Google is the New Looking Glass

This article in Slate.com is fascinating.  It discusses the results of a contest to see who could come up with the most interesting (or unfortunate) differences in results from Google Suggest by entering slight differences in spelling or using different words that mean pretty much the same thing.  

What I find interesting are not necessarily the contest results but the idea of Google is suggesting searches for me in the first place.  Say I'm going to search for one thing, but as I start to type that in Google suggests that I might be searching for something else based on the fact that so many other people have searched for it.  

The sociological concept that the self is created by observing and taking into consideration the reactions of society is taken to a whole new level with the internet and with Google specifically.  Before I even hit enter Google tells me what I could be searching for and therefore, what I possibly should be searching for based on the idea that since the majority of other people are.  

The extreme suggestions in the article illustrate the danger in such rationality.

Agger, Michael.  (November 10, 2009).  "Is it Wrong to Sleep With Your Sister?"  Slate.com.  (http://www.slate.com/id/2234738/).