Beware online "filter bubbles" | Eli Pariser

www.ted.com As web companies strive to tailor their services (including news and search results) to our personal tastes, there's a dangerous unintended consequence: We get trapped in a "filter bubble" and don't get exposed to information that could challenge or broaden our worldview. Eli Pariser argues powerfully that this will ultimately prove to be bad for us and bad for democracy.
Read our community Q&A with Eli (featuring 10 ways to turn off the filter bubble): on.ted.com/Pari...

[@rokkoralph]

"You liked this video. We'll use this to improve your recommendations."

[@alexd3693]

I am a proud bubble.

[@rhythmray7429]

hmm..... not necessarily bad in the sense that yes I would like to know more about this kind of stuff, but changing preferences based on one video is stupid. I watched a number of film reviews from a KZbinr but none of his videos were later suggested to me, had to revisit history to check up on her. But I once clicked on a very right-wing channel and I constantly got their videos popping up

[@verticalvorce8938]

It been 11 years for this man imagine where he at now 🤔

[@Divinevirtue]

@@verticalvorce8938 dog that’s crazy asf to think about

[@pchsndcrmfrvr]

😅

[@leprechaun869]

This speech is waaay ahead of its time and super relevant in 2019

[@SekaiNoGaijin]

It was just as relevant back then.

[@anonb4632]

It's become worse. However, I dispute "personalisation". They don't show me what I want, instead they are showing me what they want.

[@Doomemdtrader]

I fear this might be an important part to why there is so much polarization at this moment towards face masks and racism.

[@DallasWade]

And 2020 even more so.

[@comejesus5955]

TOWER OF BABEL

[@JasonJason210]

KZbin does this too, even with the comments. The YT comments look entirely different depending on who is logged on.

[@spoders92]

Dunno, I see both sides of people’s comments. Depends the video you’re watching. They do engage in blatant censorship, however.

[@y8r113]

I think this is why there's an increasing divide in our politics. Everyone is spending more time online, and they're spending more time in their bubbles of news that cater to their opinions. People become more opinionated and emotional when they're met with someone who doesn't agree with them on a more mainstream platform (like KZbin), and people viciously fight, then retreat back into their news bubbles, and the cycle repeats itself. Google is doing this knowingly, but I can't place my finger as to why they are. This is what happens when you have customers (in this case, advertisers) who are fighting for the spot on the front page of a Google search, I guess. In the case of Facebook, I guess that explains why they were valued so high during their IPO. Advertisers and sellers of products want Facebook to find their markets for them. They want to sell things to their customers - customers who are people who might not even be aware themselves that they are a customer of so-and-so company. Same thing for KZbin. All of this is a result of greed for user information and advertisers selling and Google/Facebook selling that ad space.

[@geordirendum583]

So much this

[@che3se1495]

Because google is selling a product. If people see stuff they like more (I.E reaffirm their opinions) they're more likely to use the service more often.

[@ntfrmhr]

damn capitalism

[@sonofhibbs4425]

This is it exactly...and not only is it creating factions, but convincing people they are 100% right by constant reinforcement and it’s also convincing people that the others are 100% stupid. Television media is also split, which boosts this mindset, creates divisions. I tell you the truth- whatever news broadcast you watched this past month would probably dictate to you whose side you’d be on in this recent Kavanaugh hearing. If you watched Fox, Ford had absolutely no case and her story was “full of holes”, but if you watched CNN, Ford came across as completely believable. You’ll be told a different story and it will dictate what you believe to be the truth. It’s all about what you hear...at least until you choose to do some major contemplating and thinking, investigating...then and only then might you start to see things differently, but people don’t typically make time for that. There’s also personal bias as well- we only know what we know and can fathom from there. And sometimes what we think we know, we actually don’t. Internet just serves as a reinforcement of ideas we search for. Unless we purposely look up the opposite, but who does that?

[@Rorek0fNol]

I think the Google algorithm was trying to make us happy by attempting to make the bubbles smaller to get back to tight nit communities like the early days and the informational isolation is just a side effect to this. Perhaps broadening the bubbles topics would work (ie. Right wing, Into, political) creating venn diagrams.

