Search quality complaints and imaginary repair: Control in articulations of Google Search

Griffin, D. S., & Lurie, E. (2022). Search quality complaints and imaginary repair: Control in articulations of Google Search. New Media & Society. DOI: 10.1177/14614448221136505. Equal co-authors.

In early 2017, a journalist and search engine expert wrote about Google’s biggest ever search quality crisis. Months later, Google hired him as the first Google Search Liaison (GSL). This article asks what functions the GSL serves for Google. Through analysis of six months of GSL responses to complaints on Twitter, it identifies three functions: naturalizing the logic undergirding Google Search, performing repair in response to complaints, and drawing boundaries that control critique.

• Published article →
• Direct PDF →