Although unscientific, Google’s ‘auto-complete’ feature can be quite revealing. When the search engine’s algorithm automatically ‘suggests’ terms as we type, it gives us an idea about what others are Googling and how often. Below are a few insights into what the internet thinks of Hong Kong…
The same search for ‘Hong Kong guys/men’ yielded no auto-complete suggestions.
Notice any other anomalous, amusing or politically incorrect results? Drop them in comments below. Your auto-suggestions may differ from above as Google tailors results based on your account – for an accurate picture, clear your cookies, sign out of Google or use an ‘incognito window’.
To view all content and entries posted on the blog, click here. Some other highlights include…
- A Brief History of HK’s Racist Toothpaste.
- An American Warship in Hong Kong.
- Behold: Epic Hong Kong Piano Boy.
- Best of ‘Hong Kong Memes’.
- Burgernomics & Hong Kong’s Love Affair with McDonald’s.
- Celebrity ‘Tiger Tutors’ Documentary.
- Chinese New Year in HK by Interactive Google Street View.
- East vs West Cultural Differences.
- Euphoric English Advert for HK’s Noah’s Ark.
- Fake Monks Targeting Westerners on the Rise.
- Free ‘Kick Me In The Balls’.
- Future Maps of the MTR.
- Gweilo Moments Song by RTHK’s Steve James.
- HK Goes Completely Insane For Big Yellow Duck’s Arrival.
- HK’s Most Quaint & Delightful Public Service Ads from the 80s.
- Hollywood Destroys the Bank of China Building.
- Hong Kong 2013 vs. Fritz Lang’s 1927 Masterpiece ‘Metropolis’.
- Hong Kong in Miniature.
- Hong Kong Makes Tacocopter Internet Meme a Reality.
- Hong Kong SantaCon 2012.
- Hong Kong’s Feral Monkey Problem.
- Hong Kong’s Skyscrapers in Height Order.
- Hong Kong’s Weirdest Public Service Ads.
- How to See Fireflies in Hong Kong.
- How to Tell the Time from the HK Skyline.
- How to Use Social Networking in HK.
- Illegal Monkey Mountain Feeding Continues (Photos).
- International No Pants Subway Day: Hong Kong.
- Keeping it Classy on the Hong Kong MTR.
- Kill It With Fire: HK’s Top 5 Most Dreadful Creepy Crawlies.
- King Kong in Hong Kong.
- Literary Death Match Storytelling Smackdown.
- Louis Vuitton’s Pretentious Corporate Claptrap.
- Mainland Tourists Clear HK Banks & Jewellers of Bling.
- Map of Hong Kong Island’s New Hos.
- No Sex Please, We’re Hong Kongers.
- Paul Mooney’s SCMP Whistle-blower Article.
- Photographer Michael Wolf May Be Legal Trouble Over ‘Window Watching’.
- Photos & Footage from the 1st Hong Kong Soapbox Race.
- Pro-Beijing DAB Party Campaigning Against Club Triple X.
- Profit, Protection & Public Interest: Why is SCMP ‘Drip-feeding’ Snowden Revelations?
- Rave in a Cave.
- Sexpo 2013: Photos from HK’s First ‘Asia Adult Expo’ [NSFW].
- Salaries of Those Who Serve Us.
- Shark Spotted in Sai Kung.
- South China Morning Post Buys Out HK Magazine.
- Shots from HK’s Summer 2013.
- Tasteless Campaign from HK’s Society for Abandoned Animals.
- Teacup Storm Over HK Magazine Crap Rape Joke.
- The Ancient Super Volcano Beneath Victoria Harbour.
- The English Meaning of MTR Station Names.
- The McQueue of Shame?
- The Official Hong Kong Hiking Drinking Game.
- The People’s Map of Hong Kong.
- The Portland Street ‘Ethnic Hierarchy’.
- The Sum of All Evil: Shock Value or Art?
- The Weird World of HK Milk Advertising.
- The Weird, Possibly Racist World of HK Speed Dating – A Personal Account.
- Tour of the Famous Greenpeace Ship, Rainbow Warrior III.
- Tsim Sha Tsui in LEGO.
- Weird Propaganda Sign on Hong Kong Soil.
- Why Does Jackie Chan Hate Hong Kong?
Hong Wrong’s most popular offerings…
- Browse Hong Wrong’s satirical ‘Sub-Standard’ Posts.
- Hong Kong’s 5 Most Dreadful Creepy Crawlies.
- Hong Kong’s Weirdest Public Service Ads.
- Hong Kong 2013 vs. Fritz Lang’s 1927 Masterpiece ‘Metropolis’.
- How to Use Social Networking in HK.
- The Official Hong Kong Hiking Drinking Game.
Interesting, but I believe the results are customized based on your own location and possibly your search history, hence what you’re getting is not what others get for the same searches. (For example, if I type “Hong Kong is” in the eastern United States, my results are “a country”, “part of China”, “home”, or “the capital of”.)
Strange that you also get a lot more results than I do; I’m capped at four using Google’s own Chrome browser on a Windows machine.
Interesting, but I believe the results are customized based on your own location and possibly your search history, hence what you’re getting is not what others get for the same searches. (For example, if I type “Hong Kong is” in the eastern United States, my results are “a country”, “part of China”, “home”, or “the capital of”.)
Strange that you also get a lot more results than I do; I’m capped at four using Google’s own Chrome browser on a Windows machine.
It’s true Google tailors results based on your browsing history. These above are accurate as they’re derived from searching from a Chrome ‘incognito’ window. To see more than four results, ensure you’re visiting google.com
It’s true Google tailors results based on your browsing history. These above are accurate as they’re derived from searching from a Chrome ‘incognito’ window. To see more than four results, ensure you’re visiting google.com
I am indeed visiting google.com; they only give me four results regardless of whether I use Chrome or Internet Explorer. Perhaps they vary that based on platform, resolution, geolocation, or some other variable.
And they do tailor based on location, as well. I’ve tested side by side with family and colleagues in other states / countries, and gotten totally different search results and suggestions for the same search, in an incognito window at the same time as each other.
I’ve also heard speculation that they tailor based on your IP’s search history, even if in an incognito window, although I’ve not seen that proven either way.
I am indeed visiting google.com; they only give me four results regardless of whether I use Chrome or Internet Explorer. Perhaps they vary that based on platform, resolution, geolocation, or some other variable.
And they do tailor based on location, as well. I’ve tested side by side with family and colleagues in other states / countries, and gotten totally different search results and suggestions for the same search, in an incognito window at the same time as each other.
I’ve also heard speculation that they tailor based on your IP’s search history, even if in an incognito window, although I’ve not seen that proven either way.
I’m pretty sure Google does tailor your result base on your IP, i often get different results when I use VPN to access Google (For serious work stuff and not dodgy business)
I’m pretty sure Google does tailor your result base on your IP, i often get different results when I use VPN to access Google (For serious work stuff and not dodgy business)
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