[@AndyDandy1995]

watching this in 2021. This man was ahead of the game

[@HunnitAcreWoods]

Not Really Ahead Of The Game? The Game Never Changed

[@AndyDandy1995]

@@HunnitAcreWoods the game is subjective

[@HunnitAcreWoods]

@@AndyDandy1995 the game is mind control, doesn’t change

[@AndyDandy1995]

@@HunnitAcreWoods perhaps that’s YOUR GAME but it is not limited to only that. What exactly are you trying to prove?? Lol

[@HunnitAcreWoods]

@@AndyDandy1995 i see, so filter bubbles exist because mind control is “my game” Great take. Enjoy

[@eveDjakku]

THANK YOU SO MUCH, nobody at my work place ever believes what I say about the problem with social media, this presentation explains things so well, I'm so happy there's people out there that share my thoughts!

[@vickypi3183]

No puedo creer que estoy haya sido dicho en 2011 y recien ahora nos empezamos a enterar de este control sobre nuestro uso en las redes sociales! han pasado literalmente diez años y no ha cambiado absolutamente nada! gran charla, en su momento, habrá sido una gran revelación y un desafío hacerla, y escucharla.

[@marisamiranda]

exacto, un genio, y aún seguimos dormidos en el mismo aspecto.

[@jerrylittlemars]

I actually stood up and clapped for this one....even though I'm at home. We NEED to make sure this issue get resolved. I've sent it to everyone in my contacts. Good one TED.

[@BruceRicard]

The problem is that most people really don't care staying in their own bubble, and actually don't like getting out of it. Progressive people who like to talk to conservatives are very rare, as rare as conservatives willing to talk to progressives...

[@sonofhibbs4425]

Or is it that people staying in their own bubble don’t believe they’re doing so because there becoming progressive within it? A false sense of progressiveness...or is it? Or is a more fine tuning of that bubble? More specialized? Exacting? Isolating, certainly.

[@yato4302]

By seeking to make a change as a progressive when said change becomes the norm & later tradition. To preserve it across generations would it just make the title progressive & conservative dependent on who's against you?

[@DatHombre]

@@yato4302 yes that's actually exactly what the terms mean as far as I'm aware (pretty old comment but oh well)

[@PenaltyKillah]

John McCain and Joe Biden were from different parties, but they had one of the most enduring friendships in the Senate. You won't find AOC and Ted Cruz sitting together at lunch, that's for sure

[@pattijesinoski1958]

@@PenaltyKillah Right NoName and Buyden have no problem selling out their country.

[@mo3-cy8pp]

I’ve just stumbled upon this clip that was posted over a decade ago, but it still resonates with the challenges we face in today’s generation.

[@Tantacrul]

Man, this was prescient.

[@sirfultonbishop]

Mercy. 13 years ago. Our searches aren’t, and shouldn’t be, any of their business.

[@TokyoMetal777]

His book on this, is nothing short of incredible. It is direct, on the spot, and loaded with clarity. Eli isn't the greatest public speaker (I'm watching this video, after having read the book)... but his book on this (The Filter Bubble) is one of the most vital reads out there today. He goes into incredible depth about the colossal consequences of what companies like Facebook, Google, MSN, Axciom, are already doing with the immense amount of private info we handover.

[@vladimirpoutine7522]

Way ahead of his time as Twitter dumps are proof of this...

[@ArchHippy]

I hope the algorithm loops this one around every so often. Literacy on this subject is fast becoming a requirement.

[@mattmattmatt131313]

1:15 2011 "I'm progressive politically...I'm clicking more on the liberal links...And I noticed the conservatives have disappeared from my feed." 2021 I'm conservative politically...I'm clicking more on the conservative links...And I noticed the conservatives have disappeared from my feed as well. Interesting.

[@blakete]

It’s 2020 and I wish more people were aware of this... our society is tearing at the seams.

[@aideowplI]

I agree with this talk that points out the problems of personalizing Internet algorithms. Corporate personalization strategies for profit-seeking undermine the intrinsic value of the Internet, which can eventually unify users' thinking. Therefore, companies should make efforts to properly control the "filter bubble" through a thorough review of algorithm personalization.

[@Martial-Mat]

Excellent talk, highlighting the dark side of personalisation.

