Computer Science | Grinnell College

We'll look at three readings to tackle the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Daniel Victor and Karen Workman. "U.C. Davis Learns Downside of Trying to Scrub Search Results". The New York Times, April 2016. Recently, it came to light that UC Davis paid multiple PR firms to suppress negative search results about the university and its chancellor after the Occupy protest pepper spray incident that occurred in 2011. Was this wasted money? To what degree can we control what search engines say about us?
• SEOMoz Inc. The Beginners Guide to SEO. One front we'll discuss is how we can manipulate search engines for our benefit, the practice of search engine optimization. In particular, The Beginners Guide to SEO is a nice practical introduction to the subject that reads quickly even though it seems long.
• Alan Travis and Charles Arthur. "EU court backs 'right to be forgotten': Google must amend results on request". The Guardian, May 2014. The other front is the Right to be Forgotten, the idea that the Internet should not act as an eternal record of an individual, especially if that record is slanderous or wrong. Is the Right to be Forgotten a good right to pursue? Is it technologically possible to pursue given the nature of search engines and the industry as a whole?

Computer science table (CS Table) is a weekly meeting of Grinnell College community members (students, faculty, staff, etc.) interested in discussing topics related to computing and computer science. CS Table meets Tuesdays from 12:00-12:45 in JRC 224C. Students on meal plans, faculty, and staff are expected to cover the cost of their meals. Visitors to the College and students not on meal plans can charge their meals to the department.