[LINK] Trivia: Google Exploits

[Roger Clarke]

Google's getting awfully dangerous.

<anecdote>

I run the original-and-best Waltzing Matilda pages, at:
http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/WM/

It has a section on parodies of Waltzing Matilda, which says at the end:
"I've also been told that someone did a live recording of a 
'Politically Correct Waltzing Matilda' at the well-known School of 
Arts Cafe, in Queanbeyan (just a few miles away from where I live), 
in 1995-96".

It's said that for years now.  The School of Arts Cafe closed 18 
months ago, passing into well-deserved legend.

For my birthday a couple of months ago, my daughter found me a CD 
with the song on it.  (On an EP or whatever they call a 4-track CD, 
"Proceeds to St Vincent de Paul", 'struth!).  No date on the 
packaging or the disk.

Armed with the couple's name (John Shortis and Moya Simpson), and 
told that they were pretty local, I used White Pages' regional search 
to track down their home-number (in nearby Bungendore).  Photo at:
http://www.naa.gov.au/Publications/Memento/20/summer.html

*Finally* taking some time out from matters more serious-minded, I 
phoned them this evening.  The answering machine said they were out, 
and gave their work-number should I want to reach them there during 
work-hours.

And here, at the end of a longish anecdote, is the scary bit.

In Google, "(02) 6230 4868" gave 4 hits, all of them relevant, and 
the first of them was the bull's-eye, Canberra Arts Marketing. 
(Google, remember, has no sense of semantics, or even geography. 
It's just a dumb machine - an increasingly dangerous, dumb machine).

Oh yes, and Google being Google, I tripped over their email-address 
on a web-page for Moya's bel canto group 'Can Belto' (no more than 
three wordplays at once, puleese!);  so I've bcc'd them with this.

</anecdote>

-- 
Roger Clarke              http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, 78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                 Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke@xamax.com.au            http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor, Uni of Hong Kong, Dept of Comp Sci and Info Sys
Visiting Fellow, Australian National University, Dept of Comp Sci
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