[@alwaysask]

The most important thing is: WHO decides what is important and what is not? Zuckerberg? A burocrat in UN, EU or other politician? Then we're back to gatekeepers...

[@anonb4632]

"Fact checkers" - just another name for official censors.

[@moritzheinzel815]

It's mainly algorithms, that learn from huge chunks of past data

[@comejesus5955]

TOWER OF BABEL

[@tvelocitysd]

This is great, and I'm glad he addressed this issue, but ultimately we as internet users have to take responsibility for what we see. We should proactively leave our own information comfort zone and seek out different perspectives. I suppose being aware of this filtering activity is the first step to knowing that we may be missing something.

[@paulreeder5241]

"but ultimately we as internet users have to take responsibility for what we see." But exactly how are we going to change this? Since this is not our interests, but the internet's interest? We have no control over what Google or any other site shows us.

[@박민채-x3b]

After watching the talk, I came to deeply think about how the structure of the internet is changing. Initially, the internet was expected to connect the world and promote democracy. But I think that, after period of time, structural changes to the internet have led to the formation of filter bubbles, steering us away from the internet's original purpose.

[@padraigolordan]

Reminds me of the Big Brother-ly advertising scenario in the film "Minority Report," where the environment scanned you and targeted you with specific products they knew you wanted--and the government scanned peoples' retinas on public transportation in order to watch you. But I'm not paranoid.

[@ZeroTNitrous]

exactly hahaha we'll be there eventually

[@6brman224]

Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get me.

[@marisamaiava150]

*2021: App is asking to track your activity This talk is absolutely ahead of it's time

[@aaron4820]

I do think these filters are "innocent", in that it's optimising the likelihood of people clicking into a link by showing them what they want so that it maximises ad revenue, but he's right, it's also important that we know what those filters are and have the ability to disable them should we choose to, but this video is quite old now, has this improved?

[@Pianofy]

Anyone notice how good this guy is in making analogies and making it understandable for everyone? Quite impressive. Agree with the points, of course, I think a lot of us daily internet users have been noticing this. Let's hope Google and other companies listen to this.

[@dennisboyer8416]

How do I get some of these presentations to my elected representatives: Senators, Representatives, State Senators, State Representatives? Also, how do I get it to the FTC and FCC?

[@AlexDKennedy]

+Dennis Boyer Sometimes it's as simple as visiting your elected rep's Facebook page, posting this video, and asking how he or she could address it. (Just make sure that your rep is active on his page...IE, his posts or her posts are current, and that he or she responds to comments.) If you're really interested in this stuff... You could perhaps e-mail or message your family members who might have a good grasp of how social media and politics works....And ask them how this could be addressed.

[@randomousjam8590]

The notion of 'filter bubbles' makes a lot of sense. The goal of many big internet entities (instagram, facebook, ...) is to keep as many humans on their site, clicking through content, for as long as possible. They typically use a targeted advertising revenue model, in which they get paid to serve ads to a captive audience. It is hard to say how it will all turn out, but it is definitely worth thinking about.

[@DubDTube]

how about give the user an off switch, to remove algorithms and filters, so we can be delivered unassuming, unbiased data and experience, like the old days? should be easy to do, please don't make us pay for it.

[@yato4302]

But Google wants that advertsing money. Dont be evil only we get to do that Lol.

[@gc3k]

The ethics of Big Tech seem to be based on "society is using our services for free, so for payment we'll use society as our guinea pigs without candor"

[@WesleySmith1920]

this TED Talk is a must view for anyone interested in democracy and in personal growth

[@0myjoe]

It's so true but the question is HOW do we do that? How can we stop search results from being specific to people and reinforcing their own biases?

[@Zealch_]

Use vpn

[@disloyal]

Use browsers that don't store your personal information, such as DuckDuckGo or TOR.

