It seemed like the entirety of the globe turned their heads to look at the absurdity of Elon Musk’s recent Twitter buyout. The business magnate is purchasing the online news and social networking site for an agreed price of $44bn (£35bn).
As an SEO agency, however, one part of this eccentric takeover really got us hot under the collar; he’s going to release the algorithm?! This peak through the backdoor of the internet feels as sordid as being asked to make out with Musk in the back of a Tesla – and we’re here for it.
Elon Musk Vows To Share Twitter’s Secrets
Our life as SEOs is spent scrupulously searching for clues as to how we can deliver our clients’ content on the first page of SERPs. As a result, we spend a lot of time analysing how Google’s algorithm works. While Sundar Pichai isn’t offering the same sort of reveal as Musk, the release of Twitter’s algorithm is sure to be incredibly telling.
The internet’s greatest strength is its ability to deliver information worldwide and, mostly without knowing, we put the power of deliverance into the hands of the companies that we use. Google, Twitter, Meta, and even Bing all have an influence on what we can reasonably access.
The algorithms used to deliver our web pages allow us to live a smooth and easy life online – anyone who has visited the dark web will appreciate the clean and organised life up above. But, are algorithms something we should worry about?
No doubt, many will be concerned that the reveal of the algorithm will show foul play from Twitter. Some speculate that it could show marginalised groups being shut down, oppressive voices being raised, advertisers or political parties being given precedence, and how our data allows us to be targeted by those with an agenda.
If Twitter has been engaged in these practices, will other Big Internet companies come under scrutiny? Is this going to be the new age of transparency on the internet?
If Google Were To Release Their Algorithm, What Would It Mean for SEO Practitioners?
Well, it would be straight-up chaos. If everyone has the keys to the kingdom, then everyone can rank first – and if everyone can rank first, then no one can. If that sounds confusing, it’s because it is. In fact, the release of Google’s algorithm would make it completely obsolete, as nobody would be able to find what they were looking for.
The reality is that the difference between social media and search engines is vast. Where there is merit in releasing information on how public voices are raised or shut down by a social media site, the information presented on a search engine needs to have a logical formula.
When Larry Page and Sergey Brin sat together in a garage trying to organise the internet, we don’t believe there was foul play. What started as a new world Yellow Pages has expanded into something we’re sure neither of them can imagine, with endlessly bigger obstacles to face. But so far, we think they’ve done a pretty cracking job.
The expansive, instantaneous world of the internet makes us feel empowered, as we believe it should. However, we also accept that when we search for something, we’re asking someone else to tell us what is the best route to access that information, and we’re ok with that.
It’s easy to feel blindsided by shocking information that comes to light of misdemeanours on the internet. Keeping information behind closed doors, though, is the only way to ensure that we can still use the search engine for its intended purpose. Plus, it keeps all of us SEOs in a job.
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