and reading

• Create subject groups, where people can

share search within specific areas

• Who are my academic subject neighbors?

What are they searching for/reading?

The dangers of filtering

We always lived in filter bubbles

But the digital bubble is different

• We are alone in our bubbles

• The filter bubble is invisible

• You don’t choose the filter bubble yourself

Why is it dangerous?

• It destroys the common agenda

• People get stuck in one perspective

• The death of academic creativity

What we should do as filter builders?

• Make filters transparent

• Make it possible to opt out of filters

• Combine machine filters with human filters

• Build in more randomness

We need filters!

But we need to build responsible filters

peter@petersvarre.dkwww.linkedin.com/in/petersvarrewww.facebook.com/petersvarre

www.twitter.com/petersvarrewww.slideshare.net/petersvarrewww.youtube.com/petersvarre

www.foursquare.com/user/petersvarrewww.kommunikationsforum.dk/peter-svarre

Find this presentation on: www.slideshare.net/petersvarre/