[@Anna-mi7lo]

First step: Use a browser which, unlike the toxic mainstream ones (e.g. google chrome, microsoft edge, internet explorer, firefox,) will not annihilate your privacy for the purpose of political, influential, and/or monetary gains. The commenter above mentioned one great example already, which is a browser called *TOR.* That's a very good one for privacy. *Vivaldi* is also a great, new browser still being developed but it is quite fantastic already. It's very similar in feel and appearance to google chrome and it's incredibly customizable. Another browser that lots of people like is called *Opera.* Second Step: *DITCH. GOOGLE.* Try to ditch every possible google service in every possible situation that you can manage. Google is becoming increasingly terrifying and sinister, and we, the consumers, are the *ONLY* ones left with the ability to take the power away from them. The *BEST alternative search engine ever* is called *DuckDuckGo.* They even have a blog about this very issue (www.spreadprivacy.com) which has tons of fantastic tips on how to take back your privacy from these scary corporate and government entities which seek to brainwash us all for their own gain. We need to get as many people as possible to switch to the duck side!! It's an infinitely better search engine for so many reasons, and in all seriousness, it's important for the good of humanity that we take away as much power from Google/Alphabet (its parent company) as possible.

[@mlkumariakumaria3263]

0myjoe

[@oxymoran1931]

@@disloyal I know that this is 2 years old but I want to say that DuckDuckGo and Tor are both as infiltrated and as useless. We can't do anything I'm afraid. I use Qwant. But whatever.

[@HalTheAl]

I can see his concern over it, because there are too many people that can't be bothered googling anything beyond a cake recipe and the latest gossip. I've grown up in a whole community like that - trying to have an intellectual debate with anyone over world news was impossible. Not to mention it's a bit of a slippery slope - we're not government employees so we'll just filter out what the government's doing. Oh wait. That's already happening.

[@jesschappell647]

ive reached the peak of my filter bubble and now im BORED

[@suxcesss]

+Jess Chappell Haha good one. Anything change?

[@crystalblue4303]

So relatable

[@markdavies8946]

Start a sport maybe?

[@Zolio6]

I just clicked the option that shows all posts from Facebook. Needless to say, the spectrum of posts was a lot different. I will start talking to friends I haven't talked with in months, or even years.

[@pkelly08vids]

I clicked "Like" to this vid...and ironically KZbin spit out "You liked this video. We'll use this to improve your recommendations." awesome

[@minivanjack]

How about a user choice of search bias based on: 1. Your browsing Habits. 2. The Most Popular Browsing Habits on the Web 3. The Most Popular Browsing Habits In Your Area. 4. The Most Highly-Funded Sponsored Content (Corporate Mainstream). 5. Technical, Educational and Intellectual Content. 6. Entertainment Content. 7. The most recently uploaded content. 8. Content That is Opposite From Your Browsing Habits. 9. Completely Random Content, No "Matching" Algorythms.

[@AgentM3tallion]

More relevant today than ever...

[@spookseo5244]

Thank you for this one! Bursting one’s imagination bubble will definitely be hard for the mainstream media. Of course, they are already earning that way. Why try something risky? This one is the sure deal. Those who want to get something new could always search for other materials that may not be on the Web.

[@grantwoolard]

What? There was a crisis in Egypt?

[@alexx7848]

Idk I guess so

[@Napflorida]

Nice resume, I could almost imagine his next statement "let me with my understanding of the shortcomings of the filter system based on my progressive criteria." In reality we need to devise an algorithm that can fairly and reasonably determine the keywords for each site rather than allowing commercial entities to sandbag the keywords to get into more and more screens as the top pick. He eloquently made a great point for those that had not thought about their search results.

[@R313NT135S]

One of my favorite TedTalks to date. Good job.

[@humza2k6]

I only found out about his book in 2023, listening to this is just spot on. 👏🏽

[@ynish7121]

we just seen the result of this on Paris Attack and the Beirut, There was a big empathy gap and this might be reason

[@Max24871]

+Y Nish I heard about it two days later from my friends; I didn't even know it happend until they told me. I wish there was an option to turn them off, other than using a private browsing feature.

[@bulmeruk]

Isn't it ironic how this was released not only in coincidence with your book release, but then also popping up into my bubble on this day the 16th. Just noticed it, nothing personal. Enjoyable talk Eli.

