Because information algorithms make judgments that can have powerful consequences, those interested in having their information selected will orient themselves toward these algorithmic systems, making themselves algorithmically recognizable, in the hopes that they will be ampli\ufb01ed by them. Examining this interplay, between information intermediaries and those trying to be seen by them, connects the study of algorithmic systems to long-standing concerns about the power of intermediaries \u2013 not an algorithmic power, uniquely, but the power to grant visibility and certify meaning, and the challenge of discerning who to grant it to and why. Here, I consider Dan Savage\u2019s attempt to rede\ufb01ne the name of U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, a tactical intervention that topped Google\u2019s search results for nearly a decade, and then mysteriously dropped during the 2012 Republican nominations. Changes made to Google\u2019s algorithm at the time may explain the drop; here, they help to reveal the kind of implicitly political distinctions search engines must invariably make, between genuine patterns of participation and tactical efforts to approximate them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Because information algorithms make judgments that can have powerful consequences, those interested in having their information selected will orient themselves toward these algorithmic systems, making themselves algorithmically recognizable, in the hopes that they will be ampli\ufb01ed by them. 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