I Freaken' Love Google Auto Suggestions.

[Planet13]

So I was trying to figure out where a certain program gets installed on my windows 7 box, so I went to google and started typing in:

"where is..."

To which, the first auto-suggestion was:

"where is chuck norris"

Now, despite the fact that I think it is always important to know the whereabouts of an actor who was so wooden he makes Dolph Lundgren look talented, I couldn't help but get the feeling that this is some kind of a joke. either the people at google are playing a trick on me, or somehow there is a conspiracy.

So I clicked on the "where is chuck norris" suggesion and it said:

"Google won't search for Chuck Norris because it knows you don't find Chuck Norris, he finds you."

and

Run, before he finds you.

Try a different person.

Try someone less dangerous.

and it is very disturbing on the web page (according to my seven year old son, who also shouted out, "You suck, Internet" when he saw that page.)

Anyway, I don't know if this is something everybody else knows about and I am just REAL late to the party, but it seems google hates me.

(BTW: This might be a browser thing since I am using opera.)

[matrix_jan]

So I clicked on the "where is chuck norris" suggesion and it said:

"Google won't search for Chuck Norris because it knows you don't find Chuck Norris, he finds you."

You know it's not google right? You clicked on "I'm feeling Lucky" which took you to a website that looks like google...

Try starting a search phrase with p-word (four letters), then you'll get no auto suggestions :)

Cheers

[ken_b]

(according to my seven year old son, who also shouted out, "You suck, Internet" when he saw that page.)

He's 7, so that's understandable, but I hope you took this teachable moment to explain to your son that Google is not the internet :)

[treeline]

The Chuck Norris stuff is famous.

If you're smart you'll stop looking....

[lucy24]

If you mis-type and start in with "wehre is ..." (with trailing space)

the third suggestion is
"where is dubai"

HUH?

Has there been something important in world news that I missed?

[treeline]

Statistically, people who use "wehre" are weak in Persian Gulf geography.

[Planet13]

@ matrix_jan:

"You know it's not google right?"

I am a little confused about that...

I am at google.com (I'm logged in apparently because it has [)...] and if I type in "where" the first auto suggestions are:

where is chuck norris
where the wild things are
where's my refund
where am i
where is brian wilson
etc.,

So I would assume those are real AUTO suggestions, right? Isn't that what the whole purpose of auto suggestions are?

Or am I confused about this...

"Try starting a search phrase with p-word (four letters), then you'll get no auto suggestions :)"

I am having a hard time figuring out what this word might be. Tried several four-letter P words, and the auto suggestions were still there. You will have to give me a better clue than that as to which P word you specifically mean.

@ Lucy24:

I am not getting the "werhe is dubai" thing. It gives me suggestions for "where" instead of werhe" and the suggestions are:

where is my virginia state tax refund
where is white plains new york
where is the auger of dunlain
etc.,

~~~~

So just so I understand, are auto suggestions sponsored? Or is google all jenked up? Or is it a function of my browser (Opera) overriding google's auto suggestions?

[treeline]

Look CAREFULLY at the url....it's not google...

This at the bottom should be a clue:

This page is an unauthorized parody and has no affiliation with Google nor Chuck Norris.

Just cause it looks like Google....

[treeline]

Four letter p word that is explicitly inappropriate to type with your 7 year old watching.

[Planet13]

"Look CAREFULLY at the url....it's not google..."

I think we are talking about two different things.

I am lamenting the crazy auto suggestions that show up WHEN I AM ON GOOGLE.

Yes, I realize the nochucknorris site is a parody of a google SERPs page.

But when I am on google, as in using this link:

[google.com...]

And I type in "where is"

The drop down google auto suggestion box is full of incredibly useless auto suggestions:

where is chuck norris
where is brian wilson
where is the love lyrics
where is game of thrones filmed
where is my iphone
where is the love
etc.,

This is BEFORE I click on any of those auto suggestions.

so my question remains:

1) Is it just I who gets such strange auto suggestions when on the google.com homepage and typing in just the words "where is"

2) Is my browser (opera) somehow overriding "real" google auto suggestions?

~~~~~`

As for the four-letter word starting with a P, I realize now that it is the one often deliberately misspelled out in forums as "pron" in order not to get filtered.

[DrDoc]

Well, Google will auto-suggest things based on:
- stats about you (location, etc), figuring it is likely that you are searching for things similar to what is searched for by those you resemble
- general commonality of a specific phrase

Vague words are unlikely to ever yield a search you really intended ... Try typing in just "why ", "how ", or "is " (yes, space after each) ...

[jimbeetle]

When you're choosing the [where is chuck norris] auto-suggestion you're apparently accidently choosing the "I'm Feeling Lucky >>" option from the right-hand side of the dropdown. That brings you to the nochucknorris dot com Google look-alike page.

[lucy24]

I am not getting the "werhe is dubai" thing. It gives me suggestions for "where" instead of werhe"

A further oddity is that the auto-suggestions (using "where", no matter how I've typed it) that I see after typing
"where is" or "wehre is"
will CHANGE if I then add a trailing space so I've typed
"where is "or "wehre is "
-- even though the auto-suggestions already have a space at that point.

I have a semi-dynamic IP --the kind that resets itself if you turn off the modem-- and did this testing in a different browser with no cookies. So who knows? Maybe the person who had this IP the day before yesterday was looking for Dubai and couldn't type :)

BUT SERIOUSLY.
Isn't it a little unnerving, in a generic way, that a #1 search suggestion for any search term would be a site that explicitly imitates the look of a different site-- to the point where the ordinary visitor would be momentarily fooled? In this specific case the imitation is done for humorous effect, not for scraping or unauthorized-mirroring purposes. But I am not prepared to believe the algorithm can tell the difference. At least not this week.

Edit:
"search suggestions" seem to be based on raw statistical likelihood, not on what g### wants you to search for. That's why I wondered if Dubai had been in the news ;)

[Planet13]

"Isn't it a little unnerving, in a generic way, that a #1 search suggestion for any search term would be a site that explicitly imitates the look of a different site--"

You are right. I am sure lots of people type in their bank name in a google search bar when they want to log in to their bank.

"search suggestions" seem to be based on raw statistical likelihood.."

That's the thing. How likely is it that someone (besides the people reading this thread) has ever typed in "where is chuck norris"?

As for Dubai, am not sure why it would be trending now. I went to google, searched for Dubai, clicked on the news link at the top of the browser, and all the news was related to something else (Egypt, obamacare, trayvon martin, the lone ranger...)

~~~~~~~
Wait a minute... I looke some more... it is probably either because jamoriquai is going to be playing there, or because the Red Bull Breakdancing Competition is going to be there. Wow! Dubai is a pretty hip place after all...

[lexipixel]

...three years and it comes up again: [webmasterworld.com...]

(NOTE: my 14 year old got me going on this "search" in 2009... there IS some weird ongoing cult worship of Chuck by 14-15 year olds)

[treeline]

Actually the where is Chuck Norris thing has quite a history, was the subject of many news articles, youtube videos, and a google easter egg.
[stateofsearch.com...]

But again, you should really stop looking before he looks for you...

[Planet13]

And of course, Jim Kelly (Bullsh!t, Mr. Han Man!), who was a MUCH better Martial Arts actor, passed away today. Chuck Norris, however, will probably live to be 110 years old.