[@PatrickWiller]

Somebody just brought his TED talk to my attention. While it's from 2011 it's still relevant. Just wanted to share it with you

[@DesignTutorialsAV]

I'm in the web development industry. Personalising a user's search is a cool feature and an awesome programming technology, NOT some giant conspiracy to destroy the lives of people who use it. This video is about nothing other than sensationalism. He freaks you out, he's got your attention, you watch the video, go to the website etc. etc. - it is GREAT MARKETING!! :)

[@y8r113]

Why would curated filtering even be a thing in the first place? The internet isn't primarily for entertainment. Or at least it shouldn't be... I could see something like this being necessarily for KZbin (maybe), but not Google's search engine. Google says "don't be evil"... yet this is one of the most evil things you could do.

[@-sabelmousse-2246]

+Steve From Management because THAT would be dangerous. imagine a real free flow of information and no censorship and/or propaganda. this is one way to limit the damage while giving the illusion of freedom.

[@buca117]

The rationale behind Google is simple and benign: this filtering helps YOU find what YOU'RE looking for _faster_. Every time what you're looking for is on the first page, that's Google's filtering at work. In theory, its a really great, helpful idea.

[@HuntingTarg]

It is easy to come up with a benign reverse-justification for action that violates accepted principle. What's really going on here is that social media giants are crafting algorithms that decide _for the user_ what the user sees. The original operator-driven sorting that made search engines great is practically gone from the internet. A search engine isn't a 'search' the way you could search a news or library index in decades past. It has become digitally curated to show the user content that will insulate rather than stimulate them. There is another TED talk by Malcolm Gladwell on variability in personal taste. I think that Google and every other social media site and search engine trying to keep pace with Google, is applying these lessons in the wrong way. Most people aren't going to hate or stop using a particular search engine just because they saw something curious, provocative, or disturbing. What Eli is saying is the effect of these filtering algorithms ( which +cbn620 commented on above) is to take away the need to be mentally and emotionally robust while wading through a sea of data to find - whatever. Sometimes people don't run a search looking for something in particular; they run a search to see what comes up, and they interpret what comes up as *_the_*_ most relevant_ results. When different people get different results for an identical search on an identical engine at the same time - that is distorting people's view of a topic or event to diverge _based on their existing views and habits:_ Put another way: The affect of filter bubbles is to keep us where we're at -mentally, socially, emotionally - instead of being provoked and challenged to think, feel, contemplate, and grow.

[@HuntingTarg]

"Don't ask for security - ask for adventure! Better to live thirty years full of adventure than a hundred years safe in a corner." -Jim Rohn

[@JeremyKingTech]

I watched this TED Talk 10 years ago. The writing was on the wall. And Eli Pariser warned us.

[@codpov7700]

Someone needs to send this video to the CEO of Netflix.

[@EgonCom]

Yes, I'm glad that this topic have been bring up to TEDtalk. Such filtering and "adjustments" of search results is been irritating me personally for years now. And it's getting only worse.

[@lollllloro]

Oh no. It's only gotten worse. It's at the point that some people are unwilling to have conversations with people they have strong disagreements with. How am I supposed to determine what positions I hold are misguided if I can't participate in honest conversations about any-and-all topics?

[@SeñorrTaco]

7:45 Its extremely sad to see how this is all getting worse.

[@098anne]

Pretty uncomfortable, important, challenging stuff :) thanks, TED!

[@Caigi72]

Watching this talk today, and it's so true.

[@evalucero6070]

12...years...later...🤦🏻‍♀️

[@ChristianMacInnis]

This video is now 10 years old and couldn't be more relevant.

[@thinker2925]

This is just feeding our confirmation bias...

[@loza454]

Saw this when it first came out, keet thinking internet bubbles instead... Covid happened and caused us to isolate and be locked in our "filter" or reenforced it. Decided to watch it again after so long and we are definitely reaching the extreme point.

[@giselazunino781]

Wow! It took me almost 9 years to see this video and I did it only because it was a task in a course I'm doing. It's high time I tried different search engines.

[@inaneslacker]

In 2020, it looks as though this was wayyyy ahead of its time. It has only become far worse.

[@unwoke8782]

Anyone else notice that the title isn't grammatically correct. It is missing the word "of"...

[@spheniscidae2136]

The filter bubbles are absolutely annoying. They prevented me seeing new ideas and other point of view. I think every tech company that offers this service should let their users have right to decide whether use this or not. I desperately want to explore the 'real world' around me.

