Summary of "The Indicator from Planet Money" Episode: The Dawn of Search Engines
Release Date: May 26, 2025
Host: Adrian Ma (NPR)
Introduction
In this special guest episode of The Indicator from Planet Money, host Adrian Ma presents an excerpt from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's series "Who Broke the Internet?" Hosted by Cory Doctorow, the series delves into criticisms of the modern Internet and explores potential solutions. This particular episode focuses on the inception and evolution of search engines, highlighting how they transformed the way we navigate the vast expanse of the Internet.
Early Search Engines and Their Limitations
Steven Levy begins by painting a picture of the early Internet landscape, where users struggled to locate relevant information due to primitive search engine technologies. Early search engines primarily operated by scanning for pages containing the exact words inputted by users, prioritizing pages with higher word counts. However, this approach was often ineffective:
"If you wanted your page to rate high on the search results for a query like Mexican food, you could keyword stuff it by adding the words Mexican food a thousand times in tiny white on white type to the bottom of the page."
— Steven Levy [01:57]
This tactic exploited the simplistic algorithms of early search engines, leading to poor-quality search results. Users often had to employ complex and arcane search syntax (e.g., using minus signs to exclude unwanted terms) to filter out spam and irrelevant content, making the search process cumbersome and inefficient.
The Emergence of Google and PageRank
The breakthrough came with the introduction of Google, which revolutionized search engine technology through the development of the PageRank algorithm. Clive Thompson recounts his first encounter with Google:
"We were using really awful search engines that we thought were pretty good. And you saw Google and all of a sudden the film cleared from our eyes. We thought, wow, you could actually find what you were looking for on the Internet right away. Bang."
— Clive Thompson [03:12]
Steven Levy, author of How Google Thinks, Works and Shapes Our Lives, elaborates on his journalist's pursuit of Google's founders:
"So he tracked down their PR person."
— Steven Levy [03:27]
Thompson describes meeting Google's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and witnessing their innovative approach firsthand:
"Larry was dressed like a Viking and Sergey was dressed like a cow. He had these big plastic udders coming out from his chest."
— Clive Thompson [04:07]
The PageRank algorithm marked a significant departure from previous search methodologies. Instead of merely counting keyword occurrences, PageRank analyzed the links between websites to determine their importance and relevance. This method provided more accurate and meaningful search results.
"Page rank is the algorithm behind the magic. A new way that Google had developed to deliver its search results. It was totally audacious..."
— Steven Levy [04:28]
Thompson highlights the audacity of Google's approach:
"Audacious because the way they were able to locate the best result for your query was by basically not basically literally downloading the whole web, all of it, which some people thought was ridiculous. But Larry Page understood this could be done."
— Clive Thompson [04:39]
With access to powerful servers at Stanford University, Page and Brin built Google's first server setup using Lego bricks—symbolizing both cost-effectiveness and creativity:
"They set up their first server, building the case for it out of Lego. Yeah, Lego, because it was cheap and cool and and colorful like the eventual Google logo."
— Steven Levy [05:13]
Google’s Philosophy and Growth
Google's foundational philosophy emphasized simplicity and user-centric design. Clive Thompson notes the company's guiding principle:
"There's the very famous motto that Google had, was 'Don't be evil,' which was coined by an engineer..."
— Clive Thompson [06:59]
This motto encapsulated Google's commitment to providing high-quality search results without succumbing to unethical practices, such as compromising search quality for advertising revenue. Steven Levy reflects on Google's influence:
"Google's world was our world. You know, things didn't exist, but it wasn't on the web."
— Clive Thompson [07:27]
As Google gained popularity for its effective search capabilities, its success was intrinsically linked to the overall usability of the Internet:
"It's like when Google did well, we all did well because we could find the stuff we were looking for, right?"
— Steven Levy [07:33]
The Introduction of Ads and AdWords
The introduction of advertising marked a pivotal shift in Google's business model. Initially, Google founders were critical of traditional advertising methods:
"When Google met advertising, everything changed."
— Steven Levy [07:52]
Clive Thompson elaborates on the founders' aversion to advertising:
"Larry and Sergey actually hated advertising. And the paper they wrote, talking about PageRank, they had a little thing in the end saying, 'Boy, we hate advertising. Terrible.'"
— Clive Thompson [07:55]
Despite their reservations, the need to generate revenue led to the development of a novel advertising platform—AdWords:
"So then they figured, well, maybe there's a way to do ads that would be terrible."
— Steven Levy [08:30]
AdWords introduced a system where ads were seamlessly integrated into search results through an auction-based model:
"It was called AdWords. So what it would do was when you put a query into the search engine, it would start an auction instantly..."
— Clive Thompson [08:57]
This innovation allowed advertisers to bid on search terms relevant to their products or services, ensuring that ads were both targeted and unobtrusive:
"If you searched for Mexican food on Google back in the early aughts... with AdWords, ads would appear in a colored bar atop the normal page ranked results."
— Steven Levy [09:07]
Clive Thompson underscores the benefits of AdWords:
"You get the same results but you get a little extra little, you know, set of possible results that actually might even help you if you were looking to buy something related to the search term and the advertisers would get an audience which you know was primed to buy something."
— Clive Thompson [09:44]
AdWords proved to be a win-win scenario for Google, advertisers, and users by maintaining search result quality while generating revenue.
Conclusion
The episode concludes by acknowledging the transformative impact of Google's search engine and its advertising model on the Internet ecosystem. While AdWords initially enhanced the search experience, Steven Levy hints at future challenges:
"That is, until it didn't."
— Steven Levy [10:11]
This statement foreshadows the complexities and potential pitfalls associated with search engine advertising, setting the stage for further exploration in subsequent discussions.
Credits:
Original production by Matt Muse, A.C. Rowe, and Cory Doctorow. Coordinating Producer: Roshni Nair. Mixing and Sound Design: Julian Uzieli. Story Editing: Veronica Simmons. Executive Producer: Nick McCabe. Indicator version produced by Cooper Katz McKim and engineered by Sina Alafredo. Edited by Kate Cannon.
For more insights from the CBC's "Who Broke the Internet?" series, visit the show notes or your preferred podcast platform.