[ITI 220 09] [F15] [9/12/2015] [Jeremy Gonzalo] [Vanity Search]

1.

What two search engines did you use to conduct the "Vanity Search"?
I used Bing and Google to conduct the Vanity Search. At least, I chose the ones that I
thought were the two most used and easiest to use search engines.

2.

Based on your knowledge of the world, is your name a common one? How do you
know this? Based only on the results of your search, is your name a common one?
Did your search results produce any information (or 'hits') about yourself? If yes,
what search queries produced the best results? Did you make any changes in your
search queries using Boolean operators, keywords, and/or phrasing to your name to
try to return at least one result about you (or more results about you) within the
first 30 results? If yes, did your results improve? Please explain.
My first name is a fairly common one, and my last name is actually more popular as a
first name in some countries. However, my full name is not really that popular, which is
perfectly fine by me, making it easier for people to find me. The search results (before I
added any sort of modifiers/ power searched my name) that did produce results with
me in it gave me exactly what I expected, which would be posts about me playing piano
and dance, among my other social media profiles. When I did add any sort of search
query modifier, nothing really changed, aside from EXTREMELY narrowing the search
down. I just think personally that the searches, for the most part, stayed pretty static from
when I just put my name in quotes because my name is pretty unique to me, or at least the
other Jeremy Gonzalos arent really around in the world.

[ITI 220 09] [F15] [9/12/2015] [Jeremy Gonzalo] [Vanity Search]

3.

Did you see any difference between the the first set and second set of search results
when conducted on different days? What might account for any differences that you
observed? Make reference to the reading(s), lecture, and/or video in your response
to support your view, as appropriate.
I honestly did not find any difference with any of the search results. If anything, changes
would include that of my namesakes making headlines, but seeing as there was not a
Jeremy in any outstanding headlines (minus in some political race news), there wasnt
anything that really wouldve made my searches different. If I added any sort of Boolean
operators or keywords, I still would have found the same results as I did two days before,
as I recorded.

4.

What do you think accounts for any changes in the search results between the two
search engines you used? What is the value, if any, in using two search engines to
conduct a search? Make reference to the reading(s), lecture, and/or video in your
response to support your view, as appropriate.
The big thing here were the changes in words and any sort of keywords that I would add
to my name. With Google, you get basically everything that would have the words that I
am searching, keywords included and any other sort of modifier included. Bing is a little
more exact and personalizes the searches for you, but does not give the same results as
Google did. Using two different search engines can really help optimize the sort of search
you are looking for, but seeing as I used two fairly similar searches, I didnt really find a
difference. Maybe if I had used a library database, I would definitely have had found
much more different results than what I had looked for. All the search engines use

[ITI 220 09] [F15] [9/12/2015] [Jeremy Gonzalo] [Vanity Search]

Boolean operators and keywords, though, so it honestly is just a matter of preference of

website when searching for specific things.

5.

What have you learned about using different search engines thus far in terms of
their functionality (similarities and differences) and their ability to retrieve
information to satisfy a user's (i.e., your) search needs (i.e., the original intent of the
queries - to find information about yourself on the Internet)? Refer to the
reading(s), lecture, and/or video to support your views in your response, as
appropriate.
For me, the biggest takeaway is learning how to properly optimize search engines to find
what you need. Keywords and Boolean operators were actually taught to me through my
Research in the Disciplines course, and they definitely help when youre trying to look
for something in a library database. This really narrows down what you need to find. I
also did not actually know about Google instantly putting in Booleans and what not. That
was quite the interesting find in the video lecture.

[ITI 220 09] [F15] [9/12/2015] [Jeremy Gonzalo] [Vanity Search]

Search Engine:
Date/Time of Search:
Total # of Hits:
Search Query:
(all pages)
Firstname
(e.g., John)
Lastname
(e.g., Smith)
First Last
(e.g., John Smith)
First Last (in quotes)
(e.g., John Smith)
Jeremy Gonzalo
piano
Jeremy Gonzalo
rutgers

Bing
9/11/2015; 5:30 PM
# about you
(on first 3 pages)

17,700,000

# Of Other People
with same name
(on first 3 pages)
18

14,000,000

457,000

11

119

10

[ITI 220 09] [F15] [9/12/2015] [Jeremy Gonzalo] [Vanity Search]

Bing
Search Engine:
Date/Time of Search:
Total # of Hits:
Search Query:
(all pages)
Firstname
(e.g., John)
Lastname
(e.g., Smith)
First Last
(e.g., John Smith)
First Last (in quotes)
(e.g., John Smith)
"Jeremy Gonzalo"
piano

273,000,000

# Of Other People
with same name
(on first 3 pages)
17

68,000,000

735,000

13

846

17

442

29

29

Jeremy Gonzalo
169
Rutgers
Search Engine:
Date/Time of Search:
Total # of Hits:
Search Query:
(all pages)
Firstname
(e.g., John)
Lastname
(e.g., Smith)
First Last
(e.g., John Smith)
First Last (in quotes)
(e.g., John Smith)
Jeremy Gonzalo
piano
Jeremy Gonzalo
rutgers

Google
9/13/2015; 4:00 PM
# about you
(on first 3 pages)

9/13/2015; 6:00 PM
# about you
(on first 3 pages)

17,700,000

# Of Other People
with same name
(on first 3 pages)
17

14,000,000

457,000

13

125

15

[ITI 220 09] [F15] [9/12/2015] [Jeremy Gonzalo] [Vanity Search]

Search Engine:
Date/Time of Search:
Total # of Hits:
Search Query:
(all pages)

Google
9/13/2015; 6:00 PM
# about you
(on first 3 pages)

Firstname
(e.g., John)
Lastname
(e.g., Smith)
First Last
(e.g., John Smith)
First Last (in quotes)
(e.g., John Smith)
"Jeremy Gonzalo"
piano

273,000,000

# Of Other People
with same name
(on first 3 pages)
17

68,000,000

735,000

13

904

17

442

29

Jeremy Gonzalo
Rutgers

169

29