[@countfloydschillerhorrorth2090]

The actual problem is the personal bias of the people who set the algorithms.

[@jerryg3524]

It's 2018 and if anything, it got worse. Eli Pariser got a standing ovation, well deserved.

[@MrCharityAus]

Thanks man was using it as a reference for a paper just didn't know the exact location

[@rjaybruhh]

*_I got this as an English assignment, I'm using this for my final essay..._* man is this video shocking.

[@arande3]

The algorithms are coming! The algorithms are coming!

[@T1J]

It's self-fulfilling prophecy. I agree with Eli. The problem is, I don't think the majority of people are interested in leaving their bubble. It's not Google or Facebook's fault, it is our own.

[@leannebrown02]

I know this comment is 7 years old, but I'll reply anyways, haha. I think it is the fault of the large companies for creating the bubbles in the first place, knowing what they've created and still not changing. I don't know if you can really blame the people when most of them aren't even aware of the fact that the bubble exists.

[@driftingsam]

"You liked this video. We'll use this to improve your recommendations." lololol

[@thomasspence9180]

Man, Big Tech has divided us with it's anti-social networking sites quicker than you can say "duck duck go".

[@dzidzka18]

Still be relevant in 2024. How sad it is...

[@das908kind]

Being a KZbin junky, I've started to notice how narrow the "suggested" videos are - to the point that KZbin is suggesting videos I've already seen. The KZbin universe feels smaller and smaller, the more I use it.

[@fuckkaff117]

welcome to the end of civilization, you get to see it live... enjoy

[@DanielSmedegaardBuus]

There's an underlying question here: "Are we capable of processing the available amount of (diverging) information?" If this is a backwards trend, it's only possible because in 2 decades we've had a forward trend exposing us to infinite information. Core human instinct is to seek and relate to similar peers. We need a "home base" to feel safe. We're not really cognitively equipped to relate to the entire world. It's an ideal, and I agree with Eli, but it's a tough task in a difficult reality.

[@vjnicholson62]

What happened to ethics, morals, and basic concerns for the needs of others? We have a self serving, greedy society without any absolutes or boundaries. Our young people don't understand respect and our values are very pathetic!

[@the13throse]

Valerie Nicholson Was with ya until you blamed the young folks. You know it’s not just them, right?

[@-sabelmousse-2246]

this is a pretty rosy view all in all. as if actual censorship and manipulation didn't come into this as well. still appreciate it as a beginners piece of getting attention drawn to this.

[@jazzyass5701]

Also Instagram. I hate that I can't find stuff that I'm looking for, instead getting more and more recommendations based on what I already have.

[@MrDemonshalo]

omg. I have been working on finding a solution for this problem for a year. This guy describes the problem so well!

[@JustJobeMY]

Now THAT was a TED talk that deserved the standing ovation.

[@Natalie-nv3er]

I agree about this topic.Whenever I search for something it is completely different from what a originally search for especially Google. They give me results of information that im not even looking for. Some people don't really pay attention to real information, we just pay attention to what information we know. We always depend on the popular social sites like Facebook, twitter, KZbin to keep up with society and scary to know that these websites know what links we click on.

[@coreyvian]

I see lots of comments criticizing Eli's apparent acceptance of electronic (algorithmic) gatekeeping. He asks the owners of the web systems we use to build some social conscience into their filters when he might have said, "Away, gatekeepers, we don't need or want you." Eli is smart. It isn't that he wants gatekeepers. But he is not naive enough to think those who have the systems and $ will abandon their posts any more than Wall Street execs will give up their bonuses. They're here to stay.

[@LasseFaensGjertsen]

Dude tried to warn us, now look where we at. Isolated and divided

[@davidmarshall5323]

What an amazing presentation... I'm writing a semester paper on the dangers of big tech to civil discourse and thus indirectly (and sometimes directly) free speech. This is my starting point (I'm also discussing biased algorithms, and big tech's relationship with government). Open to suggestions for videos/articles to research.

[@exocriimez]

do you still got it? Im doing a similar topic for my semesterpaper

[@avargas315]

From a development perspective the goal is to enhance the experience for the user. Countless people protested about not seeing the specific tailored content they wanted when using earlier search engines in web 1.0 and then sites like metacrawler and Google. Google became a juggernaut because of this. People are so difficult to please so you have to take some complainers with any good product, they will always be there...hopefully though there are more people that are happy about your work!~

[@ehhhhhhhhhh]

This talk really stuck with me. Google's programmers need to watch this and take it to heart. Plato's Cave, anybody?

[@roidroid]

It's all about getting that Signal to Noise ratio right. Most of the time you just want the signal, ...but often the noise will inspire you.

[@Kotesu]

Back when Google news didn't put higher relevance on local or national sources., reading news from a global sources and perspective was really cool. It really helped to get around spin and see things beyond my little corner of the world. I miss that.

[@slemsvamp]

definitely a valid point, and I'd say make any filter an option they should advertise, not impose upon you. with the ability to toggle, it's all fine and dandy. being one of those who grew up with the internet as my "only friend" i'm worried to see it get filtered to a bubble around each new person who joins it.

[@chumgrinder25]

Kudos to Eli for exposing the gears "behind the curtain." But "popular" media, paper or electronic, are always going to gatekeep you. People who view the world through Netflix. Yahoo, Huffpo, Google, or WaPo are no more intelligent consumers than those who do it through People Magazine. It's ALL fluff! The beauty of the web is that you can finally get information from non-mass-marketers. But the web's mere existence doesn't make us more discriminating consumers, we have to do that ourselves.

[@alexicon89]

This is why everyone should KZbin free-fall for at least 2 hours a week. KZbin free-falling is clicking on suggestions and just keep clicking on suggestions after the vid is done and you end up at the most awesome/weird shit you can think of after a while.

[@R0botix]

I don't wholly agree with this guy, but he has a strong sentiment i share- the Internet is something that is easy for those who choose convenience. If you find the convenience of the web to be a major role, then it can be said that maybe filtering is a good thing- I don't really care if people don't agree with me and that is the beauty of real life- that does not translate to the web. people are receptive to statements they agree with, that's why you won't see an unpopular comment in the top two

[@kori-ander]

My prof assigned my class to watch this and I'm glad she did :)

[@roidroid]

@BaileysBeads it has raised awareness of a growing problem, before it becomes too bad.

[@miscreanity]

Great topic. There's a difference between direction and denial. It's one thing to push a controversial item to a person whom isn't impacted, but another to refuse requested information to another who searches for it. Vidiots remain as such. Those in search of something greater will seek it out volitionally. This can be viewed as a maturation process. Providing information doesn't bestow the responsibility or desire to use it.

[@pidrosoft]

In the beginning of internet I used to visit places from all the world. I used to meet people from all the countries. Now I usually only see news, videos and products from my country. Search engines, social sites, are more especialized, but more closed.

[@6acirrus]

Being a Hongkongers, the Extradition Bill generates such a lot of massive protests, while listening to Eli, I cannot agree with him more as people in HK, China, USA and Taiwan in particular all get news but filtered by the 57 things that Google would use if Google is their predominant search engine. I have never seen the kind of political outrage generated from friends. Cool to know the Trust Mark

[@roidroid]

@mikesomething i think the point is that a lot of people use the internet to show them a menu, a lineup, of what information is OUT THERE. They may not want to taste everything on the menu, but it's handy to know what the restaurant serves as it can give you an idea of what meals the general populace prefers. We humans instinctively notice trends, it's an integral part of living in a society.

[@BusinessRaptor520]

I didn't expect the standing ovation, so I got all ready to be upset that he didn't get one...

[@kyraocity]

At TED. TED is only in Long Beach (just moved permanently to Vancouver). All those other events are TEDx events. Indie events not formally sponsored by TED. There is also a TEDGlobal which moves about. Last year in Edinburgh. This year coming in Rio.

[@Dasparov]

Say you have a 500 page recipe book to look through and each page took 10 minutes to read, but you want to find a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. In a worse case scenario it will take 500 minutes to search through the book to find this page and 10minutes in the best case. However if we divide the recipe book up into 10 sections and have an index, we dramatically reduce it to 10 minutes to read the contents and 50 for the section. Google does this, filtering means not searching entire database